Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 35
By Sheila Kim
Photography by
Dror Baldinger, FAIA
After removing 400 Record's
perimeter barriers, Gensler
transformed the outdoor
space into a visually open and
inviting plaza with shading
and seating (opposite). A total
of 18,000 custom bronze-hued
fish scales clad-and draw
the eyes toward-a floating,
jutting volume that houses the
new restaurant Bullion (right).
Look around at new construction in any dense
American city and you'll likely spot office towers
with ground-floor transparency designed to engage
the sidewalk and passersby. But nearly four decades
ago, fortress-like boundaries were more de rigeuer
in uber-corporate America. A byproduct of that
'80s era, 400 Record in Dallas sported barriers
ranging from a blocked-off perimeter to a massive
granite wall obstructing views into the lobby.
"The building's former nickname amongst
locals was the 'Death Star' because of the foreboding
presence on the streetscape," recalls Christopher
Goggin, a design director at Gensler, the firm
enlisted to remedy these overbearing qualities.
Relocating its headquarters to 400
Record, family-owned utility company City Electric
Supply (CES) tapped Gensler to revamp the 17-story
structure and add a restaurant feature. The project
team, in turn, saw potential to radically reshape
the building-for both the client and public-
while keeping much of the structure intact.
Open to the public
"One of the common features of the 1980s is a lot
of these great outdoor plaza spaces were designed
to be seen, not necessarily used," says Ian Zapata,
a design director at Gensler. It didn't matter at the
time, he adds, given that everyone drove to work.
But like many other cities today, Dallas is now
rethinking walkability, alternative transportation,
and other aspects of pedestrian friendliness. The
architects thus began by opening up the building's
surrounding plaza and entrances. Where possible,
they removed the edge barriers that walled in the
outdoor spaces and furnished the plaza with
comfortable organic seating to entice passersby
to sit down and linger.
After carving out the granite wall that existed
on the Record Street side, the project team inserted
a new glazed entrance in its place with a striking
24-foot-high aluminum-louver canopy. Powdercoated white, this element shades and lightly
protects from inclement weather, but also serves a
visual purpose: By starting on the outside, continuing
into the lobby, and extending all the way through to
the opposite side of the building beyond an expanded
Market Street entrance, the feature dissolves the
barrier between building and street farther. The
exterior louvers tilt 45 degrees but possess a slight
twist just before they meet the glazing, and then
turn flat beyond the glass. This manipulated linear
contract
Contract Magazine - October 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract Magazine - October 2018
Contract Magazine - October 2018
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Agenda
Designers You Should Know: Me and General Design
Trend: Micro-Mobility
Product Briefs
400 Record/Bullion
Financial Services Workplace
citizenM
Rethinking Flooring Design
Matrix: Material Innovations
Designers Select: Lighting
Backpage
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Intro
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Contract Magazine - October 2018
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Cover2
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 1
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 2
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 3
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 4
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 5
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Contents
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 7
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 8
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 9
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 10
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 11
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Editorial
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 13
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 14
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 15
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Industry News
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 17
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Agenda
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 19
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 20
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 21
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Designers You Should Know: Me and General Design
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 23
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 24
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 25
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Trend: Micro-Mobility
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 27
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Product Briefs
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 29
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 30
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 31
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 32
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 33
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 400 Record/Bullion
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 35
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 36
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 37
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 38
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 39
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Financial Services Workplace
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 41
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 42
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 43
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 44
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 45
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - citizenM
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 47
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 48
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 49
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Rethinking Flooring Design
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 51
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Matrix: Material Innovations
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 53
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Designers Select: Lighting
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - 55
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Backpage
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Cover3
Contract Magazine - October 2018 - Cover4
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