The Dallas Urban Laboratory

Design Frameworks for Metropolitan Density

2007 - 2012
dLab

The University of Texas at Austin . School of Architecture

Graduate Program in Urban Design 1
V
Lab notations . Volume
Design Frameworks for Metropolitan Density
1 2007 - 2012

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Dallas Urban Laboratory

Timeline

Demographics

MG Metropolitan Growth in the Texas Triangle 007

The Trinity River Corridor

WD Vision 2030_West Dallas Strategic Framework Plan 023

TM The Trinity Meanders and the Dallas Design District 047

VC Victory Connect 061

North Texas Station

NTS The Urban Necklace 079

Dean J Almy III, AIA . Director, Dallas Urban Laboratory

1
V
 The dallas urban laboratory

dLab
Constructing the West Dallas Model
The Dallas Urban Laboratory Mission

The Dallas Urban Laboratory was sustainable urban lifestyle. Among the
established as an applied research initiative projects that the Dallas Urban Laboratory
of the Graduate Program in Urban Design at has been involved with over the previous few
the School of Architecture. The format of years, are a number of initiatives that have
the applied research studio, central to the been presented to city officials, developers
working methodology of the Dallas Urban and stakeholders - effectively changing the
Laboratory, brings the collective energy of conversation about the direction of future
faculty and students at The University of development in the city.
Texas at Austin to bear on each successive
urban development project we investigate. DLab© research initiatives have supported
ongoing discussions about the urban
The DLab© is able to envision and analyze potential of central Dallas, bringing a
multiple urban development scenarios in a fresh perspective to the table. As part of
way that tests the limitations and parameters its mission, the Dallas Urban Laboratory
that impact the potential for densification strives to educate future urban designers
and programmatic use within the City of in the tactics and strategies of building
Dallas. Diverse scenarios are tested against compact, sustainable urban environments.
political, economic, and performance criteria Students are exposed to the significant
in order to present development alternatives potential of urban development possibilities,
that confront the status quo of development reframing their approach to architectural
patterns in the city. These scenarios are then practice. Many of these students have
balanced against local, cultural and social continued to work in the city, having become
conditions, and vetted through a process of professionally invested in its potential future.
public evaluation. As Dallas evolves over the next few decades,
the role of the urban laboratory, through its
The work of the Dlab© searches for a research initiative, will be to contribute to the
balance between the local qualities of a debate on shaping the growth and quality of
place, its livability and capacity for social life in the city.
equity, and the pressures of globalization
inherent in the rapid population increase Complementing the work of local civic
projected over coming decades. This groups, professional design firms, and the
approach is part of an ecological agenda City Planning Department, students working
to illustrate the potential for significantly through the Dallas Urban Laboratory are
increasing the population density of Dallas engaging in an enthusiastic dialog of ideas
while increasing the potential for the city to and images, with the stakeholders of Dallas.
establish a resilient approach to a

