Chris Carson is a Principal and currently serves as co-Chairman of the Board. He graduated with a degree in architecture from Texas A&M University in 1956 and joined O'Neil Ford & Associates the same year. Carson became a partner in the firm in 1967.
Carson was and continues to be instrumental in developing a Southwest Regional Architecture. Much of this regional work was accomplished in residential architecture, which is at the core of Carson's practice. The Steves Residence in San Antonio received wide acclaim throughout Texas and beyond and was the seminal work of Carson's developing style. The Governor and Mrs. Charles Robb Residence, the Liedtke Residence, the Harding Lawrence Residence, and the Bombeck Residence are indicative of Carson's clientele.
Carson's work in this genre has not been limited to residences, however; the Castle Pines Golf Club, the Mission Country Club in Midland, the Texas American Bank in Fredericksburg, the Cowboy Artists of America Museum in Kerrville and the nationally acclaimed El Fortin del Cibolo in West Texas are examples of more institutionally scaled expressions of his regionalist style.
Some of his outstanding contributions to the museum community have included the Tobin Library at the McNay Museum in San Antonio, the Fort Worth Zoo Gallery, and the Cowboy Artists of America Museum in Kerrville, Texas. Recently, he finished the renovation and expansion of El Fortin del Cibolo, an historic fort in West Texas which now serves as a ranch headquarters with guest accommodations. Ford, Powell & Carson received a Texas Society of Architects design award as well as both the local and national American Institute of Architects honor awards for this project.
As former San Antonio AIA Chapter President, Carson was instrumental in ensuring the passage of San Antonio's Historic Tax Abatement Law. He also developed the Guide to San Antonio Architecture and was selected to design the TSA Headquarters in Austin. Other activities related to the AIA include: College of Fellows, American Institute of Architects, 1992-present; Member, American Institute of Architects; Member, AIA San Antonio, President, 1980-81; President-Elect, 1979-80: Secretary-Treasurer, 1978-79; and Chairman, Guidebook Committee. Carson was also recently appointed to the board of the Texas Historical Commission. |
