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Founded in 1949, DWL Architects + Planners is a Phoenix, Arizona, based architectural firm. It began as the two-man, residential design partnership of Richard E. Drover and Frederick P. Weaver. The two met while working for Edward L. Varney Associates.

After Weaver’s death in 1968, Weaver & Drover reorganized as Drover, Welch & Lindlan Architects. In 1984 it became known as DWL Architects + Planners, Inc. Today, DWL is a large regional practice and is one of the oldest locally owned and operated firms in Phoenix.

DWL has designed many familiar buildings in Arizona. These include such iconic structures as Arizona State University’s Charles Trumbull Hayden Library and Pedestrian Mall (1966) and Wells Fargo Arena (1974, formerly the University Activity Center), Burton Barr Central Library (1995 – with Will Bruder), and Terminals 2, 3 and 4 (1962 – with Lescher & Mahoney, 1979 and 1990) at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Valley National Bank projects

Among DWL’s most consistent clients was Valley National Bank (VNB). Over two decades, architects completed 35 buildings for VNB, including everything from branch offices to a central computer facility. Many of these Arizona branches survive today, some still operating as banks but under the Chase name, and are preserved as beautiful examples of Mid-Century Modern architecture. These include the Willetta & First Street Office (1954), the Indian-Central Office (1957) and the Tempe Office (1962).

The VNB Tempe Office featured the first geodesic dome built in the Southwest. The building was razed in 2006 to make room for an expansion to the Arizona State University campus. Before demolition, however, the gold anodized aluminum dome was dismantled and placed in storage. It was later integrated into the design of a park pavilion at ASU’s Vista del Sol residential community.

Valley National Bank 44th & Camelback Office

The 44th & Camelback Office (1967) in Phoenix, Arizona, is regarded as the finest of the firm’s Valley National Bank (VNB) designs. In 1964, Weaver & Drover were given an assignment to design five out-of-the-ordinary banks set on special places where their appearance would be a particular asset to VNB. The “Mushroom Bank”, as it was nicknamed, was the fourth on the list, and it has lived up to the institution’s 1957 promotional claim that “Banks, too, can be beautiful”.

Five free-standing concrete dendriform (parasol-shaped) columns provide the major structural support inside the facility, and additional “mushroom” columns provide shade in the surrounding landscaped park. The 1,000 Yavapai schist stones set into the bank’s exterior and interior walls capture the feel of the surrounding desert. The abstract pattern of these rocks was the result of misinterpreted notes used to create an illustration.

In 1992 the building won the AIA Arizona Twenty-five Year Award, which honors a design that has withstood the test of time. Although still operating as a Chase bank, preservationists have been continually trying to get the building listed as an historic landmark before it falls prey to developers.

Additional works

• St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church (1951 & 1960)
  
• St. Agnes Catholic Church (1953)
  
• Valley National Bank (now Chase), 24th Street & Thomas Office (1954)
  
• Best Hall at Arizona State University (1956)
  
• Valley National Bank (now Chase), 16th Street & Camelback Office (1956)
  
• Valley National Bank (now Chase), 19th Avenue & Bethany Home Office (1962)
  
• Chapel of All Faiths at Arizona State Hospital (1964)
  
• Arizona Title Building (1964)
  
• Good Samaritan Hospital (now Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center), Rehabilitation Institute (1964)
  
• Valley National Bank (now an insurance agency), 56th Street & Thomas Office (1965)
  
• Madison Baptist Church (1966)
  
• Valley National Bank (now retail), Scottsdale Complex (1967)
  
• Salt River Project, Administration Building Addition (1972)
  
• Desert Samaritan Hospital (now Banner Desert Medical Center), Mesa (1973, 1982)
  
• Orangutan Exhibit and Master Plan at Phoenix Zoo (1975)
  
• Maryvale Hospital Medical Center (1978)
  
• Daniel E. Noble Science and Engineering Library at Arizona State University (1982)
  
• Good Samaritan Hospital, Tower (now Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center) (1982, with Bertrand Goldberg)
  
• Valley Lutheran Hospital (now Banner Baywood Medical Center), Mesa (1984)
  
• Industrial Commission of Arizona (1984)
  
• School of Music at Arizona State University, Building Addition (1992, with The Mathes Group)
  
• Midwestern University, Glendale Campus (1995, ongoing)
  
• Foothills Branch Library (1999)
  
• Mesa Arts Center (2005, with Boora Architects)
  
• Appaloosa Branch Library, Scottsdale Public Library (2009, with Douglas Sydnor Architect and Associates)
  
• Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University (2009, with ikon.5 architects)
  
• White Tank Branch Library and Nature Center, Maricopa County Library District (2010)
  
• Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (2008, 2010, 2012)
  

Further reading

• City by Design series (2009). City by Design: An Architectural Perspective of the Greater Phoenix Valley. Panache Partners, LLC. ISBN 193341555X
  
• Ryden, Don W. (2010). Midcentury Marvels: Commercial Architecture of Phoenix, 1945-1975. City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office. ISBN 061540989X
  
• Sydnor, Douglas B. (2010). Images of America: Scottsdale Architecture. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738578770
  

External links

• Company website
  
• City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office (2007). “Mid-Century Marvels: Modern Architecture in Phoenix”, a brochure to accompany the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture Historic Building Project.
  
• City Publishing, LLC (July/August 2006). “100 Degrees of Design, Finding Design in the Desert: 100 Places We Love”. Desert Living Magazine, p.9 - Burton Barr Central Library, p. 17 - Mesa Arts Center, p.28 – Valley National Banks.
  
• Lockley, Walt and Allison King (2006). “Valley National Bank Buildings”. Modern Phoenix.
  
• Lockley, Walt (2008). “Arizona State Mental Hospital Chapel". Modern Phoenix.
  
• Brown, David M. (July 2, 2007). “Razing Arizona: Phoenix modern threatened”. Architectural Record.
  
• Article about Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University: Macdonald, Sarah (February 6, 2009) “ASU forges ahead on Honors College”. The Arizona Republic.
  
• Article about Barrett Honors College Dining Center: Boss, Donna (November 2009). “Barrett Honors College Dining Center”. Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, pp. 13-18.
  
• Article about Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport: Thomason, Art (November 9, 2010). “New Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport terminal wing dedicated”. The Arizona Republic.
  
• Article about Appaloosa Branch Library selected as a New Landmark Library: Schaper, Louise (May 15, 2011). “A shimmer of green in the desert”. Library Journal.
  
• Article about White Tank Branch Library and Nature Center: Dickinson, Elizabeth Evitts (March 2012). “Stacked – The next generation of libraries is made for the spokes, not the hub”. Architect, The Magazine of the American Institute of Architects, pp. 34-36.

Category:Architects from Arizona Category:Companies based in Phoenix, Arizona