Dallas Laboratory Exhibition_The Rachovsky House Gallery

001

DLab Timeline : 2007 - 2012
2006 Founding of the Dallas Urban
Laboratory
The founding of the Dallas Urban Laboratory
coincided with a symposium in Dallas
entitled, Envisioning Dallas: From Triangle
to Trinity, in order to bring together the
Dallas community with a national group
of scholars, to discuss the implications
of growth in the the Texas-Triangle mega-
region, and to speculate on the implications
of regional growth for the future of
urbanization in the Dallas - Fort Worth
metropolitan area. Focusing on issues of
transportation, landscape ecology and
urban density, the conference brought
important scholars such as, Richard Plunz,
Catherine Ross, Nina-Marie Lister, etc., from
around the country and paired them with
local officials including the Mayor of Dallas
and Ross Perot Jr., in order to stimulate
discussion on the key issues that the region
will be facing in the next few decades.
The symposium established the initial
fundraising from which the Dlab© was
founded. Stakeholder contributions,
and a series of foundation grants and
sponsorships, provided the means from
which the Dlab© , a five year initiative, could
be established.
Dallas Urban Laboratory Exhibition
LOcation:
The Rachofsky House
8605 Preston Rd.
Dallas, TX 75225
(214) 373-0430
SAVE THE DATE
September 7, 2010
6:00 - 8:00 PM
RSVP to Amelia Rey-Shannon
areyshannon@austin.utexas.edu
512-471-6029
THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | 2007-2010 | THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN | SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
2007 Vision 2030: West Dallas Strategic Development Plan
After consultation with a panel of city leaders and professionals, the
Dallas Urban Laboratory’s initially research focused on the
articulation of development scenarios for the West Dallas
embankment of the Trinity River Corridor and Park. This included
working with the city planning department, architects and stakeholders
to study the implications of new legislative mechanisms that had
recently been adopted by the city, and to challenge some of the
underlying assumptions that were driving development.
This process led to the development of a framework for the West
Dallas Gateway area, located directly across from the CBD, and at the
other end of three new Santiago Calatrava bridges being planned to
cross the new urban park, the implications of which the city had yet to
fully grasp. It is a project that doubles the size of the downtown, in-line
with regional growth projections, provides housing for an additional
ten thousand residents, and creates a new entry to the park, along with
all the associated qualities of urban life: jobs, education, parks and
culture, that will enrich the lifestyle of the new urban residents in West
Dallas. It studied how the careful articulation of the edge to the park
would make it accessible for the community at large.
2007 Exhibition at the American Institute of Architects, Dallas
Across the Divide, An exhibition of the West Dallas Strategic
Development Plan.
2007 Quarry Reclamation_Bridgeport, Texas
A Dlab© sponsored research studio in the landscape architecture
program that focused on the reclaimation and adaptive re-use of
the Bridgeport Quarry landscape currently in operation by Hanson
Aggregates, Inc. The project was executed as a part of the Denton
Economic Development Corporation’s strategic planning framework.
Dallas Urban Lab
2008 The La Bajada Gateway Project
As a result of the initial presentation to the community of physical
planning scenarios for West Dallas, Dlab© was engaged by the major
stakeholder in the area, an investment group that owned 250 acres
strategically located at the landing of the new Margaret Hunt bridge,
designed by Santiago Calatrava. West Dallas Investments sponsored
further investigations into the La Bajada sector, an area of strategic
importance. The work in La Bajada fine tuned the strategies for
housing, infrastructure, public space and overall density in the district,
ultimately leading to the search for a professional urban design team
to implement planning strategies for the area. Dlab brought in teams
consisting of: Koetter-Kim and Field Operations, KCAP and EDAW,
Alsop and WRT, and Arups with West 8, to compete for the contract.
2009 Victory Connect: A Highline for Dallas?
In 2009, Dlab© began to work back on the east side of the river,
studying development scenarios for the Victory Connect Project with
Wallace, Roberts & Todd, landscape architects for the Trinity River
Park. The project focused on a WRT proposed “highline” structure that
would provide opportunities for connecting the Victory Development
to the Trinity River Corridor, along with its’ the long-term impact on the
southern end of the Design District.
As part of the study, research into the current implications of existing
zoning led to the formation of new volumetric coding strategies
intended to catalyze, and control, the type of density that would be
necessary to enable the development of the necessary critical mass
to bring urban life to the project, without destroying the social and
economic integrity of the Dallas Design District - the largest in the
United States.
2009 Great Places Planning Award
The Dallas Urban Laboratory is recognized for its work on, Vision
2030: West Dallas Strategic Development Plan, by Places Magazine,
EDRA and Metropolis Magazine.
2010 Dallas Design District: Green Infrastructure Networks
Working together with the Dallas City Planning Office and the Dallas
Design Studio, DLab© was asked to develop a vision for how the
Dallas Design District would develop over time, without disrupting
ongoing economic activity. The catalyst for this project was the recent
city-wide bond election to turn the original Trinity River meanders
(disconnected by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1930’s) into a
linear park. After a thorough analysis revealed that the development of
the meanders into a true park would be blocked by the Army Corps of
Engineers insistence on using the meanders for flood control, thereby
placing severe restrictions on its abilty to have trees and shade while
blighting re-development opportunities in the district.
The lab developed a new comprehensive landscape infrastructure plan
for the district, which reorganised the infrastructural network, setting
up a system of bio-swale raingarden streets that are organized along
the original railroad right-of-way alleys, historically used to bring goods
into and out of the warehouse areas. This infrastructure tactic also
increased multi-modal connectivity in the district, while providing a
new ecological framework for public space that re-structures the land
use agenda along the Trinity meanders. This strategy captures and
slows the districts surface hydrology, a tactic that reduces pollutants,
cleans the water before it flows into the river, and slows the flow of
water into the meanders, thereby reducing the reliance on it for flood
control. The meanders can then be adapted into a real linear urban
park which will provide an green spine for the district, while catalyzing
investment along its banks, and bringing a new set of diverse
programs into the area.
2010 Exhibition at the Rachofsky House Gallery, Dallas DLab Sponsored Lecturers and Visiting Critics
Retrospective exhibition highlighting five years of research and Thomas K. Davis, FAIA
visioning work on the Trinity River Corridor at The Rachofsky House Nashville Civic Design Center
Gallery
Jerry Van Eyck,
2012 North Texas Station: The Urban Necklace West 8
In the fall of 2010, Dlab© was asked by the Director of City Juan Busquets,
Planning in Dallas to work with the Mayor, and the City Manager’s Harvard University
office, on the development of a new town to be located in south Dallas.
Catalyzed by the establishment of a new campus for The University of Ricky Burdett,
North Texas at Dallas, development in the southern sector threatens to The Urban Age Project
comsume an important ecological corridor whose watershed is tied to
the Trinity River. Adjecent development designed by RTKL along with Mark Schimmenti,
the extension of the DART transit system to the south are also opening Nashville Civic Design Center
up new development potential. Yet these initiatives have not been
integrated, and are threatening to promote development paradigms that Fares El-Dahdah,
will continue the low-density, automobile dependent, and unsustainable Rice University
sprawl that has characterized development in South Dallas.
Steven Luoni,
Dlab© developed a framework for a new town, North Texas Station, University of Arkansas Civic Design Center
that will provide for a community of 30,000 new residents, and a
population of 25,000 university students, which will be organized Charles Mckinney,
around a urban rail loop that concentrates the density into an urban NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
necklace, a tactic meant to preserve the ecological resources of the
area, and providing a system of green infrastructure that balances Grahame Shane,
development with natural resources in order to establish a new Cooper Union
paradigm for development in the south, an alternative to sprawl.
003
 Dallas_Urban Growth Boundary Transformation

