Our Dallas Studio
SKYLINE PHOTO
Welcome to Downtown Dallas For over 80 years, Perkins&Will has established itself as a leader in building design and innovation through our commitment to improving the built environment for all who experience it. Our focus is on ideas and buildings that honor the broader goals of society. In this new office location we continue Perkins&Will’s legacy of leading the design profession. This workplace meets LEED Platinum®, FitWel, and WELL Building Gold certifications. It is through ‘walking the talk’ that we build integrity and honor. We hope you take the time to enjoy our new home and, in the tradition of Dallas High School, learn and socialize with one another about the latest directions in environmental design. We believe great teams respect one another, learn from one another, and cherish the creative nature of diversity. These attitudes inspire the creation of great design, and it is with this goal in mind that we commit ourselves to our new home. Enjoy! And thanks for joining us in Dallas.
Tom Reisenbichler Managing Director, Dallas Office
History of Downtown Dallas Dallas High School is indicative of the age of Downtown Dallas as a whole, an urban core considered young when compared to those of similar size and scale. The High School, Old City Hall, and urban fabric at the eastern edge of downtown illustrate the scale and density of the city when it was a burgeoning rail hub at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Subsequent architectural statements such as the Adolphus Hotel and Kirby Building represent the Chicago School style. Art Deco would arrive to Dallas in the 1940s as seen in the Mercantile Bank Building, the only skyscraper completed during the height of World War II. A long history of banking competition fueled a building boom during the mid-century, launching Dallas into a period of drastic transition. The Republic Bank, Southland Life (now the Sheraton Hotel), and First National Bank towers each represent the scale and magnitude of growth that Dallas as a whole was experiencing. Each also represent new technologies and methods in architecture, from punched aluminum panels to the tallest escalator installation in the world. While economic growth drove the skyline, historical events defined the street. The assassination of JFK influenced a number of public work projects aimed at erasing the “city of hate” label. Thanksgiving Square represents the height of this movement, envisioned as Dallas’ own Rockefeller Center that would convey the universal message of peace. A broader connection to the global economy set the stage for a number of large scale
urban interventions aimed at defining a world class image. Dallas City Hall, designed by IM Pei, is a prime example. With the populace moving toward the suburbs, Downtown continued to develop at the cost of its historic fabric. Blocks once considered hot spots of culture and commerce were converted into architectural statements that were detrimental to the previously walkable and comfortable urban setting. The underground tunnel system, envisioned as a year-round conditioned connection, further removed life from the streets above. Over the past decade Downtown Dallas has seen a renaissance. The Statler Hilton and 1401 Elm are two major restoration projects within the urban core, while Main Street Garden and Belo Garden represent the first in a series of parks that will replace surface parking lots. The underground tunnels are being vacated in favor of life on the street and a new, second iteration of the Downtown Dallas 360 Plan is set to reinforce the continuity of the pedestrian experience. The Dallas High School is therefore a prime representation of the overall history of the city: from construction and use through a period of abandonment, it now experiences a revival. Above all, it sits at an exciting point in history as Dallas defines its tomorrow.
Building History Dallas High School has a history as old as Downtown Dallas itself. It is the oldest standing high school in Dallas as well as one of the city’s oldest historic buildings. Built in 1907 and opened in 1908, it was the city’s only secondary school at the time. The building of an addition was necessary only three years later, however it was quickly replaced as Dallas’ main high school in 1916. In 1928 the focus of the curriculum changed and it assumed the role of the city’s main technical high school, eventually taking the name Norman Robert Crozier Technical High School in 1942. This is a title it would keep until 1975. The school was known for its state-of-the-art machine shop and its students produced knives for American troops during World War II. Due to segregation in Postwar Dallas, nearby Forest Avenue High School was renamed James Madison High School and designated as the area’s school for black students. Crozier Tech became the school for Forest Avenue’s white students and assumed possession of all its trophies and memorabilia. In 1975 it became Dallas ISD’s Business and Management Magnet School and remained in operation as such until 1995. Dallas ISD sold the school and its site in 1998.
