More than form and color, architecture is defined by its textures. We experience our cities as an endless collage of textures extending in space, whether as surfaces that we touch and shade and shadows that we see. We speak of the built environment as a kind of textile, an “urban fabric” that resembles a rich tapestry that characterizes the abundant layers of tactile and visual information.
In this issue of Columns, our features explore the various ways that texture shapes the way we understand our shared urban heritage, what it means to those who work with it, and how it evokes an exciting era in modern culture. Championed by guest editor Sarah Fox from Perkins Eastman, UT Arlington lecturer Amanda Aman writes on the importance of narrative mapping, which blends cartography with storytelling and teaches us that geography can be a force that we shape as much as it shapes us. Guest editor Kate Aoki, AIA explores how murals follow a long tradition of how we add texture and meaning to the spaces we inhabit, including in nearly forgotten places in the Deep Ellum neighborhood. Ben Reavis, AIA collects the stories and reflections of some of Dallas’ most esteemed architectural practitioners, revealing how texture fits into their own individual experience. And David Preziosi uncovers the story of how Braniff Airlines, a company that was at the forefront of using style, color, and bold textures to express their brand, conceived their Hostess College to train its most visible ambassadors during the glamorous age of jet travel.
We hope you enjoy these pieces, as well as all the other new content that lies in the department pages on the website. Especially in its new online home, Columns continues to foster an open conversation about themes that make us think about what we do as designers and how this impacts the people and places that we love.
Julien Meyrat, AIA
Editor in Chief
