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Born in Laredo, Texas, William Merriweather Peña became an influential and distinguished architect and was highly respected among his colleagues. Peña established the field's decision-making process known as architectural programming.
Sarah Zenaida Gould is executive director at MACRI and says there’s a reason why Peña’s name was left off his Houston firm's business name of Caudill Rowlett Scott.
“For most of his life he said it was because they didn’t want the firm name to be too long, but later in life he did admit that it was because of concern about scaring off potential clients with a Spanish surname.”
By the 1980s, Caudill Rowlett Scott was the largest architecture firm in the world. They were so successful that Peña was able to become a philanthropist and donated $1 million to a scholarship program for the college of architecture at Texas A&M University.
“He always was mentoring younger architects, and people who I’ve met who were trained by him ... they just gush about him," said Gould. "So when we put this exhibit together, we thought it was important to talk about the next generation, and he was really interested in the next generation. That’s why he left all that money for scholarships at the architecture school."
The institute has student projects on display from the National Organization of Minority Architects program called "Project Pipeline," a summer camp for kids to learn about architecture. You can also see hard copies of Peña's influential books, many historic photos of his work, and the official resolution from the Texas House of Representatives honoring his accomplishments.
Peña was also a highly decorated World War II veteran, educator, musician, and author of the classic programming guide known as Problem Seeking: An Architectural Programming Primer, used today by students and professionals worldwide.
Peña died on his 99th birthday in 2018. The exhibit at the institute runs through March 20.
