Architect Ron Tan: Play and Work

AT PLAY

AND

AT WORK:

RONALD

H. TAN,

FAIA

Ronald H. Tan, FAJA(Fellow, the American Institute of Architects), was born in Singapore, a small island located on the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula. Twenty-eight miles long by fifteen miles wide, it is just eighty miles north of the equator. Almost three million people live on this island. It is one of the most diverse nations in the world, encompassing people of all races and religions. The remarkable thing is that they all live together in peace and harmony They are Singaporeans.

Ron Tan Kite Designs, 2006

The youngest of five children, Ron grew up speaking three languages-English,

Chinese, and Malaysian At that time, since Singapore

was a British Crown Colony, English was the predominant language. He attended St. Andrew's School (Church of England). He played on the soccer, cricket, and rugby teams. He felt it a privilege to have studied English and Shakespeare under British teachers. The headmaster, Rev. Canon Adams, was Australian. He was also known as the 'Boxing Padre'. Ron became a boxing coach and, subsequently, became the Golden Gloves Champ of Singapore. Undefeated, he was dubbed the K~OKing.

When Ron was six years old he was introduced to Calcutta Fighting Kites by his oldest brother, Milton. Ron was hopelessly hooked.

He loved kites and kite fighting. These kites are deceptively simple, roughly 20" square with a small triangular tail. They are much more sophisticated than they appear. Constructed of two pieces of bamboo, skillfully shaved, they are sheathed with tissue paper in different patterns and colors. The patterns have names and are recognizable. These kites take a skilled flyer to get them airborne. They can be made to dive, spin or dart, right or left. Extremely light, they are sewn with strong sewing thread. Glass, pounded into a fine powder and mixed with special glue, is applied to the thread resulting in a fine sandpaper-like finish. When two kites appear to be maneuvering closer and closer to each other, it is a sign that a 'dog fight' is about to take place The lines are eventually crossed and, ultimately, one is cut. It floats gently downward with its cut line trailing. But here, another facet of the sport takes place. Small crowds (Kiterunners) chase after the cut kites trying to snag the trailing line with long bamboo poles. The first one to snag it is the new owner of the kite. Ron would spend all of his weekly allowance buying these kites. He was obsessed with flying them and stayed out in the tropical sun until he was burned deep brown.

He was disappointed when he first came to this country that there were no fighting kites available and so he started making his own.

Today, he considers his skill level to be that of the professional kite makers in Asia. He is also proud of the fact that he has created patterns never seen in the 'old fighting kite world.' He has shared his skill with many through kite making classes and workshops he has taught.

By 1956 Ron Tan graduated from the University of Idaho with a BS in Architecture and a Minor in Art. Tan's architectural work glows with the elegance of materials well chosen and with creativity used to enhance of the quality of life of the people who experience the buildings. This is evident in the Jundt Art Center and Museum, Gonzaga University (cover image), where we view this exhibit of Ron's work. It achieves a technical and innovative solution in laboratory and studio design for programs in the visual arts and in a museum with galleries that is the major function of the building. The facility and museum is a strong example of a contemporary building having complete compatibility with the character and quality of surrounding campus architecture. The exterior elevation shows the attention to detail used by architects where the choice of materials reflects the materials used in historic university buildings surrounding this new facility

The tower

reflects the character of nearby St. Aloysius Church, a campus landmark and Gonzaga's university logo. Construction of the Jundt complex was completed in the fall of 1995.

Throughout the Gonzaga University campus, one will find further examples of the sensitivity of Ron Tan's architecture. The Jepson Center is a 36,000 square foot academic building housing Gonzaga University's School of Business Administration.

The building features

classrooms, a reference library, computer laboratory, administrative offices, and an auditorium seating 200. The interior illustrates the architect's attention to detail with a perceptive use of materials. The exterior brick is brought into the interior, and the use of curvilinear forms softens the space and gives it personal scale. The stairway is also reflected on the exterior of the building. The project was completed in 1991.

Artist

s Rendering

of the Foley Center, 1991

The Ralph and Helen Foley Center for Information and Technology at Gonzaga University was funded by university donors and a major grant from the federal government.

This twenty million dollar project houses the campus library and high technology services in a design of

uncompromising integrity enhanced by the architect's selection of materials.

Tom Foley, dedicated this building on September 2, 1992.

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,

Beyond the confines of the Gonzaga University campus the work of Ron Tan is revealed in many locations in the area.

His restoration of Spokane City HaiL 1982,was a controversial project which many community leaders initially rejected as an inappropriate solution. However, the restored building revealed the architect's respect for the original structure, accented by Art Deco motifs, and for the public it would serve. The end result is the "new" Spokane City Hall worthy of the Historic Preservation Award it received, as well as of the acclaim its clients, the city's residents, and the building's staff continue to bestow.

