Kirk Huffaker
The Architecture of W.A. Sarmiento:
Defining Downtown Banks at Mid-Century
Kirk Huffaker received the 2007 Fitch Mid-Career Research grant for his project, “The Architecture of W.A. Sarmiento: Defining Downtown Banks at Mid-Century”. The grant funded research, photography and an Internet publication of the work of the prominent bank architect W.A. Sarmiento. Sarmiento’s innovative design strategies and use of cutting-edge building technologies brought the best of mid-century modern architecture to Main Street, USA, including character-defining structures in Salt Lake City, Utah and Glendale, California. Through Huffaker’s work and the dissemination of his project on the Internet, a broad audience will discover Sarmiento’s designs and use the historical context for the future preservation discussions of mid-twentieth century bank buildings throughout the nation.
Please click here to the website featuring Mr. Huffaker’s research: Defining Downtown at Mid-Century: The Architecture of Bank Building & Equipment Corporation of America. The website is hosted by the Recent Past Preservation Network.
Wide shot of the Phoenix Financial Center in Phoenix, Arizona, built in 1964 with the top 8 floors added in 1970. (Credit: Kirk Huffaker)