EG Hamilton is to receive the AIA Dallas Lifetime Achievement Award at tonight’s Celebrate Architecture event at Klyde Warren Park. His friend and colleague Bill Booziotis has some nice things to say about Hamilton. So without further ado, here he is. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing EG Hamilton for more than 50 years. He started Harrell + Hamilton (which is now OMNIPLAN) 57 years ago, I joined the firm several years thereafter, and we have been friends since.
EG is known for many projects, including NorthPark and the Republic Tower, and was part of the initial group of planners for the Dallas Arts District. The Hexter House, built for Victor and Emily Hexter around 1963 in Highland Park, is one of his signature residential projects. He approached it as he does every project: total absorption, understanding, and commitment to the client’s goals combined with his own clear vision of architecture—its forms, functions and delights. Spaces are individually exhilarating, but become extraordinary as they interact effortlessly with one another. The Hexter House, like of all EG’s buildings, is classic, refined, and serene—the result of his intense dedication to the principle that all architectural programs should result in appealing and satisfying architecture.
EG’s choice of a limited palette of soft red brick, wood, and glass on the house, the forms, the walls, the gardens, and even the trellises create a friendly yet private urban environment.
It is a tribute to Hamilton that he provided such a strong framework that restoration and expansion architects Bodron + Fruit were able to enlarge, update, and refine the house a generation later while maintaining the character and satisfaction of the original Hexter House.
EG Hamilton was able to work this same generational magic at NorthPark Center. Now more than a half-century since it was designed, NorthPark has expanded many times and, like the Hexter House, it maintains its original architectural character and delight. EG Hamilton is that rarity among architects whose work proudly lives, adapts, and endures in a changing world. I’m so happy to see EG receive AIA Dallas’ prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. No one is more deserving.
