Wesley Medical Center Building 4 Stairwell

I'm planning some future posts on the major downtown hospitals in Wichita soon. They were built at the height of the modernist movement of the 50s and 60s (see pics at Wichitaphotos.net), but the original buildings have been somewhat hidden by less than flattering additions since then. Small glimpses of their original architecture can be found in unexpected places.

Composite Shingles

Same home, different roof (and better light and leaves on the trees). Just not quite the same. This will seriously affect my decision whenever it comes time to replace my (currently shake) roof.

Shake Shingles

I recently noticed this vaguely Bruce-Goffian house while on a walk. I saw the packs of composite shingles and thought I should take some pictures before they were installed.

I can't blame people for going for a more durable product, particularly in windy Wichita, but I really think the house is more interesting with the shake shingles. The whole appeal of this "organic" style of architecture to me is that the houses look like they could have emerged from the earth whole (see large stone sections and protruding roof beams). Much of that effect is lost when the house is topped with asphalt instead of wood.

All that said, I still think it's a great house. "After" shots soon to come, hopefully in better light.

Oh, and Kansan Bruce Goff didn't design it. A list of his homes can be found at the Art Institute of Chicago. You can see a house he designed in Dodge City, Kansas at KansasHistory.us.

Semi-interesting discussion of shake shingles at Wikipedia.