Tilt-up and trompe l`oeil: A perfect match

Tilt-up and trompe l’oeil:
A perfect match
BY PETER D. COURTOIS
Figure 1. Is it real or is it trompe
l’oeil? It’s hard to tell in these
various views of the Thunderbird
Building, so we’ll help you. The
architectural details, including the
masonry work, slate roof tiles, and
turrets—all painted. The late 1930s
model fire truck and the large arched
doorway from which it emerges also
are painted. So are the stones
underneath the truck and some of the
large boulders at the base of the
turreted wall. The driveway stone and
the boulders in the forefront are real.
And the painters working on the
scaffolding? Well, let’s just say that
OSHA can never fine them for not
using toe boards or wearing hard
hats. In fact, the figure seated on the
scaffolding is a self-portrait of trompe
l’oeil designer Richard Haas.
rompe l’oeil, or fool the eye,
is a style of painting in which
architectural details or
scenes are depicted with
photographic clarity. It was developed centuries ago for Roman nobility who wanted their interior room
walls painted with outdoor scenes.
This gave viewers the impression of
looking through a window.
Trompe l’oeil is now enjoying a
T
revival in the United States. A leader
of this resurgence is Richard Haas,
an internationally recognized artist
from Chicago. In 1985, he used
trompe l’oeil to turn an ordinary tiltup building into a masterpiece of illusion. You can see Haas’ artwork in
Figure 1. But look very carefully, because Haas did his work well.
The Phoenix, AZ, building is
home of the Thunderbird Fire and
Safety Equipment Co r p. It has a
f o o t p rint of 20,000 square feet
and a two-story office space of
about 5,000 square feet. Fre d
Nachman, the building ow n e r
and a patron of the art s, heard
Haas give a lecture in Chicago
and decided to have him do
t rompe l’oeil work on part of the
building. Haas submitted five designs and Nachman selected one
Figure 2. This
California tilt-up
building, completed
in 1985, is the first
to use rustication
strips to create a
trompe l’oeil effect.
Although the wall
panels are flat, the
windows appear to
be recessed.
Figure 3. These
buildings all use
paint and rustication
strips to make flat
tilt-up panels seem
three-dimensional.
However, the
building on the top
does not convey the
illusion successfully.
The designer’s use
of the same paint
color for the
rustication strips
and the smooth
areas around the
windows diminishes
the intended
recessed effect. The
other buildings,
though, effectively
deceive the eye.
They do so by using
a dark paint color for
the rustication
strips and a light
color for the smooth
areas. One building
appears to have
recessed windows,
the other appears to
have a roof overhang
and columns.
depicting, appro p ri a t e l y, a fire
station circa 1880.
Two sides of the Thunderbird
Building are trompe l’oeil. Haas
completed the job in just 2 months
using a crew of six painters. To ensure that his artwork could be enjoyed for many years to come, Haas
used long-wearing paints that penetrate into concrete.
Haas is not the only designer to
use trompe l’oeil to enhance the exterior of tilt-up buildings. In California, some designers began using the
technique in the mid-1980s. Owners
and developers had tired of the
“plain-jane” appearance of some
tilt-up buildings. They were willing
to spend more money for architectural treatments that added interest,
dimension, and color to flat, stark
tilt-up walls.
In 1985, a California architect designed a tilt-up building using rustication strips around the windows,
achieving the illusion that the windows are recessed (Figure 2). Actually, the 6-inch-thick panels are flat.
This is only apparent, howe ve r,
when you stand within 15 feet of
the building.
Other tilt-up building designers
have used trompe l’oeil, but not all
have been successful. The illusion of
recessed windows in the top building in Figure 3, for example, is not
totally effective. This is probably because the building uses the same
paint color for both the rustication
area and the smooth concrete areas
surrounding the windows. Using a
dark paint for the rustication area
and a light paint for the smooth areas more effectively creates the illusion of depth.
Peter D. Cour tois, P.E., is senior vice
president of Dayton Superior Corp.
He has been involved in tilt-up construction for the past 30 years. He
served as the first president of the
Tilt-Up Concrete Association and has
been a speaker at World of Concrete
for the past 15 years.
Publication # C910247
Copyright © 1991, The Aberdeen
Group. All rights reserved