DALLAS CITY HALL, DALAS, TEXAS, USA

A. Project Name and Location

I. Overview and Significance of the Project

The current Dallas City Hall was built in 1978 and is located close to the heart of downtown
Dallas on an 11.8-acre plot of land (City of Dallas, 2001). Over 374,000 square feet of usable
office space, two levels of subterranean parking for 1426 automobiles, and public space
including the Council Chamber, Flag Room, and Great Court make up the building's overall
square footage of about one million square feet (City of Dallas, 2001). There were three stages to
the project's completion. The Park Plaza was approved by the City in May 1976, the structure in
December 1977, and the garage parking spaces in November 1974 (City of Dallas, 2001). Over
$70 million went into the building's design and construction, as well as the Park Plaza and
parking. Debates surfaced around financial overruns because the building was initially projected
to cost $42.2 million and aesthetic concerns. Moving on, the difficulties were resolved and the
project proceeded to completion (City of Dallas, 2001).

Dallas City Hall is a building and park combined into one (Dallas City Hall, n.d.). The strikingly
horizontal structure, purposefully constructed in contrast to surrounding high-rises, adds much-
needed open space to the central city and acts as a spur for future growth, making City Hall an
integral part of its official life and activities (Dallas City Hall, n.d.). The Park Plaza is surrounded
by Young, Ervay, Marilla, and Akard streets. It is two blocks long and one block broad (City of
Dallas, 2001). The Plaza has three unique 84-foot-tall flagpoles, a 180-foot-diameter reflecting
pool, a fountain with adjustable height, and park seating (City of Dallas, 2001). Texas native live
oaks and red oaks are used in the landscaping of The Plaza. For many years, Marta Pan, an artist,
created gigantic floating sculptures for the reflected pool (City of Dallas, 2001).

II. Site Analysis

Shown in the figure 000 is the site analysis of the Dallas City Hall (DCH). The sun path travels
from the left side to the right side of the building. The sun path is strategic because it gives out
enough sunlight to the building and the harsh sunlight in the afternoon does not enter the
offices. However, the park is the one who receives the harsh light and people who visits it in the
afternoon cannot avoid the sunlight since it is not shaded and the trees who are supposed to
help shading the park is in the northeast side. The amihan comes from Northeast and the
habagat comes from Southeast. Moreover, the Amihan or Northeast Wind faces the left side of
the structure which prevails cold and fresh wind. While the Habagat or Southwest Wind faces
the right side of the structure that prevails rainfall. Lastly, the noise comes from the RROW
around the structure. The roads that surround the city hall are Arkard st, young st, and browder
st.
 III. SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

It is situated at the Since it is situated at Architect Pei focused The building material,
center of the Dalas City. the center of the city, it offices and counters which is concrete, can
is most likely to cause where the public came be a threat to the
heavy traffic. to conduct business on climate in Dallas, Texas.
the ground floor Texas is known to
because he understood provide extended
that the building had to period of clear skies and
welcome the people. warm temperatures.
The city planning is The park situated at the It was oriented to Sine the city hall
radial which makes the front of the municipal facilitate increased exhibits brutalist
road networks leads hall and it is exposed in contact along the north architecture, the
straight to the City Hall. the harsh afternoon side of the site, which is landscaping in front of
sunlight and the trees the expanding the building is not
that is supposed to be downtown area. enough since it is
used as a shade is concentrated on the
The architectural design situated at the Its layout is intended to northeast side. With
welcomes the northeast side of the be a horizontal space brutalism, it may result
pedestrians and also site. that contrasts with the to temperature spike.
provides shade from the nearby tall buildings.
Texas sun.
Taking into account the
surroundings of the
building, it acts as a
spur for further growth.
Its layout is intended to
be a horizontal space
that contrasts with the
nearby tall buildings.
B. Design Concept

Among the most exquisite structures created by architect I.M. Pei is the Dallas City Hall (Sharma, P.
2024). He was among the most significant architects in the world and in the United States. Architects
of the next generation are still researching his designs. Situated in the heart of Dallas, the building
makes a powerful architectural statement (Sharma, P. 2024). The building, which occupies an area of
11.8 acres, was built in 1977 (Sharma, P. 2024). It has kindly endured for more than 40 years and
been recognized with numerous accolades for excellence (Sharma, P. 2024). I.M. Pei desired for city
hall to serve as a representation of the populace (Sharma, P. 2024).

Dallas City Hall's architecture demonstrates his grasp of human psychology and how people feel
about a structure (Sharma, P. 2024). Being a public structure, it had to have a friendly and engaging
architectural gesture (Sharma, P. 2024). The concept for the sketch was started by drawing an
upside-down pyramid shape (Sharma, P. 2024). This idea is credited with inspiring the building's
current design (Sharma, P. 2024). Pei concentrated offices and counters where the public came to
conduct business on the ground level because he understood that the building had to welcome the
people (Sharma, P. 2024). This implied a compact area at the base of the structure, with
progressively larger floors above to accommodate the government's administrative offices. The
inverted pyramid profile emerged as he started experimenting with sketches (Sharma, P. 2024).

