A registered National Historic Landmark, Fair Park is the 227-acre home to the State Fair of Texas and various cultural institutions in Dallas, Tex. In 2020, Fair Park revised its masterplan to include a 14-acre Community Park and a parking garage. Designed by Gensler, the Fair Park Fitzhugh Parking Structure recently won the AIA Dallas Chapter Unbuilt Design Award.
The garage will have 1,650 parking spaces over five stories. In an attempt to design a large concrete parking structure that’s sensitive to its surrounding community, the team placed part of Community Park on top of the garage structure, making it an extension of the park.
To connect the park to the garage’s top deck, the design uses both earth berms and structural berms. On the surface of the north berm, an immersive outdoor experience includes a prairie landscape, viewing deck, shading canopies, shading platform, and rooftop event deck. With concessions and restrooms, the rooftop deck can be used for public and private events. Beneath the north berm lies 80,000 square feet of operational facilities for Fair Park and Community Park.
With a 47-foot ascent to the top of the garage, the project makes the structure’s height an asset for the park, offering views of the adjacent neighborhood, Fair Park, and downtown. It also creates a new, distinctive public space for Dallas. The project’s shape takes inspiration from the region’s limestone ridges and the park’s prairie-inspired landscape, blending and unifying the garage structure with its surroundings. The parking structure aims to incentivize wellness by encouraging people to walk rather than use the elevator.
On the Building Team:
Owner and developer: Fair Park First
Design architect and architect of record: Gensler
Associate architect: Moody Nolan
MEP engineer: DFW Consulting Group
Structural engineer: Ponce-Fuess Engineering
General contractor/construction manager: VCC and Con-Real
Parking consultant: WGI
Civil engineer: Pacheco Koch
Related Stories
Building Team | Jan 10, 2017
Fiber canopies proposed to turn Phoenix streets into comfortable public space
The proposal was the winning entry in a design competition asking for ways to strengthen the identity of the Arizona city.
Building Team | Jan 6, 2017
CannonDesign launches REALIZE Life Safety Solutions
“The Final Rule presents a considerable update to the life safety directives most healthcare systems have become accustomed to,” says Joe Cassata, principal at CannonDesign.
Building Team | Jan 3, 2017
How does your firm’s hit rate stack up to the AEC competition?
If your firm is not converting at least a third of project proposals when competing for new work, it may be time to reassess your marketing tactics and processes.
Building Team | Dec 30, 2016
An open letter to the AEC C-suite
Women AEC professionals need you to take action.
Building Team | Dec 14, 2016
Hackathons set the stage at events for women in AEC and BD+C Under-40s
Popular among engineers, hackathons are forums that encourage “constructive collision” by bringing people into a room, letting them self-organize around common interests and goals, and having them work together in groups over two or three consecutive days to devise workable inventions that fill identifiable needs.
Building Team | Dec 14, 2016
Will Trump-led America be a boon or bust for U.S. AEC firms?
Regardless of which side of the aisle you stand on, election night was a jaw-dropping moment.
Building Team | Dec 8, 2016
The NYC Public Design Commission recognizes 12 projects with its 2016 Excellence in Design Award
2016 marked the 34th year the Public Design Commission has handed out its Excellence in Design Awards.
Building Team | Dec 2, 2016
Alexandria Real Estate Equities becomes first real estate investment trust to be named a First-in-Class Fitwel Champion
Fitwel building certification was developed to foster positive impacts on building occupant health and productivity through improvements to workplace design and policies.
Building Team | Nov 15, 2016
Major architecture firms are flocking to Dubai’s Design District
Three more major firms are making a permanent home in Dubai.
Architects | Nov 11, 2016
Six finalists selected for London’s Illuminated River competition
The competition is searching for the best design for lighting the bridges of central London.
