Randall Stout

Randall Paul Stout (May 6, 1958 – July 11, 2014) was an American architect based in Los Angeles. He was an environmentally sensitive architect who earned a national reputation by designing dynamically shaped forms that are inviting and artistic without being static. Stout used light, shadow, form, and materials that contributed to shaping an architecture that heightens awareness of space and a sense of discovery. He applied his concepts to civic, educational, commercial, and urban planning projects, but was best known for regional museums. Stout held a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Architecture from Rice University.

Career

Before starting his own firm, Stout worked four years at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and seven and a half years for Frank O. Gehry & Associates. He started his firm with a series of internationally admired commissions in Germany, including the Steinhude Sea Recreational Facility, Bünde Fire Station, North Minden Power Plant, Rehem Water Station, and Melittabad Aquatics Facility. The projects were often built on tight budgets using inexpensive, energy smart materials. In America, he specialized in cultural projects, especially midsize museums, including the Taubman Museum of Art, the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Art Gallery of Alberta, and the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. At the time of his death, he was also an associate professor of architecture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Completed Works

Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke Virginia, United States (2008) Stout received a 2007 American Architecture Award and a 2009 International Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum for his design of the Taubman Museum of Art. The forms and materials selected for the building were chosen to pay homage to the famed Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountain surroundings. The 77 foot tall glass atrium peak evokes the iconic Roanoke Star and the use of Hokie Stone is emblematic of the architecture of nearby Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 2018, Architectural Digest named the Taubman Museum of Art the best designed museum in Virginia.

Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga Tennessee, United States (2005) Stout received a 2004 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum for his design of a major addition to the Hunter Museum of American Art. Stout designed the building with forms and lines that seem to emerge out of the limestone bluff as it rises above the river. Inside, he created a dialogue between destination and circulation spaces that meet in a soaring lobby which converge to form a remarkable piece of architectural sculpture "that is as beautiful as any artwork in the museum."

Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton Alberta, Canada (2010)

Stout received a 2012 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum for his design of the Art Gallery of Alberta. The building is constructed with patinated zinc and stainless steel. An iconic stainless steel ribbon twists upon itself like a mobius strip as it goes into and through transparent walls. The complex curvilinear form evokes themes of Edmonton's environment including the Edmonton River and the aurora borealis and is intended to "articulate the gallery's commitment to contemporary art."

Other completed works

Steinhüde Sea Recreational Facility, Steinhüde, Germany Bünde Fire Station, Germany North Minden Power Plant, North Minden, Germany Rehme Water Station, Rehme, Germany Melittabad Aquatics Facility, Minden, Germany Stadtwerke Bückeburg, Bückeburg, Germany (1998) Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama (2014) Dockweiler Youth Center, Vista Del Mar, California, United States