Great Lackmeyer Article on Rand Elliott!
Architect's renown grows beyond state
Steve Lackmeyer - Tue August 14, 2007
While visiting "POPS” in Arcadia last week, it was somewhat surprising to hear three architectural interns from New York express not just awareness but also an admiration for the landmark's architect, Rand Elliott.
This is Oklahoma. And no matter how many national awards Elliott has won for his work (and he's won quite a few), this bit of acknowledgement from outsiders is a reminder that the state and some of its residents are changing cliched images.
Elliott easily could have packed his bags when the local architectural community went through a drought in the late 1980s. But he stayed in Oklahoma City, and he invested back in the community.
And if Elliott isn't a brand name in every household, consider this: Some of the most eye-catching designs this past decade were drawn up at his offices in downtown's old Heiderding Building.
If you gushed over the Chesapeake Boathouse, yep, that was an Elliott project (some say "POPS” may challenge the boathouse as his most popular project yet). If you were somehow drawn to the red lights of the Red Prime Steakhouse in the old Buick building at NW 5 and Broadway, he's both the architect and part-owner on the new eatery. And if you argued with a friend over the lighting in The Underground, or the Beacon of Hope, he's the one to blame or credit — at least partially.
People such as Aubrey McClendon are the other half of the equation. And Elliott and McClendon are definitely an ongoing team effort.
The developers and millionaires slapping inexpensive stucco on their buildings downtown might want to consider what McClendon has to say about his experiences with Elliott. The pair's work together includes not just "POPS,” but also the Chesapeake Boathouse and, of course, the sprawling Chesapeake Energy corporate campus at NW 63 and Western Avenue.
Elliott is among the first to admit he might not be the right match for every job. He's been known to turn down a project because he either felt it was not up to his standards, or it would not be a good fit for the community.
McClendon and Elliott's partnership — they're more than acquaintances, they're good friends — goes back 20 years when both men were virtual unknowns.
"We give each other long leashes,” McClendon explained in an interview last week. "At the end of the day, I'm building something I want to be successful.”
And that might just mean letting Elliott pitch a design without prior budget constraints. It's not that Elliott has an open checkbook ready to support his next artistic vision. But you won't hear McClendon demanding that brick be replaced with stucco to save a few thousand dollars either.
"It doesn't cost that much more to go first class,” McClendon said. "So I always try to go first class. It's always that 10 to 20 percent that people always want to cut back from a project. And that's the part that makes a real difference.”
With that approach to architecture, one can only imagine what's in store as the pair work with Tom Ward, Chief Executive Officer of Sand Ridge Energy, to restore downtown's Kerr Park.
And you can only wonder how much better off downtown and Oklahoma City would fare in the court of world opinion if other city builders quit settling for the cheapest material available and followed the same demands for excellence.
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