The high school is the lone remaining structure on a campus that once consisted of five buildings. It avoided the wrecking ball through a combination of factors, most notably through the protection of city ordinance and the continuous efforts of alumni, preservationists, and historians. It became a citydesignated landmark in 2000 and was included on both Preservation Texas’ inaugural list of “Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places” in 2004 and its “Most Endangered Resources” list in 2008. It is part of the National Register of Historic Places as the Dallas High School Historic District. With its present refurbishment and reuse, the Dallas High School is set to begin a new chapter in its long history.
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Floor 2
Legend Collaboration Space Restroom Vertical Circulation Kitchen Other Tenants Mother’s Lounge
Floor 3
Legend Collaboration Space Restroom Vertical Circulation Kitchen Quite Room
Sustainability and Wellness Goals
WELL Gold
99%
Construction Waste Diversion
Walk Score
84 100
Have a view
Platinum
Daylight
LEED
86% of spaces have daylight 95% of spaces have an exterior view
Full Adherence to Perkins&Will's precautionary list guidelines
www.walkscore.com
FITWEL
1st in Dallas
Fitness space with quarterly, on-site classes White noise machines and acoustic treatment on ceiling, walls and floors
Optimal Air Furniture Selections
Green Housekeeping
Pest Control
New Precautionary List Material
Air Quality Monitoring
Post-Construction Air Scrubbing
Bring Your Lunch 0.99 ft 3 of refrigerator space provided for every employee
Pure water available within 100 feet of any spot in the office
(That's nearly tripled from our old office!)
Plaza of the Americas Klyde Warren Park
2.0 min walk
Pearl / Arts District DART Station
100% sit-stand desks
Deep Ellum
15 sec walk
7.0 min walk
7.0 min walk
5.0 min walk
Dallas Museum of Art
1.5 min walk 5.5 min walk
Thanksgiving Square
Outdoor Garden
with edible produce
DART Transfer Hub
Our People
Here in Big D, our studio is abuzz with designers and planners who think and dream big every day. Innovation is both our highway and our destination. And our depth of creative talent is unrivaled. Plus, we offer a Dallas-Fort Worth sensibility combined with global design insights you simply can’t find anywhere else. Kind of a big deal? We think so.
“We love what we do, and we have a lot of fun doing it. What’s really inspiring is where we do it: in a reimagined, repurposed 1900s historic high school.” ― VANDANA NAYAK, PRINCIPAL
Our “people wall,” where we place magnets of all our Dallas employees.
Gotta see it to believe it. Giraffes playing dodge ball? You bet. All out for Halloween? Absolutely. Stuffing our faces for Thanksgiving? Duh. You name it, we’ve likely done it. From racing box cars to human “hungry hungry hippos,” there’s no lack of excitement in our office. We truly believe that it’s the people that make us great, and we know you’ll think so too.
Serving our community is key. As part of our firm’s culture and purpose, service in the community is a priority. Open to all employees, the community service team plans quarterly field trips to different organizations to help make a difference.
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Perkins&Will at the Old Dallas High School Client: Perkins&Will ― Size: 39,579 square feet ― Completion Date: 2017 ― Sustainability: LEED Platinum®, tracking PlatinumWELL Building Standard, Tracking GoldFitwel, Tracking 3-star ― Awards: First Place, International Rethinking The Future Awards, 2020
― WHAT IT IS
The revitalization of a historic building in order to integrate the firm’s brand and the Dallas community.
“Our office integrates the firm’s brand, the culture of the local practice and people, the Dallas community, and the history of the building into a destination that is sure to engage all who visit or work here.” ―TOM REISENBICHLER, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PERKINS&WILL'S DALLAS OFFICE → Alumni frequently visit the office or passerby’s stop in to see what’s happening in a building they saw vacant for 22 years.
Sustainability Choosing a historic building planned for adaptive reuse will allow Perkins&Will to achieve high levels of various certification programs such as LEED CI, WELL Building Standard and Fitwell, which reinforce our core values of sustainability, health and wellness.
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