The Spokane Valley Transit Center, 1989,is a delightful "people-friendly" place because of the consideration and expertise of the architect.

It could

have been simply a "Park and Ride" roof and shelter, but Ron Tan, through his sensitive use of materials and lighting transformed the Transit Center and site into a park-like setting which, although four-hundred feet long, is a pleasure to experience night or day, summer or winter. This structure won the AlA Spokane Chapter Design Honor Award in 1990 and Honorable Mention in the National AlA Design Awards Program.

His other well recognized architectural projects include: Spokane Ballet, 1978.Representing Spokane's professional ballet company before the Comstock Foundation, Ron was successful in qualifying for a $65,000 grant for remodeling the company's future studios. He donated his Spokane Valley Transit Center, 1989

architectural services for this project and, in addition, convinced a mechanical engineer friend to do the same.

Prototypical Elementary Schools, Spokane School District #81, 1982. Ron Tan was senior design partner in the team responsible for the winning design in a competition for thirteen prototypical elementary schools for Spokane School District #81. The efficient prototype proved to be economical in building the schools originally planned. As a result of the savings the school district was able to build two additional schools. These prototypical plans have been adapted for use by other school districts throughout the state.

Horizon Junior High School. 1984.Ron Tan met the challenge in his design of hallways, the bane of junior high schools, by nearly eliminating them. Horizon's handicap accessible circulation is achieved through the multi-purpose room which doubles as a gathering place, not only for the students but for the entire school community.

Further, through the architect's skill and sensitivity, a site thought to be deficient became

an asset by integrating the land contours with rooms of varying volumes.

Liberty Lake Sewage Treatment Plant, 1987. The six structures on a thirty acre site are in full view of I~90,the freeway between Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Typically these buildings are concrete masonry units and

asphalt shingled roofs. Ron Tan chose instead to use metal siding painted in primary colors. This, in combination with sculptural precast elements, resulted in a composition

of joyful architectural forms.

What would otherwise have

been a humdrum experience for motorists is now a refreshing architectural landscape.

Ballet Arts Academy # 1, 1987. The director of this ballet school found an old building that she felt could be converted into a studio. The architect designed the studio spaces, dressing rooms, costume room, offices, and a viewing lobby for parents. Ron personally built bleachers so the parents and guests could view the ballet being taught and danced. Unfortunately, this first studio became the victim of an arsonist's torch in 1992.

Liberty Lake Sewage Treatment Plant, Liberty Lake, Washington,

1987

St. Mary's Chapel remodel. Spokane Valley, 1988.The budget for the St. Mary's Chapel remodel was only $10,500,yet the requirements for this trapezoidal shaped space of 24 x 8 feet were very specific.

Fourteen stations of the cross had to be aligned on both sides facing the

altar. The statue of the Virgin Mary had to be strategically placed on the left wall. An oil lamp burning 24 hours of the day and its sooty fumes had to be mechanically exhausted.

Behind the tabernacle, a wood screen had to be designed to serve as a back drop and to screen the priests' entrance into the room. This project, though modest, has a significant impact on the lives of many and won a Spokane Chapter AlA Design Award in 1990.

Ballet Arts Academy #2, 1991. With the demise of Studio # 1, Ron Tan made a methodical search for older structures in Spokane and found an abandoned Veterans of Foreign Wars dance hall on the second level of a downtown building.

Once again,

he donated his design services and also physically helped with the construction of the studios. Ballet Arts Academy Studio #2 has been cited as on the finest ballet studios in Jepson Auditorium.

Gonzaga University,

1986

the Northwest. All of the professional ballet companies and Broadway shows performing

in Spokane use this space for their practice sessions. This studio is located just two blocks from Spokane's Opera House.

These major eastern Washington landmarks are visited and experienced every day by hundreds of residents and visitors.

By the

example of these structures, Ron Tan has provided the community with tangible evidence of the importance of architecture to society, to the community, and to the individual. Ron Tan's concern for human needs transcending the environment of a building has motivated his efforts in transforming the Inland Northwest's attitude toward art and culture in general. Through his unassuming leadership and quiet perseverance, a major symphony orchestra, theater, dance and the visual arts have flourished. Ron has shared his love of the arts with his wife, Margaret Goodner Tan, former dancer with the Irish National Ballet and former director of Theater Ballet of Spokane. His credo is "If you learn to create, you learn not to destroy."

Evelyn Creager Executive Director, AlA, Spokane, retired

Ron Tan Kite Designs. 2006

This publication was funded by the Jundt Art Museum's Annual Campaign 2005- 2006 ŠJundt Art Museum, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA 99258-000[