Buford Duke, Jr. collection,

1971-2000, undated

Biographical Sketch of Buford Duke

Buford Woodrow Duke, Jr., practicing architect, member of the American Institute of Architects and later Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, was born on June 17, 1938 in Dallas, Texas and died on February 3, 2000 after suffering a heart attack in Austin. Buford Duke studied architecture at Arlington State College (Texas) before transferring to The University of Texas at Austin in 1959, where he received a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1962. After graduating, he worked as a designer for six years before starting his own firms in Springfield, Virginia: Gwathmey-Duke (1968-1973) and Winesett-Duke (1973-1974). In 1974, Winesett-Duke joined with Benham and Blair in Falls Church, Virginia to establish Benham-Blair-Winesett-Duke. Duke stayed with the expanded Benham Group until 1985, designing several award-winning projects, including the State of California Office Building in Sacramento, California.

Throughout his career, Duke published in several architectural and energy-conscious journals (including Industrial Research and Development, Underground Space, and Journal of the American Institute of Architects). Duke was often an invited lecturer at organizations, including the United States Air Force Research Division, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Through energy-efficient designs, he won first place in design competitions three times - one for his work with the Advanced Air Base Planning Programs at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D. C. and two for the Sacramento State Office Building.

Duke joined the faculty of the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) in 1981 as a Visiting Associate Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1983. While at UT-Austin, Duke taught both introductory and advanced courses highlighting his expertise in energy conservation, solar energy and earth shelter architecture. His signature courses included “Gentle Architecture,” Environmental Controls, Visual Communication, Energy Conscious Design, and all levels of the Design Studio. Duke encouraged his students to participate in design competitions every year, including the Solar-90 Conference for the Texas Solar Energy Society, where his students took three top prizes.

Buford Duke worked on many public service-oriented projects with his colleagues and students: a master plan for the city of Kemah, Texas; low cost housing for “The Colonias” in Laredo, Texas; and the New Hope Children’s Home in Kenya. In one of his final class syllabi, he described himself as having “38 years experience in Architecture with 26 years of experience with very large Energy Efficient Buildings and complexes.”

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Scope and Content of the collection

Creative works, course-related material, correspondence, publications, photographs, drawings, student work, and slides (1971-2000) created or collected by Buford W. Duke, Jr., evidence his employment at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Architecture and his professional work as a designer specializing in “Gentle Architecture.” The collection is divided into six series: Personal Papers (1981-1994, 0.02 linear feet), Professional Papers (1974-1988, 0.4 linear feet), Faculty Papers (3.34 linear feet), Teaching Files (1981-2000, 5.0 linear feet), Students’ Work (1982-2000, 1.67 linear feet), and Drawings (1971-1998, 145 rolled drawings).

The bulk of the material (24 document boxes or 10.01 linear feet, plus slides) concerns Duke’s faculty activities as a professor with The University of Texas at Austin (1980-2000), including class-related documentation, correspondence, School of Architecture administrative records, annual faculty reports, student-generated course instructor evaluations and survey results, and students’ work. The mandated School of Architecture annual reports detail teaching activities and grant-funded research.

School of Architecture administrative records include documents prepared for the entire department and faculty, including event calendars, faculty committee information, faculty and staff directories, and the Goals Conference commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the School in 1984.

Duke taught many of his courses several times during his career and maintained extensive files with classroom handouts, role sheets, rosters, sign-in sheets, syllabi, grade sheets, course packets, overhead transparencies, students’ work and hand-written notes. Materials are arranged chronologically, first by year, then by semester (Spring, Summer, Fall). There is no documentation in this collection for his 1981 coursework as a visiting professor, but from 1982-1984 Duke taught Energy in Architecture and Energy Conscious Design. Documentation for his design studios begins in 1984 with Earth Shelter Architecture and also includes his work with the city of Kemah in 1990. His signature studio called “Gentle Architecture” began in 1992. Duke borrowed the term "Gentle Architecture" from the title of the 1981 text by Malcolm Wells, a fellow architect. On the 1992 syllabus for the class, Duke states that "students [in Gentle Architecture] will explore alternative building and environmental systems and strategies which may be used to conserve our natural resources. This course will provide an understanding of ways and means of 'Building Softly,' the architectural imperative of the future."

Duke may have selected Design Studio topics in response to student competition calls from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Competition announcements may be located with the course materials for that year, but Design Competitions (Box 22) contains duplicate announcements.

Over 2 linear feet of material document the Environmental Controls from 1985-1991. Duke saved student reports and quizzes (along with quiz answer keys) from many of his courses; the majority of reports are located in Students’ Works subseries. Students' work includes slideshow presentations for Duke's classes, including Environmental Controls.

The Professional Series, which documents Buford Duke’s work as an architect is significantly smaller in volume (0.4 linear feet) than his faculty-related documentation, but it illuminates his architectural success working independently and with the Benham-Blair and Affiliates Inc. group and their award-winning, solar-powered State of California Office Building in Sacramento. This building became his most widely recognized and highly acclaimed project. Duke maintained concurrent employment in the early 1980’s, and the Professional Papers and Faculty Papers series contain material that may relate to either occupation, including correspondence and annual reports.

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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.

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.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Buford Duke Jr. collection, Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin

Processing Information

Drawings processed by: Donna Coates

Paper processed by: Kady Ferris, Alexandra Myers, Mary Beth Windham (INF 389R Gracy Students) and Donna Coates

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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

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