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Head: LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature review
Maria Fernanda Calderon
University of Texas at El Paso\
RWS 1302
PJ. Vierra
4/8/2016

LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review
The topic discussed in this literature review is the architecture of The University of Texas
at El Paso and how the campus has been transformed throughout the years. The Texas State
School of Mines and Metallurgy, now named The University of Texas at El Paso, officially
opened September 23, 1914. The construction began in June 1917 on the new main building
which now is the Old Main, Burges (Graham Hall) and Quinn Hall. The inspiration for the
style of the campus came up from Kathleen Worrell, the wife of dean Worrell at that time. I
designed a study following the most reliable sources who talked about Bhutanese architecture
and its association with UTEP to answer the following questions:
1. Why was UTEP inspired in Bhutanese architecture?
2. There is one building in the whole campus that is not stylized like that, why?
3. How long did it take to build the university and who did the design?
Why was UTEP inspired in Buthanese architecture?
According to Robert Tucker (1982) Kathleen H. Worrell, wife of the first dean, is usually given
credit for inspirating the campus architecture. It was during one of her many travels through the
pages of National Geographic that Worrell discovered Bhutan, and based perhaps on fancy and
whim, she suggested that the new campus buildings be adapted from the pictures which appeared
in the April, 1914, Geographic article entitled Castes in the Air by John Claude White. And the
claim of Bhutan on the border, UTEP was founded in 1914 as the Texas State School of Mines
and Metallurgy, and the inspiration for its architecture is credited to Kathleen Worrell, wife of
the School's first dean, who was fascinated with an 88-page photo-essay on Bhutan that appeared
in the April 1914 issue of National Geographic magazine.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Persuaded by his wife that Bhutanese "dzongs" would be a good fit for his mining
school's setting in the foothills of El Paso's Franklin Mountains, Dean Worrell had the first
campus building, Old Main, constructed in this style in 1917.
Since then, nearly all UTEP buildings have followed this theme, creating an unusual degree of
architectural coherence on a U.S. university campusoffering to students, faculty, staff and
visitors the beauty and serenity of its Bhutanese origins.

Paro Jong Bhutan

UTEP

There is one building in the whole campus which is not stylized like that, why?
After an interview with Dr. Max Grossman, Ph.D. art history professor at UTEP,I was informed
that the one building inside campus that does not follow the design of Bhutanese architecture is
the building located in front of the centennial plaza, built in 1941 and was originally the house of
the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority before it became the administrative Annex in 1969, when it was
dedicated to Peter and Margaret de Wetter in the tribute of their generous spirit and lasting
legacy. This two story building was designed with a Southwestern motif and Mexican tile
accents in the garden walls. Which is now called the Peter and Margaret de Wetter Center

LITERATURE REVIEW

How long did it take to build the university and who did the design?
According to Shangri-la on the border: The Bhutanese architecture of the University of
Texas at El Paso (2001). The construction began in 1917 on the new Main building, now
Old Main, Burges now Graham Hall, and Quinn Hall these four building were the first ones
that composed the university and have been other buildings in construction like Vowel Hall
built in 1920, formerly Kelly Hall and the campus library built in 1984.

Old Main 1918.

According to Vierra, PJ (2014) while the credit is typically given to the architectural firm
of Trost&Trost for the design, planning, and management of the construction of the first
Bhutanese style buildings erected on the Mundy Heights site, the actual story is a bit more
complicated.
Technically, three architectural firms collaborated on the final design. Gibson &
Robertson created the first designs using the Bhutanese style. However, the firm was not selected
as the projects architect. After Dean Steve Worrell rejected Henry Trost's first submitted
designs, only then did Trost submit sketches using the Bhutanese style.

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And on January 25, 1917 President Vinson informs Trost & Trost that the Regents have selected
their firm as architects of the new buildings for the School of Mines. While Vinson instructs the
architects to discuss design concepts with Dean Worrell and the faculty, he also directs Trost to
consider a Southwest mission style for the buildings. And in February 7, 1917 the faculty
declared that the submitted designs by Trost & Trost were not found satisfactory. The faculty
resolved to submit their own designs before Trost & Trost are officially selected as the architect
of record.
Once Trost's revised designs were accepted, local attorney and head of the site selection
committee Richard F. Burges intervened and mediated an agreement in which the Board of
Regents purchased the designs of Gibson & Robertson, assigned the rights to Trost & Trost, who
became architects of record, and hired a third firm headed by architect Edward Kneezell to
oversee construction.
The claim of White manages to spread the details of the journey he had recently taken to
Bhutan, by showing a series of pictures of its landscape including buildings and by explaining
how it is a rural area its geography and explains the reasons why he believes it is a magnificent
country giving the credit to the good government and strength of character of the present ruler,
now Maharaj Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk throughout the article. He states how people in Bhutan are
very clean, friendly and welcoming in order to make the reader feel like they want to visit it also.
White, J. C., & National Geographic Society. (1914).
The authors claim explains how Bhutanese architecture has expanded throughout the years
and currently has taken place a series of constructions and one of them is a 66-room five-star
hotel in Bhutans capital, Thimphu. This modern hotel must adhere to the local style of
Bhutanese architecture on the faade. I agree to the claim since it is very important to keep on