Dallas Metropolitan Growth

Dallas_Kessler 1911 Dallas_Kessler 1911 Dallas_Kessler 1928 Dallas_Bartholomew 1945 Dallas_Bartholomew 1945 Dallas_Transit 1955

005
 Population :

1983: 2,451,00
2000: 5,067,400

pop per sq. mile (2000)

2010
: 6,328,200

from 1990 to 2000

population
texas triangle

2009 estimate

density

density
change

change
Metropolitan Growth in the Texas Triangle 2020
: 7,646,600 The Texas Triangle
new york, ny 8,391,881 26,401 11.4% NY city limits metro areas

The Texas Triangle has been identified

2030: 9.107,900 los angeles, ca
chicago, il

houston, tx
3,831,868
2,851,268

2,257,926
7,876
12,750

3,372
6.1%
4.1%

11.6%
la
phoenix, az 1,601,587 2,782 18.8%
as one of 10 emerging Mega-Regions in chi
dallas houston austin san antonio dallas houston austin san antonio dallas population

North America. This geographic area is philadelphia, pa

san antonio, tx
1,547,297
1,373,668
11,233
2,808
-4.3%
-0.1%
1,256,588

5.77%
2,235,760

14.44%
750,367

14.35%
1,310,777

14.49%
population

pop change since 2000

6,352,460

23.00%
5,818,687

23.40%
1,659,082

32.74%
2,051,014

19.86%
1983:
2000:
2,451,000
5,067,400
hou
defined by 4 of America’s fastest growing san diego, ca 1,306,301 3,772 10.0% 3,668 3,859 2,983 3,216 pop density per sq mile 707 652 393 279
2010:
2020:
6,328,200
7,646,600
cities, with Dallas-Fort Worth occupying
dallas, tx 1,299543 3,470 18.0% housing
2030: 9,107,900
san jose, ca 964,695 5,118 12.1% pho 468,055 808,317 304,006 464,349 households 2,270,328 2,010,851 614,635 719,842

the northern apex of the triangle. Within detroit, mi 910,920 6,855 -7.5% 38.03% 40.16% 42.78% 54.55%
Med home cost

homes owned
$138,800

58.18%
$158,990

56.65%
$178,790

57.73%
$151,270

61.00%
america 2050 identifies the Texas
Triangle as one of 10 emerging
Mega-Regions in

the next 20 years the population centers san francisco, ca 815,358 16,633 7.3%
phi
52.30% 48.59% 50.29% 37.99% homes rented 35.36% 33.63% 35.59% 31.24%
North America. This geographic
area is defined by 4 of America’s
fastest growing cities, with

of the Texas Triangle are each expected to jacksonville, fl 813,518 971 16% housing vacant 6.47% 9.72% 6.69% 7.76% Dallas-Fort Worth occupying the
northern apex of the triangle.
indianapolis, in 807,584 2,163 7.0% sa transportation
Within the next 20 years the
population centers of the Texas

double, with the population of the Dallas- austin, tx 786,382 2,610 22.1% commute time 1-way 30.2 31.9 28.5 27
Triangle are each expected to
double, with the population of

The Population of Dallas is expected to double in approximately 20 years!

the Dallas-Fort Worth region
auto 79.59% 77.32% 77.47% 77.15%
Fort Worth region projected to exceed 9 sd dallas
alone in car projected to exceed 9 million

columbus, oh 769,360 3,383 2.1% carpool 13.26% 13.82% 13.43% 14.30% 6.3 mil people. The resulting demand on
resources is already generating
23% since 2000 significant developmental pres-

million people. The resulting demand on fort worth, tx

charlotte, nc
727,575

709,441
1,828

2,232
14.8%

-1.7% dal
mass transit

work at home
1.58%

3.12%
3.08%

2.55%
2.10%

3.62%
2.30%

2.70%
sure and increased demands
upon the urban and environmental
infrastructure of the region.

resources is already generating significant

As the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro-
memphis, tn 676,640 2,327 -2.4% politan Region looks to the fu-
cost of living us average is 100
ture, each of its cities are

dal

hou

aus
sj
attempting to address common

developmental pressure along with increased

boston, ma 645,169 12,165 2.5% overall 91 92 98 90

sa
concerns on a regional scale and
to share in complementary
food 96 86 89 84 economic and environmental

demands upon the urban and environmental

strengths. The North Central
baltimore, md 637,418 8,058 -11.5% utilities 105 102 98 86 Texas Council of Governments

el paso, tx 620,447 2,263 7.8% det misc 99 97 98 86

(NCTCOG) is working toward a fu-

infrastructure of the region.

