Adaptive Reuse

tTP: So what made you choose Tulsa (to start your business)?

Shane: Well it's interesting. I'm not from Tulsa. I grew up in California and went to college in Missouri. I moved down here because I got a job and had a couple of good friends from college who lived down here and I thought "Hell, it's better than Springfield". Once I got here, I found a lot of stuff that was interesting. A lot of it had to do with the architecture here, and the history, two things I'm very interested in. I seem to be able to get myself in pretty well with some of the organizations around here: the TFA, the preservation commission; I starting to meet some people who maybe weren't "high up" per se, but people who'd been around for a while. I got to meet the mayor ...people who shape issues that I'm interested in. We've thought about leaving twice, but it never worked out...so we thought maybe that was an "omen"that we shouldn't leave. In the time that I was in Springfield, I missed being in that loop. I always felt that Tulsa had a lot of promise...it's inexpensive, has a really good youth movement, which happened within the time that I lived here. At first it seemed like nothing was happening, no downtown development...then slowly but surely it seemed like people sort of got on the right path. Working for Selser Schaefer [Architects] I always felt like we were on the leading edge of that, but I started meeting people in organizations and having opportunities and I felt like I needed to be on my own to capitalize on those things.

So, long story short, the reason I chose Tulsa is that it just all came together at the right time.

tTP: As you mentioned, it seems like in just the past couple of years there's been a large amount of change in the city. Where do you see Tulsa in the next 5-10 years? What do you see changing?

[click image for slideshow.] The tepera | hood studio utilizes every inch of space available in the small former filling station. An abundance of natural light and cedar siding make for a unique and pleasant workspace.

Shane: Well I think that the whole rediscovery of midtown and downtown, and the investment in those areas is really going to fuel rebirth for the city. I think you've already started to see it. Just think, five years ago here on Cherry Street there was so much less. This place [Coffee House On Cherry Street] was a closed-down used book store (the now-defunct "First Edition Bookstore" -ed). There was no Lucky's down there...half this stuff was boarded up. I think we're going to see a stronger community, more interest in livable, walkable neighborhoods. You'll see more interesting development. You'll see the Pearl District — and I know a lot of people laugh about that — but I think you'll see 11th street become like a new Cherry Street. Rents and property are really cheap, so you're already seeing independent little businesses opening up over there. I think with the ballpark and several of the proposed art facilities / museums in the Brady district ...I think that area is just going to explode. I think we'll see more people living downtown, and that goes hand-in-hand with a change in the kind of people living in your town — as much as I hate the term — more of what you'd call "The Creative Class".

I really think that with this past scare in the economy, with the recession, it made me reevaluate what was important. Was it important to have two incomes and be living like I had two incomes, or was it important for me to be happy and enjoy my life? I think you'll see a society that's influenced more by that. You'll see people returning to the city, people returning to the middle of the country from the coasts because of cost of living, and I think Tulsa's prime to receive a lot of that growth.

tTP: I know you've lived other places in the region. What do you think Tulsa has that other cities in the region might not?

Shane: It's interesting. I moved back to Springfield for a while, and I thought "this is going to be great. I know people. I know people that are part of the culture". But it turns out I really didn't know anyone there anymore. I think the thing I like about Tulsa is that it's not a small place like Springfield, it's a bigger city, but it is small in the sense that I know a lot of people, and everyone seems to know each other. To me, that's a really exciting thing because Tulsa is large enough to pull off some pretty amazing things, yet it's small enough that you know those people that have the money to do that, or are trying to do that kind of thing and you can get attached to it, get more involved. I think something that's also really appealing to me about Tulsa is that it's a lot easier to make a splash here, to get noticed, than it would be in say, New York or LA or Boston. I have a lot of friends who live in NYC or on the west coast, San Francisco and the like, and they can do interesting work, but it just gets hidden because everyone's trying to do the same thing.

tTP: You talked about where you think Tulsa's going in the coming years...so how do you see yourself contributing?

