San Antonio architects David Lake and Ted Flato take home gold for work that ‘stands the test of time’

For architects David Lake and Ted Flato, an early-career decision to move to San Antonio set the stage for not just shaping their work but also receiving the highest honor in U.S. architecture.

The 2024 Gold Medal — awarded by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to members of the profession whose work has had a lasting influence — went to the lead partners in Lake Flato, a firm known for uncomplicated designs that incorporate sustainability and indigenous materials and embrace the natural environment.

“Lake and Flato have reframed the conversation around sustainability and social and environmental responsibility through their inclusive design practice that will reverberate for decades to come,” stated the AIA’s announcement.

The honor places the two San Antonio architects among eminent company: Frank Lloyd Wright (1949 Gold Medal winner), Frank Gehry (1999) and Renzo Piano (2008), among others.

“It’s staggering,” Flato said. “I can’t say we’re equal to, but we’re certainly paired with, some incredible architectural luminaries.”

It’s the first time in the award’s 117-year history that the Gold Medal has gone to an architect based in San Antonio, much less two. 

‘A partner with the environment’

About two dozen firms applied for the 2024 award, which starts with a process of elimination and several rounds of judging. The final requirement was the biggest challenge: a 10-minute video with a limit of 40 photos. 

“How do you condense 40 years into one image per year?” Lake said. As first-time applicants, they both figured it was a long shot.

December’s happy announcement, which came via a phone call from the AIA president followed by boardroom applause at the institute’s Washington, D.C., offices, left Lake speechless and teary, he said. And proud of how hard they have worked.

It’s also recognition of their approach to architecture, Flato said, “a philosophy around the idea that architecture ought to be a partner with the environment.”

Heather Woofter, dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, lauded the pair for their impact on the field in sustainable design.

“Lake Flato’s commitment to sustainability and the emphasis they place on the relationship between the built and natural environments are a testament to the power of architecture and design to advance the public good,” Woofter said. 

Lake Flato has had a hand in many prominent buildings across San Antonio: the Frost Bank Center, designed for both the San Antonio Spurs and the Stock Show & Rodeo; Confluence Park; the Witte Museum and Mays Family Center; and the new federal courthouse that opened in 2022. 

The firm was also involved in the creation of the Pearl District, redeveloping what was a concrete wasteland of an old brewery and its dilapidated structures into a transformative live-work-play destination. 

That’s where the San Antonio Report caught up with Lake and Flato on a recent afternoon to talk about architecture and their work, and the prominent role the city has played in shaping their work. 

Flato and Lake and Ford

Flato was born and raised in Corpus Christi and graduated with a degree in architecture from Stanford University in 1977. Lake grew up in Austin and earned a degree from the University of Texas the same year.

They met shortly after, starting their first jobs with renowned architect O’Neil Ford in 1980. It was that early decision, moving to San Antonio, that set the stage for what was to follow, they said. 

“I just feel like we’re lucky to have found this niche and to have found this place in San Antonio, because I don’t know that we would have accomplished this if we were in Austin or Dallas or Houston,” Flato said.

The “father of modern regionalism” and a counterpoint to the post-modernism trend of that era, Ford provided a kind of graduate school experience for the young architects.

“He also put the two of us together, on the same projects,” Flato said. “Both of us came with a pretty inflated view of ourselves — we were young and very confident. He thought, ‘I’ll put those people together and see what they do to each other.’ It was fantastic.”

Ford advocated for pre-modern architecture and vernacular buildings because they sprang from local materials, craftsmanship, weather and cultural influences brought by the French, German, Spanish and Mexican people to Texas. “These things all come together in San Antonio,” Lake said. 

In fact, San Antonio is one of the rare places in the U.S. where multi-generational masons and woodworkers are still plying their trade, and the architects said they have learned from them. 

Ford taught Lake and Flato about San Antonio’s deep architectural legacy. “That’s the beauty of being in San Antonio” versus other cities in Texas, Lake said.

The city gave them many examples of quality architecture, they said, along with predecessors like Atlee Ayers, Francois Gireaud, Alfred Giles and Henry Phelps, who designed the Gothic-style Nix Hospital building that Ford also admired.

They learned from it all. “We love walking around downtown, and we love being out in nature,” he said. “And we’re on the cusp of being in all these different ecosystems.”

Lake and Flato left Ford’s firm in 1984 to establish their own studio. So it was a full-circle moment when they recently restored several Trinity University buildings designed by Ford and adapted two others to create Dicke Hall, completed in 2022.  