ture that is environmentally sus-
tainable, socially equitable,
seattle, wa 617,334 6,717 9.2% climate i-35 and competitive in the global
3 hr i-45
economy. In response, the City of
denver, co 610,345 3,617 18.6%
sf rainfall annual inches 36.3 48.1 34.5 30.3
4 hr
Dallas is undertaking a series
of initiatives intended to trans-
nashville, tn 605,473 1,152 11.7% precip days 73 90 78 74 form Dallas into a world-class

As the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan

city capable of sustaining this
population in city sunny days 234 203 231 227 massive change.

jac ave july high 95.9 93.1 95.3 95.4

Region looks to the future, each of its
Population Density (per sq. mile) : 531
ave jan low 33.6 43.3 38.8 39.9

cities are attempting to address common ind comfort index avg is 44 25 24 22 23

elevation above sea level 440 45 595 788 Austin

concerns on a regional scale and to share in
Inhabitants in Metropolitan core : 1,150,000
1.7 mil
jobs
aus 33% since 2000

complementary economic and environmental population in periphery unemployment rate 8.3% 8.5% 7.2% 7.0%

recent job growth -1.17% -2.52% 0.17% -0.03% hwy 71

over past 12 months i-35 3 hr
strengths. The North Central Texas Council col future job growth
over next 10 years
29.36% 26.46% 33.14% 32.94% 1 hr houston
5.8 mil
income per capita $27,240 $26,067 $27,975 $22,286 23% since 2000
of Governments (NCTCOG) is working household income $56,962 $54,968 $57,719 $47,299 san antonio
i-10
fw 2.1 mil
toward a future that is environmentally health 100 is best

air quality 28.4 18.4 44.8 25.8

20% since 2000 3.5 hr

sustainable, socially equitable, and cha change in city population

from 1990 to 2000
water quality 84 51 85 88

competitive in the global economy. In

superfund sites 82 56 99 96

mem
response, the City of Dallas is undertaking
a series of initiatives intended to transform bos
sources: us census, bestplaces.net, demographia.com

Dallas into a world-class city capable of change in metro population

from 1990 to 2000
bal
sustaining this massive change.
Average Commuting Time: 22 min. ep

sea

den

nas

007
Dallas Metropolitan Growth

Dallas_Trinity River Infrastructure

Dallas_Trinity River Infrastructure

009
 LA

Forward Dallas! The Trinity River Corridor Project

The City of Dallas is in the midst of a Seeking to transform the river into the largest
significant development initiative that urban park in the United States, The Trinity
seeks to re-position itself as an alpha class River Corridor Initiative encompasses the
global city. Spearheaded by the city’s entire stretch of the river basin between
development office and supported by private Dallas and Fort Worth. The central area of
philanthropic initiatives such as The Trinity which, located immediately adjacent to the
Trust, two major planning efforts have been urban core, will be able to hold an estimated
ongoing that seek to transform the historic capacity, during festival days, of close to
relationship between Dallas and the Trinity 250,000 people.
River, long considered an environmental
detriment to the city. These efforts have Among the signature elements of the Trinity
resulted in the implementation of the Forward River Corridor, Balanced Vision Plan are
Dallas! plan, and the Trinity River Corridor three new bridges designed by the Spanish
Initiative. architect Santiago Calatrava. The new
bridges will not only re-brand the city, but
they, together with the reconstruction of the
park, seek to reorganize the city around its’
new central park.

The Trinity River Corridor_Flood Stage The Trinity River Corridor_City of Dallas, Proposed Reconstruction

011
 TRC
The Trinity River Corridor Dallas, Texas

An Expanded Framework for Embracing the New Urban Park

Acting as a complement to the Trinity River
Corridor, Balanced Vision plan, the Forward
Dallas! plan envisions new development
along both edges of the river, capitalizing on
the major investment in new infrastructure.
Already new zoning has been put in place
to catalyze development efforts along both
flaanks of the river. It is unclear however,
what the real implications of the new zoning
are, and what form of urbanism is likely to
emerge.

While this new development is intended to

transform Dallas and bring a new urban
dynamic to a city that has long forgone
the virtues of urban living for an ever-
expanding suburban model. There are
serious inadequacies inn the code, and it is
likely that the outcomes that the city desires
will if fact not materialize in ways that are
supportive of a true urban lifestyle. The City
of Dallas understands this is not a viable
model for a sustainable future. This is the
charge of the Dallas Urban Laboratory; to
mprovide visionary agencies that will help to
direct growth toward a sustainable future for
the area.

Central to the successful realization of these

visionary proposals is the importance of
infrastructural connectivity between the new
park, its bridges, and the neighborhoods
along its flanks. New levels of urban density,
designed to support a vibrant quality of life,
are needed if these efforts are to reach their
full urban potential.