Despite appearing gigantic, the building's durability is evenly balanced among its three large columns
(Sharma, P. 2024). The construction seems to be supported by the cylindrical pillars (Sharma, P.
2024). They are essentially stairwells that were moved forward to provide visual support after being
initially hidden in the design (Sharma, P. 2024). They do not, technically speaking, support the weight
of the structure (Sharma, P. 2024). Pei intended for the structure to have the feel of a naturally
occurring local product (Sharma, P. 2024). Because it reflected the earth tones of the area, he was
therefore tempted to employ buff-colored concrete for building and finishings (Sharma, P. 2024).
Both the inside and exterior of the structure are cast-in-place construction. Concrete appears to be a
strong, unfinished structural structure (Sharma, P. 2024). Shown in Figure 000 is the façade of the
Dallas City Hall.
C. Space Contextualization

The DCH does not have published floor plans and only elevations are being documented shown in
the figure 000. Fourteen substantial bearing walls support the cantilevered floors (Sharma, P. 2024).
The wall segment is divided into seven pairs and is 18 inches or 46 centimeters thick (Sharma, P.
2024). With the exception of situations in which they face the staircase towers, the pairs depict a
width of 14 feet or 4.3 meters (Sharma, P. 2024). The mechanical and electrical services are housed
in 11-foot-wide spaces that are bounded by the pairs. Office space spanning 65 ′-4 ′′ is located
between the pairs (Sharma, P. 2024). The structure has 25,000 square feet of office space, 17800 sq.
square feet of Great Court, 5,000 square feet of reception lobby space, 250 seats for the Council
chamber, 4.7 acres of Plaza with a 180-foot-diameter swimming pool, three 84-foot conical flagpoles,
a two-story subterranean disaster shelter, and a garage that can hold 1325 cars (Sharma, P. 2024).
The building's first and second floors are home to the Water Utility Bureau, Consumer Affairs, Action
Center, and public facilities (Sharma, P. 2024).
Shown in the figure 000-000 are the function spaces where done. It is where proclamation or public
announcements take place but the second function space is where formal proclamation announcements
are being done. It has flags at the back of the podium and in front are seats for the media.
Shown in the figure 000 are the hallways of the DCH. It showcases the high ceiling height of the structure
and long hallway also the levels of the city hall. IN addition, it can be seen on the side is the inverted
steps of the exterior façade.
Shown in the figure 000 is the sample work office inside the city hall. It has cubicle and computer sets to
cater the work needs of the staffs.
Shown in the figure 000 is the session hall. It is used for sessions, caucuses, meetings, and the likes of the
body and committees in order to resolve local issues and ensure effective governance.
Shown in the figure 000 is the city council chambers. It is where a city council conducts official meetings
and deliberations. It has distinct features such as the seating arrangement where the seats are arranged
in a semicircular form.
Shown in the figure 000 is the mayor’s office. It is shown the small lounge area where the mayor meets
and cater his/her guests.
Shown in the figure is the conference room. Per table in the conference room are labeled based on the
work of the staffs to easily distinguish the persons who are tasked or who are needed in the meeting.
This makes it easy to navigate or assign tasks for effective implementations.
 D. Diagrams and Zoning

Since there is no published floor plans of the building, shown in the figure 000 is the elevation with
labeled rooms. Shown in the diagram are the floor levels. Located in the underground is the garage or
parking slots. In the ground floor is the main lobby and located in the third floor are the great court and
the city manager’s office. Lastly, the fourth floor is where the mayor’s office and the council chamber is
located at the fifth floor.
Shown in the figure 000 is the spaces in the plaza in front of the DCH. Directly in front of the city hall are
the temporary open pavilions, movable tables and chairs, and shade structures. It also has a splash park
and playground near the entrance. In addition, the front of the DCH is know for small event space for
entertainment. Also, there are two stages in the plaza and one of it is near the water pond where
floating sculpture by marta pan is displayed.

REFERENCES

City of Dallas (n.d.) History of Dallas city hall buildings. https://dallascityhall.com/government/

citysecretary/archives/Pages/Archives_buildings.aspx

Dallas City Hall Plaza: Schemes & Dreams. (2012). Friends of Living Plaza.

https://dallaslivingplaza.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/dallas-city-hall-plaza-schemes-n-

dreams/

Dallas City Hall. (n.d.). Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. https://www.pcf-p.com/projects/dallas-city-

hall/
Devmetrotex. (2021). Get to know Dallas – an architectural tour. MetroTex.

https://www.mymetrotex.com/2017111get-to-know-dallas-an-architectural-tour/

Hubach, G. +. (2021). A modern architectural masterpiece: Dallas City Hall | Garcia + Hubach

REAL ESTATE. Garcia + Hubach REAL ESTATE. https://garciahubach.com/dallas-city-

hall/

Sharma, P. (2024). Dallas City Hall, USA by I.M. Pei: The Inverted pyramid design. https://www.re-
thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-design-inspiration/a1897-dallas-city-hall-usa-by-i-m-pei-the-inverted-pyramid-
design/#google_vignette