Roland Gommel Roessner:

An Inventory of his Records, Photographic Material, and Drawings, 1935-1991

Biographical Sketch of Roland Gommel Roessner (1911-2001)

Roland Gommel Roessner received his bachelor of architecture degree from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1935 and his master's from the University of Cincinnati in 1942. After serving in World War II, Roessner practiced in St. Petersburg, Florida, before joining the faculty of the University of Texas School of Architecture (UTSOA) in 1948. Roessner, who successfully combined teaching with a professional career, realized the importance of integrating practical experience with a strong theoretical foundation. He was responsible for establishing the school's Professional Residency Program, which provided the students with on-the-job training within the profession before the completion of their degrees. Roessner's early use of computers to augment teaching included a project for teaching management processes in architecture.

Roessner's ability to create spaces that preserved the client's privacy while maintaining an openness in plan garnered for him numerous design awards. His graceful design for the George Thorne House (1953) received Newsweek 's 1955 House of the Year Award. His talent for flexible planning on restricted sites is perhaps best illustrated by The Oaks Apartments (1962) which provided each apartment, grouped around an intimate, secluded courtyard, with its own private balcony and view. This sensitive project, which carefully preserved the site's beautiful oak trees, received an AIA Award of Merit in 1965. Roessner's other projects included the Foster Residence (1963), the RGK Foundation Building (1980), and the Southwestern Bell Telephone Building in Corpus Christi (1981). Roessner was named professor emeritus in 1983 and an endowed Centennial Professorship was established in his name at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an AIA Fellow.

-Lila Stillson

-From: "Texas 50." Texas Architect (Nov./Dec. 1989): p. 69.

Scope and Content of the collection

A resume, published articles, brochures, magazines, slides, and architectural drawings highlight both the academic and architectural design careers of Roland Gommel Roessner. A History of Austin Architects and Architecture: 1934-1986 and one unidentified photograph are also contained in this record group.

The brochures demonstrate Roessner's participation in state-wide exhibits and academic programs at the University of Texas School of Architecture. One firm brochure of the Oaks Apartments concludes this series. Magazines (1954-1987, with gaps) illustrate Roessner's residential work in Austin. The bulk of the material consists of 35 mm slides of private residences, apartments, businesses, and some floor plans which Roessner designed. The images are identified using the resident owner's name; they are not dated (see series list). Roessner disposed of most of his older drawings by returning them to his clients. The collection does include architectural drawings for three Austin residences designed by Roessner.

Roessner's most extensive written work, Architect Client: An Experiment in Computer-Augmented Teaching of Architecture Management (ca. 1968) was co-authored by Thomas E. Burke, a research associate at the College of Business Administration at the University of Texas at Austin. The publication contains the results of a project, begun in 1965, focusing on the development of a computer program to introduce prospective clients to the various phases and decisions related to residential design and construction.

Added to the collection in December 1992: Series H contains the contents of seventeen scrapbooks. The material was removed from the scrapbooks and photo albums and rehoused in mylar sleeves and acid free folders. Six of the notebooks contained portfolios from different stages of Roessner's career (1955-1983), highlighting an assortment of projects. Three albums contained clippings, photographs and contest entry forms concerning design awards which Roessner won.

Two albums were dedicated to the Roland Gommel Roessner Centennial Professorship in Architecture which was established in 1983. Photographs were from the luncheon held in his honor; clippings, letters and brochures give further information about the award. Two notebooks contained photographs of Roessner's early work (1935-1942); most of the buildings are unidentified. Two notebooks were filled with newspaper and magazine clippings (1946-1980). One notebook was dedicated solely to the RGK Foundation Building. One scrapbook contained a varied assortment of photographs of people.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Access is by appointment only to any serious scholar. Rolled materials must be flattened before viewing. A three day advance notice is required to flatten rolled materials. Portions of this collection are not processed and may not be accessible.

Restrictions on Use

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Alexander Architectural Archive's Use Policy.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Roland Gommel Roessner (1911-2001) Records, photographs and slides, 1935-1991, with gaps. Residential architecture in Austin, Texas. The Alexander Architectural Archive, the General Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

Drawings processed by: Kathy Martinson, October 1992; Nancy Sparrow, February 1993

Other Finding Aids

References to works by or about Roland Gommel Roessner (1911-2001)

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.