LITERATURE REVIEW

making a city prosper and be modern, but at the same time having respect to their culture and
style such as following ancient Bhutans architectural designs. Shollenbarger, M. (Apr 2008).
This two authors describe the uniqueness and importance of traditions in design and
customs by their travels to the rural country of Bhutan, where White in his 1900s journey writes
a chronological journal of his voyage and shots various pictures of the architecture of this
country letting the reader get to know how their society preserves this style that draws the
attention of many viewers and Shollenbarger in a similar journey, shows Bhutan in the 2000s
where it has expanded throughout the years and various constructions have taken place in the
area, but as the author of this article explains, the style of architecture as White described in his
article, due to its importance in tradition has been preserved even though new buildings have
been constructed in a modern time, its faade is in inspiration of ancient Bhutan.
2
Serafin in this article is claiming by using the pathos appeal, that student architects in the
contemporary scientific world are limited because of the lack of importance industries and
professionals give to them and do not implement industrial projects in the field of architecture,
which takes them to be early professional activation. I accept the claim that the author is giving,
since there have been more than five architecture student who I closely relate to, who have the
belief that more projects and practice in the professional field would have helped them ease into
the different fields not just from just studying the topics to living them. SERAFIN, A. (2016).
In the claim by Pop, Dana, she states the importance of space in architecture such as used
for social interactions or simply as personal space; he quotes the words of Henri Lefebvre and
points out as a factual statement that a failure of giving a human his or her personal space will
lead to losing its identity. I accept the claim and complete it, since in a psychological approach,

LITERATURE REVIEW

space is necessary for a healthy person, and looking it from the point of view of an architect,
which purpose is create environments, in order to be successful the environment you construct
must be harmonious and pleasant for the occupant. POP, D. (2015).
Both authors have the intention of making the architectural field a better one, both of them
are discussing topics that by their point of view need improvement in the field of their interest,
Serafin states the importance that the education architecture students need to improve their
capacities and build better projects by integrating them in the industrial field in an earlier time,
and the claim of Pop, is more in depth in how architects must understand the importance of space
when they are building their projects, Pops statement can be easily missed if an architect student
is not well educated and not able to physically see a construction so both of this claims follow
and agree with each other.
3
I reject the claim made by Ashley Swarthout in the article, since by observing that even
though the ornamental band does distinguish religious buildings in Bhutan, this ornament is not
the most prominent aesthetic regarding religion in Bhutanese architecture and in UTEP. The
ornament you can find in Bhutan and Tibet religious buildings are mandalas, which are circles
with eight pointed shapes imbedded in the brick bands around the top of the building and it is a
sacred art which according to Buddhist monks, it creates a meditative space. This mandalas
adorn most of UTEPs buildings like Old Main, one of the oldest building on campus and use the
colors yellow, white, red, green and blue representing effort, faith, memory and wisdom.
Mandalas are the ornaments used in UTEPs architecture which resemble the most religious
buildings in Bhutan. Swarthout, A. (May 29, 2012).

LITERATURE REVIEW

The claim of Martin, Charles H. and Craver, Rebecca M states how the unique architecture
of the university captured the attention of many local residents and visitors, the authors state that
this special architectural design was originated by the inspiration of Kathleen Worrell, wife of
dean Stephen Worrell by a 1914 photographic essay in the National Geographic Magazine. I
reject the authors claim since it states that the inspiration for the Bhutanese design was by an
essay, but the author was a travel writer that composed a whole article about his journey, talked
about traditions and shoot various pictures which were the inspiration which Mrs. Worrell took
for the design of the university. Martin, Charles H. and Craver, Rebecca M (1991).
Both authors talk about the architectural meaning of The University of Texas at El Paso,
Swarthout in a detailed manned goes through the details of UTEPs buildings that resemble
Bhutanese architecture and explains the reason of every one and its religious manners, on the
other hand, Martin et al, inform the reader the reasons why the campus was built in that way and
how Kathleen Worrell was the inspiration of such idea that convincing former dean Worrell,
accomplished the plan to follow such unique architectural style which she was blown away by in
the article castles in the air by John Claude White featured in the National Geographic
Magazine.
4
The claim of the author Seamus Phillips points out that in Bhutan the key to measure the
countrys development and conservation efforts is Gross National Happiness(GNH) which I
accept since I agree with him that it is admiring how they applied national happiness as the
measurement of their success instead of gross domestic product utilized by western economists.
Phillips, S. (2015).
The authors claim explains how Bhutanese architecture has expanded throughout the years
and currently has taken place a series of constructions and one of them is a 66-room five-star

