Design Architect [circulation tower]: Tobin Smith Architect
Historic Preservation Architect: Fisher Heck Architects
Architect of Record: Douglas Architects
General Contractor: Guido Construction
Structural Engineer: Lundy & Franke Engineering
MEP Engineer: RGM Engineering
Civil Engineer: Pape-Dawson Engineers
Photography: Dror Baldinger, FAIA + Tobin Smith Architect
El Compañero, an appendage to the 1894 Witte Building in downtown San Antonio, adds a link to the famed River Walk, provides egress and ADA access to four levels of the historic structure, and activates this long-dormant bookend of the block.
The circulation structure is of its time, but is composed in relation and in deference to the building it supports. This companion piece is offset and set back from the historic façade and is smaller in both plan and height. A gap separating old and new volumes allows the historic stone and brick façade to remain visible and uncompromised. The single vertical opening on the street facing elevation hints at the vertical travel of the elevator beyond and illuminates this River Walk access point after dark.
