The suburb of Mueller contained nothing more than a vacant airport terminal that was formerly known as the Robert Mueller Memorial Airport. It came to be named after Robert Mueller, a city councilman that died only months after he was elected into his position. 3 years later, the municipal airport terminal was built and dedicated in his honor. Unfortunately, in 1999 the terminal was closed and the new Austin-Bergstrom International Airport had opened. With the obsolete airport terminal being abandoned, a company called “Catellus” was hired to re-develop the land area and come up with a new Master Plan for a new mixed-use community, which is now the Mueller that it is today. There’s even a manual detailing the multitude of plans to come.
When the airport terminal was first designed and built by architects Fehr and Granger, it received tremendous amounts of adoration. It even won the very first Progressive Architecture Award in 1959. It was deemed “an excellent solution in planning, as well as design expression” (Fitch, 2018). Hence, the community’s developers became sentimental and decided to keep and restore the concrete control tower to its former glory. By over-hauling the light-and-dark-blue porcelain panels, the control tower was given a new lease on life. Ensuring that a piece of the city’s history would live on. Fehr & Granger was an Austin, Texas architectural firm founded by Arthur Fehr and Charles Granger, Jr. in 1946. Working in a Modernist style, the next two decades were highly productive for the esteemed firm. Winning numerous awards, they created inspiring projects that included residential, commercial, educational and ecclesiastical designs throughout central Texas. Arthur Fehr (1904-1969) earned his architecture degree in 1925 from the University of Texas and went on to graduate study at Columbia University, Beaux Arts Institute of Design and New York University (Fitch, 2018). Charles Granger (1913-1966) was an architectural student at the University of Texas when he was hired as a summer intern by Arthur Fehr. After graduation in 1936, he worked for the influential modernist architect, Richard Neutra in Los Angeles, then earned a master’s degree from Cranbrook Academy in Michigan, where he worked as a designer for the famed Eliel Saarinen before returning to Austin, Texas (Fitch, 2018). Austin-Mueller currently ranks at number 11 on the list of most populated cities in the United States with a population of 950,715 ("Austin, TX", 2019). The population has increased by almost 17% since 2010, and Austin-Mueller is now the fourth largest city in Texas ("Austin, TX", 2019). It is also quickly becoming the hub for clean, renewable energy and technology. With the entire population of Austin’s communities combined and equaling 2,115,827, it is now the 33rd largest metropolis in America, and was even deemed the fastest growing city of the United States in 2016 ("Austin, TX", 2019). Residents of Mueller, Texas are known as “Austinites” and include a diverse mix of foreign and domestic college students, musicians, government employees, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers and business people. The ethnic breakdown is approximately: 48.9% White, 34.5% Hispanic, 7.6% African American, 6.8% Asian, and 2.2% of the population are listed as other. In terms of age, 7.9% of the population are 65 years of age or older, 21.4% are under the age of 18, and 6.8% are under the age of 5. Education wise, 88% of Mueller’s residents are high school graduates, and 47.7% are all college graduates. The median income for an Austin household in 2016 was $60,939, with the median house price being $257,800, and has increased every year since 2003. There are approximately 20 memory care units in the Mueller – Austin area, with the most notable being the memory care unit at “The Village at the Triangle” and “Silverado at Onion Creek”. The residents of Mueller, Texas also enjoy a subtropical humid climate. The summers are hot and temperatures average at least 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to the winds, the cloud cover, and the other conditions, the nighttime temperatures can drop down into the 50’s. The winters in Mueller are mostly cool to mild, it’s not uncommon for high temperatures to come about during the winter. Temperatures only drop below freezing approximately 25 days each year. The area even experiences snowfall as well. Occasionally, there can be heavy rainfall, averaging around 33 inches every year, with the worst rains happening in May and September. Mueller’s overall design and regional character can be described as an urban retro modern bohemian vintage mashup. The design of my Memory Care unit will focus mostly on the modern retro aspect, which is showcased in the architecture and design work of Fehr & Granger. The design will incorporate subtle retro patterns in textiles, fabrics, and wallpaper. As well as retro-inspired contemporary furniture pieces. The color palette will include soothing hues of colors found mostly during the Spring to aide in wayfinding. The overall design and atmosphere will be calming to help the residents feel relaxed at all times.
References Austin, TX. (2019). Retrieved from https://datausa.io/profile/geo/austin-tx/ Fitch, C. (2018). Fehr & Granger. Retrieved from http://creedefitch.com/fehr-granger/
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