LITERATURE REVIEW

hotel in Bhutans capital, Thimphu. This modern hotel must adhere to the local style of
Bhutanese architecture on the faade. I agree to the claim since it is very important to keep on
making a city prosper and be modern, but at the same time having respect to their culture and
style such as following ancient Bhutans architectural designs. Shollenbarger, M. (Apr 2008)
In this journals both authors are talking about Bhutan, a rural country which has drawn
the attention of many travelers, Phillips talks about an interesting measure of the countrys
development that has taken place for a large period of time now, in his investigation in 2015,
where he studies how Bhutan has a scale to measure the countrys development and conservation
efforts in Gross National Happiness(GNH) instead of measuring by gross domestic product like
the majority of countries. Shollenbarger also shows a modern Bhutan, where she describes and
goes through various architectural plans like a five star hotel located in Bhutans capital
Thimphu which will follow ancient Bhutan architectural style.
5
The claim of Vierra states that even though the final architects of The University of Texas at
El Paso were the architectural firm Trost & Trost, they were not the ones who came up with the
idea or primary drafts, but that the firm Gibson & Robertson created the first design using the
Bhutanese designs Kathleen Worrell, wife of the first dean of UTEP found in an article by John
Claude White Castles in the air. I accept the claim of the author since most people believe
since the final architects were Trost & Trost, that they came up with the designs, buildings and
planning, but mostly they just finished the main idea that was already thought about. VIERRA,
P. (14 April 2014).
Vierra, et al claim that Mrs Worrell believed that the landscape of the Franklin Mountains
was similar to Bhutanese terrain and that the style was particularly suited for El Pasos desert

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climate. And descriptions like the ones in the article Castles in the air inspired Worrells vision
for the new school buildings. She was also attracted to the fortress-like structure and stone
construction, believing that thick stone walls would withstand the strong winds and incredible
summer heat of the Chihuahuan desert. VIERRA, P., ERECSON, K., & CRAWFORD, J. (4
August 2014).
The claim of the author Nancy Hamilton wraps around her experience of visiting for the first
time the campus of The University of Texas at El Paso, when it first was established as Texas
State College of Mines and Metallurgy. She describes her experience with only negative words,
such as the poorest of poor relation, discouraged looking hills and it could hardly be called a
campus. I reject her claim since at the time she was not well informed about the sacrifices and
efforts that were made in order for the university to be constructed, and how much it had cost to
place those four buildings in the mountains, the bright plans the constructers had and how the
odd-looking buildings had magnificent honoring architecture resemblance from Bhutan, which
later she recognizes in the book. Hamilton, Nancy (1988).
On these three journals, all of the authors talk about the architecture of The University of
Texas at El Paso, in the first claim, Vierra states the process in which the campus was built, who
built it and how there had been a confusion in who were the architects and responsible for the
design, Vierra et al talk about how Worrell was the main reason for the architectural design to
resemble Bhutan architecture, since she was inspired by an article by John Claude White and
convinced the board that the landscape and climate was similar to the one in Bhutan and it fitted
perfectly their needs, on the other hand the author Nancy Hamilton talks about her first
experience visiting the campus and does not agree with the fascination of the architecture as
Kathleen Worrell, since she describes the landscape as discouraged looking hills and the

LITERATURE REVIEW

Bhutanese style as odd-looking buildings later on the article, she starts realizing the
importance of the schools design.

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References

White, J. C., & National Geographic Society. (1914). Castles in the air :Experiences and
journeys in unknown bhutan. National Geographic Magazine, Retrieved from
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/09/21/castles-in-the-air-experiences-andjourneys-in-unknown-bhutan/

Shollenbarger, M. (Apr 2008). High-style himalayas. Interior Design., Vol. 79(4), p308-313.

SERAFIN, A. (2016). Retreat from superficiality in architecture.

Urbanism.Architecture.Constructions / Urbanism.Arhitectura.Constructii, 7(1), 57-66.
Retrieved from http://0search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=112740187&sit
e=ehost-live&scope=site
POP, D. (2015). Theorising between space and place A case study on perceptive architecture -serpentine gallery pavilions. Philobiblon: Transylvanian Journal of Multidisciplinary
Research in Humanities, 20(2), 357-383. Retrieved from http://0search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=111643881&sit
e=ehost-live&scope=site
Swarthout, A. (May 29, 2012). The symbolism behind uteps bhutanese architecture.
Martin, Charles H. and Craver, Rebecca M., "Diamond Days: An Oral History of The
University of Texas at El Paso" (1991). Books. Book 3.
http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/utep_books/3

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Phillips, S. (2015). Thimphu, bhutan. Architectural Review, (1419), 31-31. Retrieved from
http://0search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=102369971&sit
e=ehost-live&scope=site
Shollenbarger, M. (Apr 2008). High-style himalayas. Interior Design., Vol. 79(4), p308-313.

VIERRA, P. (14 April 2014). The architect controversy.

http://encyclopedia.utep.edu/index.php/Architect_Controversy
VIERRA, P., ERECSON, K., & CRAWFORD, J. (4 August 2014). Bhutan.
http://encyclopedia.utep.edu/index.php/Bhutan

Hamilton, Nancy, "UTEP: A Pictorial History of the University of Texas at El Paso"

(1988). Books. Book 2.
http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/utep_books/2
Shangri-la on the border :The bhutanese architecture of the university of texas at el paso (2001). .
El Paso, Tex.: University of Texas at El Paso, University Communications.