The Trinity River Corridor

013
 MO
Mobility Frameworks
2 major highways, I-30 and I-35E subdivide
the zone into 3 major zones while a future
DART commuter rail line bisects the future
West Dallas, Municiple Management District.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to connectivity
along the park however, is the 35 foot
height of the Army Corps of Engineers
levee structures that channelize the Trinity
riverbed. Additionally, an electrical substation
occupies a key position adjacent to the
bridgehead of the new Margaret Hunt Bridge.
A significant aspect of the redevelopmment
of the corridor are new initiatives that
reconsider the mobility frameworks in central
Dallas. With significant new infrastructural
connections under consideration, the flanks
of the river now have the opportunity to re-
engage with the adjacent development. This
is an opportunity that has not existed since
the mid 1930’s. when the construction of
the 35 foot high levies established significant
barriers between the city and the river.
With the construction of the new Trinity Park,
projected to become the new center of the
city, including enabling festivals for as many
as one hundred thousand people, a new
life can now be brought to what has long
been a vacated terrain. Supporting these
connections to and across the park are a
series of reconsidered road, transit, bicycle
and pedestrian networks that will form the
backbone of new development.
Trinity Meanders - Side Street Irving Street Transit Corridor Public Works Infrastructure
Already the Margaret Hunt Bridge has begun
construction, connecting the Woodall Rogers
Freeway with Singleton Avenue, and bringing
a significant new economic potential to the
western flank, and the neighborhoods of
West Dallas.
The current CBD of the city is 1/2 mile away
from the river, with highways and a jail
occupying the intervening landscape, while
the western edge of the Trinity River Corridor
is criss-crossed by significant transportation
infrastructure. In spite of the obstacles to a
coherent urban pattern along th edges of the
river, there is significantly less infrastructure
main streets
along the western flank than that which is
primary streets
secondary streets
located between the downtown and the river.
local streets
This factor positions West Dallas to be the
Hierarchical Road System
prefered location for engaging the new Trinity
River parklands.
trANSIT STOPS
blue line
RED LINE
GREEN LINE
existing bike routes
dart
proposed bike routes
pROPOSED lIGHT rAIL
proposed dart
main pedestrian zones
Transit System Expansion Bicycle and Pedestrian Networks
015
 LA

The Trinity River Corridor - Landscape Systems West Dallas - Trinity River West Dallas - Trinity River Esplanade
Landscape Infrastructure

In West Dallas, at the height of the levee As the primary environmental and social
+35, a new park front promenade has framework along the Trinity River Corridor,
been designed atop a shared public parking the landscape infrastructure has been
infrastructure. Extending back into the developed around an integrated and
district from this edge are a series of view interconnected network of systems . Most
corridors that link important vantage points important is the implementation of a strategy
within the development framework, to the 3 to connect the neighborhoods to the Trinity
new Trinity River bridges . These corridors River Park, making it accesible to the
are to be articulated as a series of green roof community at large.
systems at the levee top height providing
direct visual and programmatic connectivity A series of green fingers, running
to the park. perpendicular to the river perform this
primary linking function, establishing a series
of pedestrian and bicycle oriented streets
that connect directly to the park edge. The
corridors are complemented by a series of
distributed recreational parks and play fields
meant to support the needs of a new influx
Trinity Meanders Trinity River Corridor - Recreation and Leisure
of urban families.

Surface hydrology and groundwater

pollutants are controlled by a series of
sustainable streets and bioswale networks
that clean the groundwater before it is
pumped over the levee to the river basin.
Green Roofs
(@ levee top elevation +35)

Hardscape
(Plazas and Walks)

Programmed Open Space

(Event and Recreational)

Unprogrammed Open Space

(Natural and Riparean Systems)

Existing Open Space

Trinity River Corridor - Green Corridors Trinity River Corridor - Open Space Network

017
 DE
Development Densities
New development frameworks are proposed
that respond to agendas already established
in the Forward Dallas! plan. These provide
the opportunity for significantly increased
density while maintaining the necessary
attributes appropriate for the provision of a
meaningful urban lifestyle. Concerns for the
maintanence of viewsheds toward the river;
the establishment of an appropriate scale for
pedestrian streets, and sufficient exposure to
daylight in the urban environment are among
the criteria used to generate the new urban
structure.
Land parcelization systems are formulated
to balance urban development opportunities
with an appropriate scaled urban block
structure. Existing land structures - largely
vacated - do not orient toward the river. In
West Dallas this is remediated by projecting
the scale and orientation of the downtown
urban grid across the river. The ideal
structure is then carefully knitted into
the existing ownership pattern and tested
against a series of setback regulations, view
corridors and sunangle factors. The resultant
framework is a loosely structured series
of envelopes intended to balance creative
opportunity with urban coherence.
Design District_Skyline Envelope
Design District_FAR Envelopes
Design District_Latent Development Potential
West Dallas_Skyline Envelope
West Dallas_FAR Envelopes
West Dallas_Latent Development Potential
Volumetric Coding
Density strategies are based on modifying
current zoning regulations in order to
provide a more fine-tuned and controlled
set of spatial guidelines that simultaneously
promote coherence across a district,
while allowing for individual architectural
development freedoms.
Regulatory strategies are embedded in form-
based coding tactics that have the potential
to provide for both district wide and parcel
regulation. Skyline envelope determinations (
protecting view corridors, ensuring sunlight
penetration, and establishing building
height compatibility) are based on research
originally done by Donald Appleyard at the
Berkeley Urban Simulation
Lab.
Development performance envelopes are
established for each land parcel within the
overall structure. These are calibrated to
establish building heights, setbacks, and
overall urban coherence. Derived from
tactics being developed by KCAP, these
regulatory envelopes are typically more
liberal than current American Form-Based
Code tactics, while they are also more
restrictive than standard zoning mecanisms.
019
The Trinity River Corridor_Composite Plan

