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DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF JESSE H. JONES HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Design Principles of Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
Juan Gomez de la Torre
University of Houston
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF JESSE H. JONES HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Jesse H. Jones Hall became an important building for Houston because it not only
satisfied Houston’s need for a new opera house, but it also stands today as a monument to
Jesse H. Jones, who was an important figure responsible for Houston’s economical
development. During the late 1960s when Jesse H. Jones Hall was built, the modern movement
was still influencing buildings around the world. More specifically, new formalism and brutalism
evidently influenced the Jones Hall’s form, materiality, and technology. Such choices by the
architects help define the buildings monumentality, and its purpose in the city.
For reference, the modernist movement first emerged in the early twentieth century. By
the 1920s, the prominent figures of the movement – Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe - had established their reputations. Modernism rose as result of wanting to
explore new styles with the use of the new technological advances. The design agenda for this
style primarily focused on emphasizing function. As Sullivan once said, “Form follow function”.
Additionally, architects were looking to omit any extraneous decoration or ornament in order to
reach the purest form of architecture. This was strongly emphasized by Adolf Loos, who said,
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF JESSE H. JONES HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
“Ornament is a crime”. It is evident that modernism is the main underlying design principle of
the Jesse H. Jones Hall.
Front View of Crown Hall ITT by Ludwig Mies Vander Rohe
The comparison of these images draws the conclusion that the ideal modern principles from
famous architects like Mies were being translated to works like the Jones H. Jones Hall. It is not
a literal translation, but the basic design language is there like the repetitive columns and the
simplicity of the outside structure.
In order to address the design principles more specifically there are several styles that
branch down from modernism which better define the building’s design. The exterior of the
building contains three beautifully curved travertine walls, which are strategically positioned so
that the edges where they intersect create entrances to permit a smooth circulation along with
a flawless transition from the interior to the exterior. These curved walls are enclosed by a
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF JESSE H. JONES HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
series of uniformly spaced rectangular vertical columns that surround the perimeter of the
building. (Houston First Theaters, 2015)
The way the curved walls were designed give the impression of being influenced by
brutalism because the walls are massive and they expose the roughness of the material. Similarly,
Le Corbusier used curved, and sculptural forms along with baton brute in his period of brutalism.
This is evident in works like the National Parliament in Chandigarh, India.
Parliament Building In Chandigarh by Le Corbusier.
Aside from being influenced by brutalism, the Jesse H. Jones Hall design follows new formalism
principles more closely. Buildings that were designed in this style exhibited classical elements
such as strict symmetrical elevations, building proportions, and classical columns. The style was
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF JESSE H. JONES HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
used primarily for high-profile cultural, institutional and civic buildings. These were typically
constructed by using rich materials such as marble, granite or man-made composites to then be
able to create distinctive forms such as umbrella shells, waffle slabs and folded plates.
Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, designed by Welton Beckett and Associates
Like in the Mark Taper Forum, it is evident that the Jesse H. Jones Hall was primarily designed in
a formalist manner because the classical language is present in the columns, the use of rich
materials like travertine are present throughout the building, Additionally, there is the creation
of spaces through the folded slabs of travertine.
In conclusion the Jesse H. Jones Hall is influenced by many styles that were being
explored during the 1960s. Modernism is the more general term that embodies the design
principle of the building, but brutalism and new formalism better define the building’s design
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF JESSE H. JONES HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
concepts. Without a doubt the Jesse H. Jones Hall reaches a monumental level because it
represents a long-standing structure that will serve many people who enjoy the theatre with
the best possible materials and technology.
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF JESSE H. JONES HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
References

Houston First Theaters (2015). About Jones Hall. February 23, 2015.

Wiffen, Marcus, American Architecture Since 1780: A Guide to the Styles, The M.I.T.
Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, 1969

The Impact of European Modernism in the Mid-twentieth Century. American Buildings
and Their Architects 5. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 363.

Wolfgang Thaler (2012). Modernism In-Between: The Mediatory Architectures of
Socialist Yugoslavia. Jovis, Berlin.

Crouch, Christopher. 2000. "Modernism in Art Design and Architecture", New York: St.
Martins Press.

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates. Inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List;
German/English; Editor: Berlin Monument Authority
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DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF JESSE H. JONES HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS