Located in San Antonio, TX, the Bexar County Public Works building was designed to mimic the natural environment, having its physical presence and placement along the river act as a metaphor of the varied landscape. As San Antonio straddles the Balcones Escarpment, it creates the picturesque Hill Country rising out to define the West with the iconic San Antonio River at its heart. The limestone facade of the Bexar County Public Works, supplied by Keller Material Inc. out of Mesa Grande Blocks, was designed to appear to grow out of the sloping ground west of the river, utilizing the limestone from the Balcones Escarpment it imitates. The building was also oriented to reflect the bend in the river upon which it resides, replicating the river’s natural beauty in structural form.

“For the outside, limestone served as the literal foundation for Bexar County Public Works and also the inspiration for the rest of the exterior’s materials pallet,” said Angel Garcia of Marmon Mok Architects. “Complementing the exterior limestone, the outside also features weathering steel, zinc metal panels, glass and wood composite accents. For the interiors, the same limestone was used. In many places, the exterior wall continues seamlessly into the interior, creating a solid mass of stone that becomes focal points throughout the building.” According to Garcia, the stone was an essential design element throughout the Bexar County Public Works building because it signifies strong ties to the region, culture and history. Limestone is a defining element throughout the San Antonio region because of the many local quarries, resulting in a unique “Hill Country” style of light-colored natural stone exteriors used on everything from the UNESCO World Heritage Site Spanish Missions along the River, to new homes in the Hill Country.