021
 WD
West Dallas 2009 Great Places Planning Award

Vision 2030 : Strategic Framework Plan

The Re-development of the western eddge of
the Trinity River Corridor has been envisioned
to engage the diverse constituencies and
stakeholders within the area of West Dallas
and to provide a framework within which the
district can emerge toward a new urban future.
The opportunity for structuring a sustainable
urban transformation in West Dallas still
exists, as significant amounts of land have
been left abandonded, underdeveloped, or
are considered brownfield sites. Within the
area, many parcels - remnants of an industrial
heritage - are too large to allow for controlled
urban development. A comprehensive
approach to land development control is
therefore needed. Together with an appropriate
mixture of uses, transit infrastructure and
urban open space, the potential of this
landscape to transform into a new heart of
West Dallas is significant. Landholders such
as West Dallas Investments have consolidated
over 250 acres at the strategic interface
between the landing of the new Santiago
Calatrava designed Woodall Rogers Bridge and
properties along Singleton Avenue.

Given the pressure of population increase that

Dallas is experiencing, West Dallas is poised
to move toward its social and economic
potential. West Dallas needs to implement an
urbanization strategy that is able to benefit
everyone - developers and neighborhoods
alike - in order to catalyze the construction of a
meaningful future.

West Dallas . Vacant Lots West Dallas . Residential Zones

023
Across the Divide
The city’s new Forward Dallas! overlay
envisions significant new building heights
in the West Dallas Gateway District and
the future re-alignment of Beckley Avenue
is moving toward implementation. These
initiatives have the potential to connect
West Dallas directly to the new landscape
being designed to transform the Trinity
River into Americas largest urban park, six
times the size of New York’s Central Park.
The three new Calatrava designed bridges
will work together with a proposed new
urban transportation system that values
pedestrians as well as cars, and supports
transit-oriented development. This new
mobility system will provide access to the
park for citizens from the greater Dallas
region.
The strategic framework initiative addresses
these issues by proposing a reconsideration
of the land organization patterns in order to
allow for the gradual collective development
of an urban core for the area. Capitalizing
on the development potential fostered by
the Trinity River Corridor Project, new block
sizes and orientations have been proposed
that provide a new agency for realizing
the collective potential of the area. This
accomplishes a number of development
objectives, including the re-orientation of
parcels to the river in order to facilitate
development opportunities along the levee.
This tactic also frames the river with density,
re-positioning the district in its rightful
West Dallas
place as a centerpiece of the future city.
The new scale of blocks facilitate access
to the park through increasing the number
and frequency of access points to the
park. Beckley Avenue is re-aligned in
order to establish a connection between
the major bridges and roads, and to
facilitate connections with the DART
system. Relocating Beckley Avenue
away from the levee edge increases the
potential for developable land along the
park. Together with an increased density of
affordable family-oriented housing types,
new development allows for a renewed
sense of community while increasing the
residential density and life-style choices in
the area. Finally, a new green infrastructure
is designed in order to provide for the health
and recreational potential of the district while
developing a set of connections to the river.
The proposals work within the TRC’s
allowable densities and the underlying
development intensions of the new zoning
overlay, developing more specific agendas
for the character of these new urban
neighborhoods. This includes the protection
of culturally significant communities through
integration strategies, and the provision of
significantly increased residential densities
in order to address the problem of rapid
population growth that Dallas is expected to
experience within the coming decades. The
framework proposes a sustainable agenda
for urban living, working and playing, five
minutes from the heart of the city.
025
 LA MO DE

Forward Dallas! TRC land Use plan Urban Design Parameters

The Forward Dallas! plan has been The western edge of the Trinity River Corridor
sanctioned by the Dallas City Council in is criss-crossed by significant transportation
order to harness new development potential infrastructure:
along both edges of the river, thereby
capitalizing on the major investment in new 2 major highways, I-30 and I-35E subdivide
infrastructure. the zone into 3 major zones while a future
DART commuter rail line bisects the future
This new development is intended to West Dallas, Municiple Management District.
transform central Dallas, bringing an urban Perhaps the biggest obstacle to connectivity
dynamic to a city that has long forgone the along the park is the 35 foot height of the
virtues of urban living for an ever-expanding Army Corps of Engineers levee structures
suburban model. The City of Dallas that channelize the Trinity riverbed.
understands that the lack of housing in the Additionally, an electrical substation
central city is causing serious pressure upon occupies a key position adjacent to the
the city, its schools and public infrastructure. bridgehead of the Margaret Hunt Bridge.
This situation does not provide a viable
model for a sustainable urban future. In spite of the obstacles to a coherent urban
TRC transit systems
pattern along the western edge of the river,
Central to the successful realization of there is significantly less infrastructure
these visionary proposals are important new than that which is located between the
infrastructural connections between the new downtown and the river. This factor positions
park, its bridges, and the neighborhoods West Dallas to be the prefered location for
along its flanks. New levels of urban density engaging the new Trinity River parklands.
are needed if these efforts are to reach their
full urban potential.