Shane: I guess I just want to be involved. I don't know that it's even so much in terms of architecture or design but I've also always been interested in education. It's something I've always wanted to do. I guess I want to show Tulsans their history. The fact that I'm not from here, I come here and I see some of the amazing things we have here, and I think a lot of people take that for granted. I would love to do some amazing design work, but more than that I'd like to be able to foster an atmosphere of creativity, one that would help refocus Tulsa on it's design history.

The neon Meadow Gold sign has long been a fixture of Route 66 in Tulsa. The newly-renovated sign now sits atop a structure just across the street from the tepera|hood offices.

tTP: Raising awareness, in a way.

Shane: Yeah, exactly. The history here is pretty incredible, really. On the way home I heard someone say "Our history is our future". I think that Tulsa really ought to look at that. You have Art Deco of course, but more than that in the twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties...some really interesting stuff: architecture, design, art was happening here in Tulsa. For that to be forgotten or disregarded would be unfortunate. I'm not saying our firm will be the one to bring that back — I think lots of firms in Tulsa are doing great work — but I'd certainly like to focus the work we do on that, and draw from that history.

tTP: You had mentioned a lot of great organizations in Tulsa. I'd love for you to tell us a little more about one in particular that I know you're very involved with, and that's Modern Tulsa.

Shane: Modern Tulsa is actually a committee that's part of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. Basically it started a couple of years ago. I moved into the Lortondale neighborhood and got really interested in the modern architecture there. I'd been interested in modern architecture since college; I started an underground newspaper and one of the articles was on "Googie architecture". I didn't know what it was, and it sounded like this really weird stuff. I found that it was this interesting kind of work, and I started gravitating towards that. When I moved to Tulsa I was really kind of shocked that there was really a lot of sort of Mid-Century Modern architecture. There were organizations set up to preserve art deco, but the "modern" architecture was often brushed aside. I'd see incredible buildings being torn down. So a couple of years ago, after I'd helped set up the Lortondale neighborhood association I started archiving information on modern design in Tulsa. I started something called "Tulsa Modern", then I met Cole Cunningham who was doing something called "Modern Tulsa" and we decided to combine our efforts. About that same time I was asked to join the board of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. I joined that, and Modern Tulsa became part of the foundation.

The idea was to promote an awareness about modern architecture, design, and the sort of pop culture history in tulsa: Neon Signage, Route 66, Space-Age stuff. For example, ORU, which it seems like a majority of people in Tulsa think is hideous, was actually one of the biggest hits on some of the tours we gave during last year's preservation trust. People were running through the campus to get pictures of everything. So the idea is not only to share this stuff with people outside Tulsa, but to raise an appreciation amongst Tulsans themselves, by having events, get-togethers. Cocktail parties and the like. The more exposure you can get for that sort of thing, you can start to help people gain an appreciation for that sort of thing.

tTP: You talk a lot about preserving the significant architecture that we have left. Can you name some specific buildings that are in danger?

Shane: To me, the one building most at risk is the Tulsa Auto Bank downtown. It's this old 60s space-age building that just sits there empty. It was the first auto bank in the city of Tulsa, and in its time it was a symbol of progress. It was a shift -- whether good or bad -- towards designing for the automobile. There's a lot of automated stuff, the Tom Tom room...and it sits empty. There's not really the ability to repurpose the building, and because of this it sits empty. I could see it being torn down any day. I think the old Ponca City Savings and Loan building on the same block faces many of the same issues.

The Abundant Life Building, which many people call "The Diamond Building", has a really interesting history. It was the first building Oral Roberts built, it was the first building of the ORU empire.

tTP: On the other end of the spectrum as far as architecture goes, what are some of your favorite new architecture projects in Tulsa?

Shane: I have a few. I like the new TCC center for creativity. Aesthetically there are some things I like about it, but more than anything I like that its just building downtown again. Putting new buildings downtown is pretty exciting.

I also like the Sherwin-Miller museum down on 71st St. They've never entered it for any design awards or anything of the like, but I think they dealt with the massing and the windows very well. The interior design is less successful, but that's a separate issue.

I think people might roll their eyes, but the Center One complex on Brookside, I love the fact that the glass has no frame. I think that some people say that it's boring, but I think it's clean, sharp, crisp. The details are what make it interesting.