Fort Worth is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Texas, founded in 1849 as the starting point of the American Westward Movement, and has a natural romantic and creative DNA. The city's modern civilization opened up Fort Worth's international horizons, and many modernist architects left behind masterpieces of the unique, groundbreaking architecture that has made Fort Worth famous around the world. These range from public buildings that focus on function, structure, materials or technology to urban parks that find their pivot in the natural and human landscape. In the balance of cultural substance and economic volume, Fort Worth is building a better city as a livable place.

Fort Worth's unique geography and history give it a charming air of western flair without being wild, and eastern gentility without being smart, an air and spirit that continues to this day in the Stockyards Historic District of Fort Worth. Every inch of the 46 historic buildings in the district, from the brick road to the wooden corrals, tells the story of the pioneering cowboys of Fort Worth. Today, these buildings have been transformed into distinctive entertainment and shopping venues and taverns with a cowboy soul, and the nostalgic lettering and business signs everywhere exude the rugged artistry of "Cowtown. Regular cultural and artistic events and rodeos in the neighborhoods give the old town a new energy and make it a popular destination for citizens and international tourists.

Since the 19th century, land has become expensive, buildings have grown taller, and architects have begun to think about the relationship between commerce and art. Soon, there was not a North American city that did not build skyscrapers with steel and glass as a symbol of economic power. The city skyline took on a new definition, radiating the light of modern civilization while at the same time presenting the rhythm of the city and its social reality. The twin towers of Wells Fargo and Bank of America, designed by modernist architect Paul Rudolph (1918-1997), are two pearls of Fort Worth's skyline that showcase the city's confidence and power.

The 173-meter-tall Burnett Plaza, Fort Worth's tallest building, has square windows that cover the entire office building, acting as a toner for the skyscraper's mirrored reflections. The layout of the interior elevator shafts translates into a stepped west wall façade, releasing a subtle tension rarely found in syndicalist architecture. The Blackstone Hotel, Fort Worth, has been in intermittent operation for nearly a century and has housed several U.S. presidents and movie stars. The terracotta texture of the entire body and the Deco-style roof design give this skyscraper a valuable warmth and romantic quality. These sky-high buildings have seen the rise of Fort Worth and have filled the Fort Worth skyline with memories and imagery as classics of early modernist architecture.

The downtown Fort Worth Cultural District is home to several world-renowned public buildings. One of the first to be built was the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, designed by Philip Johnson (1906-2005). Six tapered columns hold up the museum's massive portico, and the front lawn and plaza serve as a gathering place for Fort Worth's citizens, the highest point in the cultural district and the perfect place to view the Fort Worth skyline. The adjacent Kimbell Art Museum was built to a height of no more than 12 meters so as not to block the view of the Amon Carter Museum. The decision makers and the architects agreed on the idea of integrating the building into the city.

The Kimbell was designed by Louis Kahn (19011974) as a modestly sized building that would not overwhelm the artwork or the viewer. Louis Kahn was a master of modernist brutalist architecture, adept at the original expression of material, form and function, achieving an extraordinary sense of purity through a carefully exposed structure with minimal ornamentation. The Kimbell consists of 16 parallel vaulted spaces symmetrically distributed in three wings, the front row of each wing is a promenade for the viewer to walk and reflect, its structure is identical to that of the pavilion at the back, and is permeable on three sides to illustrate how the building was constructed, which Louis Cohn likened to "a sculpture outside the building". The gallery brings natural light from the vaulted ceiling into the interior and casts it through reflective panels on the silver-gray ceiling to create a purely artistic atmosphere, a system of skylights that was the first of its kind in architectural history and has won the gallery and Fort Worth numerous accolades.

In 2013, the Kimbell completed its expansion, and the new building was designed by and named after Renzo Piano, the designer of the Pompidou Center in Paris. Piano did not make any additions to the main building, but designed a new building on the other side of the wooded lawn. The new pavilion echoes the main pavilion in its natural lighting, three-wing structure, parallel composition and promenade volume, with an inherent conceptual coincidence, while being self-contained in terms of glass and metal materials and technical textures. The construction of the Piano Pavilion is a microcosm of Fort Worth's urban development, reflecting the city's principles and attitudes of inheritance and innovation.

Designed by Nakao Ando, the Museum of Modern Art Fort Worth is a landmark building in the cultural district. Nakao Ando believes that architecture can change the city and transform society. He emphasizes that architecture focuses on the experience of the body and presents the attitude of the site. The museum's design begins with the exterior pool and environment, with five flat-roofed box buildings arranged in parallel, with floor-to-ceiling glass reflecting the pool. Inside, patios are found everywhere, sandwiched between glass and concrete, serving as transitional gallery spaces and easing the pace of the exhibition. The museum has become a magnet for the dissemination and promotion of modern art in the city through its diverse curatorial and publication offerings, accompanied by various educational programs.

The Museum of Science and History of Fort Worth is the most recently inaugurated public cultural building in the cultural district, designed by architects Ricardo Legorreta and Gideon Toal. The museum was designed from the outset under invisible pressure: what kind of museum should it be, next to the works of so many architectural masters? How could it fit into this collection and still stand out? Ricardo Legoretta gives the answer: "The architect must focus on building better cities rather than isolated monuments."

The Fort Worth Flowing Gardens, the city's calling card, was designed by Philip Johnson and John Birch. The gardens include three pools: a meditation pool surrounded by cypress trees and high walls, a flower-spraying pool with light reflecting off the oak trees, and a flowing pool built into the valley floor of a terraced knoll. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city, it is a symbiotic paradise of fields, nature, city and water, where people can rest, walk, meditate and listen, immersing themselves in a "cool oasis in the concrete jungle". Interstate 30 was rerouted for Flowing Water Park, and the adjacent Lancaster Avenue was redeveloped and beautified. A small park became the nerve endings that tugged at the city's planning.

From the romance of the Western Ranch to the obsession of the skyline, from the prudence of the Cultural District to the lyricism of Flowing Water Gardens, Fort Worth blends its unique historical traditions, cultural arts and natural ecology with the wisdom of organic development. Fort Worth incorporates a symbiotic aesthetic into its urban architecture. Sustainability has become the consensus of Fort Worth's public buildings. The whole city is like a complete living system, with daylight entering by day and soft light leaving by night, nourishing every corner of the city and warming the hearts of every citizen.

Article Source:艺术与设计

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