TRC open space systems

The Trinity River Corridor_City of Dallas, Existing Land Use

027
8
 DE

Land Development Framework The New Urban Heart of West Dallas

A new development framework for West 1 West Dallas_Grid Projection

Dallas is proposed which responds to
specific criteria established through an 2 Trinity River Corridor
extensive public process already embedded
in the Forward Dallas! plan. Concerns for the 3 Dragon Street Arts District
maintanence of viewsheds toward the river;
the establishment of an appropriate scale for 4 Trail Systems
pedestrian streets, and sufficient exposure
to daylight in the urban environment are 5 DART Stops
among the criteria that have been used to 9 7
generate the strategy. In addition, a new 2 4 6 New Bridges [Calatrava]
land parcellization system is formulated to
balance urban development opportunties 7 Trinity Meanders TIF District
with an appropriate scaled urban block
structure. 5 3 8 Dallas CBD

The existing land structure - largely vacated 9 Singleton Avenue

- does not orient toward the river, this is
0
remediated by projecting the scale and 1 10 Beckley Re-Alignment
orientation of the downtown urban grid 6
across the river. The ideal structure of
this land division strategy is then carefully
knitted into the existing ownership pattern
and tested against a series of setback
regulations, view corridors and sunangle
factors. The resultant framework is a loosely
structured series of envelopes intended to 6
balance creative opportunity with urban 8
coherence.
0
6

Existing Spatial Structure New Land Parcelization New Land Use Structure Projective Systems

029
 DE

West Dallas Framework View Corridor : West Dallas Gateway TOD to Downtown West Dallas Gateway District

The territory of the West Dallas Gateway As the new urban grid engages with the
project occupies the western flank of the existing levee structure along the park, a
Trinity River Corridor, directly across from series of shared parking structures provide
downtown Dallas. It extends from the astabilizing base for new development along
neighborhoods of West Dallas, organized the park edge. the new structures provide a
along Singleton Avenue, along the levee and plinth the is level with the top of the levee.
south past the Lake Cliff Historic District and the sectional strategy extends back into the
on down to Cadillac Heights. It straddles a district along newly legislated view corridors
series of major infrastructure components and become the stage for public spaces and
including the I-30 and I-35E highways. In for green roof systems. the street gris slopes
addition an elevated freight rail line bisects up from the re-aligned Beckley Avenue
the site segregating the more affluent connecting up to the top of the levee and
100% 75% 50% 25% 15%
C M Y K
0 0 17 13

ditricts of Oak Cliff and Kessler Park from provide access to the parking.
20 40 60 20

10 20 40 0

10 5 30 10

the predominantly Hispanic and African 10 10 30 0

20 10 50 30

American communities that are among

0 20 60 20
100% 75% 50% 25% 15%
C M Y K
0 40 80 20 0 0 17 13

0 0 0 32

the poorest areas of the city (West Dallas

20 40 60 20

10 10 40 0 10 20 40 0

10 10 30 10 10 5 30 10

Chamber of Commerce, 2006).

10 50 100 10 10 10 30 0

10 70 70 10 20 10 50 30

15 30 60 34 0 20 60 20

50 40 96 49 0 40 80 20

22 12 3 0 0 0 0 32

6 7 55 0 10 10 40 0

30 30 5 0 10 10 30 10

25 90 95 15 10 50 100 10

10 70 70 10

15 30 60 34

50 40 96 49

22 12 3 0

6 7 55 0

30 30 5 0

21+ 7-21 1-7 25 90 95 15

485U 157U 156U

building heights

green space
625U-621U

cool grey warm grey

8U,4U,2U 8U,4U,2U
21+ 7-21 1-7

485U 157U 156U

building heights

green space
625U-621U

cool grey warm grey

8U,4U,2U 8U,4U,2U

TRANSIT SYSTEMS STREET HIERARCY

PROPOSED AND EXISTING
PARKING GARAGE & VIEW CORRIDORS
PROPOSED LR PROPOSED CR RED LINE BLUE LINE TRE LINE BUS LINES CAPACITY: (FROM TOP):
THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | SPRING 2007 | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE PRIMARY SECONDARY GREEN FINGERS THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | SPRING 2007 | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
APPROX. 4000 CARS 1 WOODALL ROGERS BRDIGE TO DOWNTOWN
2 TRAIN STATION TO CALATRAVA BRIDGE THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | SPRING 2007 | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

West Dallas_Transit System West Dallas_Street Hierarchy West Dallas_Parking Infrastructure and Viewsheds Generative Systems
3 REUNION TOWER
4 NEIGHBORHOOD VIEW

