Architect’s Office Becomes Party Central
Events create links between art and architecture; help local charities

by Tracy Ostroff
Contributing Editor

How do you . . . seep into the community’s consciousness, meld art and architecture, and have scads of fun?

Summary: For more than two decades, Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects has been a center of community activity as a hub for a wide variety of civic, social, and business functions in Memphis. The architects use their office as an art gallery, a venue for large-scale parties that generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for local children’s charities, and for many other community meetings and events. In the process, they have placed themselves at the center of art and architecture and at the core of Memphis’s social fabric.

Firm founder Lee Askew III, FAIA, spent his school years at Tulane University in New Orleans and a year in London, and several years in Sydney, during which time he immersed himself in the art and architecture and social life of his home cities. His experience at the Australian firm of McConnell, Smith and Johnson, which used the office as a place for lectures, field trips, and a lot of parties (and a lot of hard work) inspired him. “I was amazed and delighted to work for MSJ and promised myself that my office, should I ever have one, would follow this model.”

After returning to Memphis, Askew started his own firm in 1975. With work from the then-emerging FedEx, the practice grew and he purchased two older houses in Midtown. They were “unique because they faced parallel streets creating a large, shaded courtyard in the center that we used for social gatherings. Many boards and civic organizations that we belonged to would ask if they might use our conference room or courtyard for their events. Not only were we centrally located but our office was unusual, and this helped attract attendees to their meetings.”

The firm expanded their offices twice, increasing each time the size of the main foyer to be used as an art gallery, and the number and size of the meeting rooms and “outdoor rooms” to make the office work well for fun community events, Askew notes.

The one with the parties
That planning is paying off now as the economy humbles many of the firm’s peers. “I would say we’re doing ok because of decisions we made many years ago that have to do with how we relate to the public.” The firm’s work on civic projects and with local universities is also a little more recession proof, Askew says.

“But certainly, the key thing when we go to acquire the commission for projects is that they know us already, seeping into the community’s consciousness as the firm that throws the fun ‘Architects Party.’ They say, ‘Oh yeah, come on in. You’re the one with the parties,’ and they have some personal story about things that happened.”

The parties raise money for local charities, primarily children’s groups like hometown St. Jude Children’s Hospital. The first raised $450 for St. Jude. The next venture was a beach party. With several truckloads of sand to create a beach, complete with life guard towers, palm trees, and hot tubs, it was wildly successful. Far from its modest beginnings in 1987, the event is now held twice a year, attracts about 1,000 to 1,500 people, and raises $15,000 to $25,000 for the charity running the party.

“All costs are paid for out of the proceeds including cleanup. Of course, photographs of our best projects line the gallery for this event and many get to know us. This party has raised more than $400,000 for local charities to date and introduced thousands of folks to our firm,” Askew notes.

Art + architecture
ANFA is also well regarded for its art shows that offer local emerging and established artists a place to display their work. The firm’s residential scale proves a natural for gallery space, with 12-foot ceilings, track lighting, and polished oak floors, Askew notes. Like a gallery, all paintings are for sale, but ANFA does not take a commission. The only thing ANFA asks of the artists is that they let them choose one piece of work for their collection. That has turned into a valuable art collection that belongs to the firm.

The collection also allows ANFA to have shows for other benefits, including an art sale that raised $35,000 for the Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina. “We didn’t get in the middle of that. People wrote the check to the Red Cross so they could get a tax deduction for the donation. We just took the painting out of our collection and gave it to them. We also give paintings every year to the Tennessee Society of Architects, to help raise money for the PAC, and assist other organizations looking for a piece of work for an auction.”

Askew reports: “In 2008, the firm had 8 art shows, well publicized, featuring the work of 12 local artists. Each show attracts an average of 300 visitors to our office, often people we haven’t met before.” The firm exhibits its own work as well. “We have one wall that we keep all our work on—pictures of our past projects—so that our architecture blends right in with the art.” They also recently installed a 50-inch monitor behind the receptionist. “During our art show, not only does the bio and picture of the artist roll up, some of our projects roll up, too. People stop in and look at it.”

Get people in the door
ANFA also attracts new people and possible potential clients through meetings, lectures, and other social gatherings.

Askew encourages other architects to support similar endeavors. “Architects by the nature of the beast are good organizers and generalists. They can organize events in other locations in much the same way we do.” For architects who do not have the facilities, Askew advises: “Just find other interesting spaces, and work with favorite charities.

“What we are trying to do, underneath all that is to get people in our office who we can meet and get to know, and who can see who we are by looking at our wall. It’s not our main intent, but it’s a nice outgrowth of what we do that we connect with the public in an interesting and unthreatening way. We are not going around with our portfolio under our arm trying to sell something. We’re meeting them socially with a glass of wine in our hands.”