Handsome architecture

Lake and Flato got the firm off the ground by designing ranch houses. At first, it was the only kind of work they could get. Again, location figured large into that opportunity with San Antonio situated so near South Texas ranch country. 

“We were working for people who were not demanding a lot more than [wanting] to be connected to this place that was outdoors, and so that developed architecture that was quite simple,” Flato said. So simple that others could emulate it.

“The [number] of buildings one does in one’s lifetime is relatively small, so the true impact is what your impact is upon others — clients, other architects, just a general direction in architecture,” Flato said. “So to have other people pick up on what we’re doing is great.”

Those ranch house projects are “handsome architecture that works,” Lake said, and they helped to create what they refer to as their DNA and a commitment to thinking about orienting buildings to climate, the outdoors and comfort. 

Don McDonald, a prominent San Antonio architect in his own right, is intrigued by how Lake Flato projects have stood the test of time. “Their first ranch houses were quietly rooted in the Texas landscape and got the attention of the architectural community on day one,” he said. 

“To an architect, the continued freshness and vitality of this legacy is especially curious. Beyond the creativity of everyone in that office, there seem to be three elements that keep the projects uniquely Lake Flato and especially fun to keep an eye on.”

He described those elements as being core structures that “aggressively engage the landscape” and material use that “communicates a real dialogue with the mason or craftsman executing the work.”

In addition, “delicate sheds, porches and dog runs have become ubiquitous to their work, but each year, the engineering grows leaner and more efficient.”

And their buildings are simply smart: “They were sustainable before it was fashionable and continue to be at the forefront of developing and integrating cutting-edge technology.”

Today, the firm has 150 people on staff in offices in Austin and San Antonio, and its body of work spans residential structures, from single-family homes to apartment towers, and all manner of commercial, hospitality, institutional and cultural and civic buildings. 

Lake describes the firm’s work as understandable, welcoming and fun.

“We are not innately sculptors going out and doing really expensive buildings  — we’re trying to make the most with the least,” Lake said. “I think it comes from our just growing up in Texas and thinking that architecture should be both very much a part of where it is and also accessible and welcoming to everyone.”

A big landscape

Pearl developer Kit Goldsbury enlisted Lake Flato’s advice in urban planning early on. They approached the redevelopment project the same way they did a ranch house project — as a big landscape. 

The architects and developers also traveled to similar districts in other cities, such as Granville Island in Vancouver, where an old cement factory had been turned into restaurants and an art school. 

“That’s where we really saw that we can make it be raw — it’s OK to leave it industrial, it’s OK for it to be gritty,” Lake said. “In fact, gritty is really authentic and we have plenty of gritty at the Pearl.” 

They also decided the Pearl should be an open and inclusive place for everyone to enjoy and that it should be centered on food and beverage. It was restaurateur Cappy Lawton who suggested the culinary arts school and Goldsbury who invested in it, they said. 

What would hold the concepts and the district together is the activity that would take place there, not the buildings, Flato said. 

As those were repurposed in a way that made sense for each structure, landscape architects helped them design pedestrian-friendly streets with no curbs. Lake and Flato also worked with the City of San Antonio, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the San Antonio River Authority to design a River Walk extension that complemented their vision for the district. 

“We couldn’t have done that in any other city,” Lake said. “I think part of the beauty of growing up here [as architects] is that we care so much about the city. We want the city to be viable for everybody,” especially downtown. 

It’s about their core belief in sustainability, he said. The more attractive and viable the downtown, the less sprawl there is, and that’s good for the Edwards Aquifer, which supplies most of the city’s drinking water. 

Highest honor

These days, Lake Flato is not involved in current projects at the Pearl. “We created a condition that has allowed a lot of other people to participate,” Flato said. “They do it a little bit differently and so you get something that … has more texture and interest.” 

But the firm is working on one of the city’s largest and most visible developments: a new terminal at the San Antonio International Airport.

Lake oversees the urban planning side of the firm while Flato heads up the residential business. There’s some crossover and much collaboration, and the firm’s other architects bring their own ideas to projects.

“Many, many of them have surpassed what we could do and that makes you so incredibly proud and happy,” Flato said. 

It’s been almost two months since the call from AIA and Lake said he’s still on cloud nine and in disbelief. “Really? All of our work for 40 years has been recognized by our peers, the highest honor?

“We didn’t start out to do this, so it’s really incredible that our work together has yielded such great satisfaction for both of us. And we’re lucky that we love what we do.”

Disclosure: Lake Flato and the Pearl are financial supporters of the San Antonio Report. For a full list of our business members, click here.