Pacific Plaza

WorkSWA Group · Downtown Dallas, Texas

Pacific Plaza

A downtown Dallas parking lot becomes open green space: a first step toward a greener downtown

Pacific Plaza from above, among downtown Dallas towers: the ring-shaped pavilion, the lawn, a yellow-striped plaza and curving paths
Pacific Plaza in downtown Dallas. Photograph courtesy of SWA Group
Pacific Plaza in downtown Dallas. Photograph courtesy of SWA Group

Project snapshot

My contribution

Role

Landscape designer at SWA Group in Dallas: contributed to the park’s construction documents and made the graphics that tell its story

Scope

Construction documents • the city and park layer graphics and the pavilion drawing • the 2018 Retrospect display: its design, graphics, construction and installation

With

SWA Group’s project team, who designed the park • HKS, the Dallas architects who designed the pavilion • Andrew Gressett and Parks for Downtown Dallas, on the display

Project details

Location
Downtown Dallas, Texas
Firm
SWA Group, Dallas
Project type
Urban park on a former parking lot
Years
2017 → 2018
Status
Built
Exhibited
2018 AIA Retrospect the Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects’ exhibition at NorthPark

00 Overview

Pacific Plaza turned a parking lot in downtown Dallas into open green space, a first step toward a greener downtown. The park is an SWA Group project; I worked on it in SWA’s Dallas office.

I contributed to the park’s construction documents and made a series of graphics to tell its story, from the city around it to the layers it is built from. In 2018 those graphics went on public view, on a display I helped design, build and install.

01 Context

Downtown Dallas sparks a green comeback

The first step toward a greener downtown: Dallas turns a parking lot into open green space. Stacked, the city’s layers show the stark difference between parking lots and open green space in the downtown core.

Exploded axonometric of downtown Dallas as three stacked discs: parks in green, with five of them named; parking lots in dark green within a one-mile radius; and the city’s buildings with its districts and Reunion Tower labeled. A red column marks Pacific Plaza through all three
City layers: downtown’s parks, its parking lots within a one-mile radius, and its districts, with Pacific Plaza marked through all three
FIG. 01City layers: downtown’s parks, its parking lots within a one-mile radius, and its districts, with Pacific Plaza marked through all three

02 At SWA Group

Documents for the build, graphics for the story

Line axonometric of the park’s pavilion: a raised elliptical ring on slender columns
The saucer: the park’s ring-shaped pavilion, which I drew from HKS’s 3D model
FIG. 02The saucer: the park’s ring-shaped pavilion, which I drew from HKS’s 3D model

Through the design process and into implementation, I worked on the park’s construction documents as part of SWA’s team.

Alongside them, I made a series of graphics to tell the story of the new park, and of the need for public open space in Dallas.

03 Park systems

A series of layers, one composition

It’s hard to picture the separate design systems inside a built park. This graphic pulls them apart: hardscape, softscape, canopy and architectural elements.

Exploded axonometric of Pacific Plaza in five layers: architectural elements, tree canopy in dark green, softscape in yellow-green, hardscape in red, and the composed plan at the bottom
The park pulled apart: architectural elements, canopy, softscape and hardscape, above the plan they make together
FIG. 03The park pulled apart: architectural elements, canopy, softscape and hardscape, above the plan they make together

04 Exhibition

On view at NorthPark

In 2018 the graphics went on public view in the Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects’ Retrospect exhibition, at NorthPark in Dallas.

With Andrew Gressett and Parks for Downtown Dallas, I worked on the display’s design and its graphics, and helped build and install it. The photographs of it are mine.

The display at NorthPark, front: the park’s layers on a tall white panel with red edges, rising from a planter marked SWA and Parks for Downtown Dallas
The park’s layers
The display edge on: the thin red-edged panel standing in its planter in the mall
Edge on
The display’s back: the city layers, labeled green space, parking lots and Dallas, Texas
The city’s layers
FIG. 04The display at NorthPark: the park’s face, edge on, and the city’s face

05 The built park

From parking lot to park

The park straight down: the lawn, the pavilion ring, the yellow-striped plaza and the curving walk around them, between downtown streets
The whole park, from above
The pavilion: a raised ring on slender columns over a circle of lawn and seating
The pavilion ring
Children playing on the lawn, the pavilion’s canopy behind them
The lawn in use
Under the pavilion’s perforated canopy, by the steps and the planting
Under the canopy
FIG. 05The built park, from above and on the ground