2024 AIA Architecture Tour
By: J. David Chapman/April 18, 2024
Saturday, April 13, 2024, was significant for a couple reasons.
The first, and the reason I missed the second, is my son, and real estate professional, Ryan Chapman, CCIM, married Morgan Fick on that day. It was a great day, and we are happy to welcome Morgan to the Chapman family.
That same day, while we were in Missouri celebrating the bride and groom, the American Institute of Architecture, Central Oklahoma Chapter, held its annual OKC-area Architecture Tour. Every year, I look forward to spending the afternoon on this self-guided tour admiring the built environment that I am so fortunate to teach, research, regulate, and frankly love.
I love the buildings, but the people and the story behind the built environment are what make these tours special for me. It’s meeting the designer – the Architect, who is stationed at every tour stop prepared to give a narrative unraveling the layers of history, culture and creativity woven into the fabric of the city’s skyline.
Participants witnessed that this year as they toured the new Oklahoma headquarters for Boyett Petroleum, located at 129 E. Main St. in OKC. The new headquarters brilliantly utilizes an existing 1940s Quonset hut, a new 3-story glass structure, and a derelict, 1920s, 2-story, brick building that is highly visible from Walnut Street Bridge. In fact, as the story goes, the building was severely damaged in the renovation of that bridge in the early 2000s.
Two of Oklahoma’s best, TAP Architecture and Lingo Construction, transformed this building, thought to be a lost cause, by building a steel skeleton inside the 1920s warehouse to stabilize the structure and support a new glass penthouse. The basement was cleared, the dirt floor replaced with concrete and the renovated building will now serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration for generations.
This is only one example of the unique, distinct stops on this year’s tour. This tour showcases the physical structures, but I encourage you to also delve into the profound value architecture holds in shaping our collective identity and understanding of the world. Frankly, it is not about the building. It is about the business and economic development generated. It’s about the families raised and the relationships built.
The building, or built environment, is only the place that facilitates those important aspects of community. Thanks for taking this quick architectural journey with me!
Dr. J. David Chapman is Professor of Finance & Real Estate at The University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu)