GREENWAY PARKS, blending old and new

from modern.dallas ed.44 // april 2023

ATM/DFW

by Hardy Haberman

As a lifelong resident of Dallas, I have long driven down Mockingbird Lane past the curving “Y’ shaped boulevards that mark the entrance to Greenway Parks. I would occasionally drive through it just to enjoy the parkways and lovely homes. It has always felt like it was and English village commons, homes clustered around green space, and indeed that was the original plan when it was first con- ceived back in 1925 when Texas architect David Williams laid out the original design. He previously designed a residential development in Tampico, Mexico with a similar concept, but there the homes were arranged around parks rather than parkways.

The spacious set backs and attention to massing and land- scaping has kept Greenway Parks a comfortable and lushly green neighborhood. A majority of the homes were built before the 1960’s yet the neighborhood is an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary homes. On a recent drive through the area, I was impressed how well the more modern designs do not seem out of place next to an Arts and Crafts Tudor home from the 1930’s. ing some significant homes like the 1950’s Bauhaus inspired home designed by notable architect Howard Meyer. It has a distinctive modern look while using materials that blend well with the heavily wooded neighborhood.

The home which has been praised by architectural historian Rick Brettell as ,”the best international modernist house in Texas”. Built for the Lipshy family, it is a geometric arrangement of “volumes” created in Redwood, glass and brick. It’s open flowing floorpan and distinctive cantilevered open staircase creates a sculptural centerpiece of the structure. Bodron + Fruit architects remodeled and restored the home. They maintained much of the original built-in furniture Meyer created in its interior. The architects preserved and in some cases remanufactured the distinctive doorknobs, cabinet pulls and stair railings.

Keven Mut, Project manager for Bodron + Fruit says the firm has done many works in Greenway Parks including, “two new homes recently as well as seven remodels.” Their work reflects a cognizance of the materials used in the homes and a style that brings the interior and exterior together.

With all their work in the neighborhood, they maintained the attitude that, ”we wanted to make the houses feel like they had always been there.”

It’s a challenge in this eclectic neighborhood but one that continues to attract the interest of architects and designers

// architect bodron fruit - photo: charles davis smith like architect David Benners who built his own home there. He was conscious of the restrictions of the neighborhood since it has been listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and is covered by the designation as a Dallas Conservation District.

The designation specifies setbacks, height specifications, and building to lot ratios that will prevent the kind of massing taking over other neighborhoods. One has only to drive through neighborhoods adjacent to the “M” Streets to see how oversized homes can completely change the character of a neighborhood.

Benners’ home was built on a lot previously occupied by an older and poorly maintained house. To keep with the look and feel of the area, Benners’ conserved brick from the home to use in the new structure. He even used a color palette from the older home to lessen the effect on the area. It worked beautifully and the home he calls “Before House” blends beautifully with the surroundings while having it’s own distinctive character. Benners says, “our home illustrates that contemporary architecture can flourish in a conservation district and a neighborhood that is listed with the National Registry of Historic Places, and function delightfully for a family with small children.”

Today, Benners still has projects within his own neighborhood, though most are renovations of existing homes to bring them up to date and make them more accommodating of the modern lifestyle.

His work puts a contemporary spin on older homes, discovering what he calls, “lost opportunities” in the use of space.

The future of Greenway Parks seems bright. With Conservation District status, the original concept of the “village commons” and flowing greenbelts will continue to make the neighborhood desirable for homeowners and designers alike. A neighborhood where the ideas of the past blend with the current and future to create one of the most pleasant neighborhoods in the city.

// bodron fruit

david benners architecture

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