031
 DE

West Dallas Framework Generative Alignments West Dallas_Gateway District

The West Dallas Gateway District occupies Given its prime location, and the significant
the territory imediately adjacent to the impediments between the current CBD
Trinity River Corridor. The area is currently and the new park, principle access is
laden with abandoned lots. A significant anticipated to be from the West Dallas
percentage of the land is owned by West Gateway District. As a result, a new robust
Dallas Investments currently holds 250 transit and pedestrian infrastructure is
acres and is in the process of securing designed to connect the district to the greater
an additional 150 acres. As part of the metropolitan area through an expansion
district’s regeneration strategy, West Dallas of the DART commuter system. This is
Investments is in the process of forming supplemented by the parking gararge
a Municiple Management District in order system that acts as reinforcing for the levee
to establish urban design controls for the structure and elevates the ground plane to
district. +35 aligning with the top of the levee and
constructing a new levee top promenade
The Dallas Urban Laboratory has been overlooking and connecting to the park.
working directly with the partners of West
Dallas Investments, who are also sponsors
of DLab©. As a primary stakeholder, West
Dallas Investments considers themselves View Corridor : TOD to McDermott Bridge
to be stewards of the long-term interests of
the district. The new framework is designed
to harness the development projected
to enfront the western flank of the new
Trinity River Corridor. Given the expected
population growth in the city and the primary
importance of the gateway location, it is
projected that downtown Dallas could double
in size in the next 20 years, with a large
percentage occupying the gateway district.
11+ Floors

4-11 Floors

1-4 Floors
MASTER PLAN
11+FLOORS 4-11 FLOORS 1-4 FLOORS

West Dallas_Neighborhoods
THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

View Corridor : Beckley Avenue re-alignment

033
 DE

West Dallas Framework West Dallas Gateway_Block Densities West Dallas Gateway_Park Interface
West Dallas_Block Structure

West of the new highrise development

that is projected to be constructed directly
adjacent to the levee, lower scale mixed-use
urban blocks planned to support significanrt
amounts of new housing, commercial, and
retail land uses are proposed. The blocks are
scaled down to the existing neighborhoods
of West Dallas and are designed to provide
affordable, walkable neighborhoods with
access to transit, schools, and recreation.

The Western Trinity Riverfront West Dallas Gateway_Block Structure

035
 LA

West Dallas Framework West Dallas Gateway_Levee Section

Landscape Infrastructure
Trinity River Corridor - Margaret Hunt-Hill Park

Along the edge of the park, at the height

of the top of the levee, a new esplanade
provides a linear public edge from which
residents can access the amenities of the
park. The park system extends back into
the neighborhood along established view
corridors, and a series of green streets
that provide visual and programmatic
connectivity from the new development to
the park, which serving as bio-remediative
systems to handle surface hydrology in the
district.

Below the new park infrastructure are

public parking garages that form a base that
reinforces the levee while accomodating the
increased demand that will be generated by
the park. The new grid of streets connect to
the levee front drive sloping up from Beckley
Avenue and binds the new development back
into the street grid of the larger urban district.

West Dallas Gateway_Levee Section West Dallas Gateway_Park Promenade

037
 DE

West Dallas Development

West Dallas_View from Singleton Avenue

039
 DE
West Dallas Neighborhoods
Existing neighborhoods flanking Singleton
Boulevard are among the most culturally
stable and historically meaningful in the city.
Under threat from rapid gentrification and
land speculation, the West Dallas strategic
framework plan envisions development
of the properties along the crossing of
Singleton Boulevard and Sylvan Avenue as
buffers to the increased density against the
river and the rail corridor.
Development along these avenues protects
the edges of the neighborhoods while
providing an opportunity for the local
economy to flourish at the interface of the
new development. Revenue from the MMD
is channeled into open space improvements
in the area and affordale housing for the
community.
The development of Singleton Blvd is one
of the main issues in West Dallas due to
its status as a gateway accessing the area
from the downtown across the new Woodall
Rogers Bridge which is expected to be
the first “signature bridge” connecting the
Design District north of the river with La
Bajada and west Dallas.
A Abandoned Motor Court hotel
C
B The average single-family home lot size
A option. Reducing the lot size for single-
Neighborhoods_
B Freight rail line (future DART) 1. La Bajada
2. La L’aceate
3. Los Altos
4. Muncie
5. Western Heights
6. La Loma
7. Lake West
8. Westmoreland Heights
9. Ledbetter Gardens
10. Eagle Ford
Industrial Sections_
11. Lone Star Industrial Park
12. Singleton Industrial Park
13. Turnpike Distribution Center
C Vacated steel fabrication facility
West Dallas_Neighborhoods Location Map
West Dallas_Housing Parameters
The 2000 census showed that of the
roughly 452,000 housing units in Dallas, 57
percent were renter occupied and 43 percent
owner occupied.
By 2030, Dallas County is predicted to
add about 1.2 million new residents over
today’s population. And roughly half of
those new residents are expected to live in
Dallas. Because Dallas is land-locked and
cannot expand farther, there is not enough
vacant land within the city to accommodate
600,000 additional residents the city is
anticipating.
in Dallas is a quarter-acre, roughly 10,000
square feet. With only 10,000 acres of
prime developable residential land left
in the city, sustaining this trend is not an
family homes is one strategy the city should
employ. Forward Dallas! includes only
60,000 new single-family homes, of which
25,000 are recommended to be built on lots
of 5,000 square feet or less.
041
 DE

West Dallas Neighborhoods La Bajada_Existing Housing La Bajada_Industrial

The La Bajada District

Along the south side of Singleton Blvd are

located industrial and commercial uses,
imcluding a series of brownfield sites that
are scheduled to be relocated out of the area.
Along the north side are several existing
ethnicaaly diverse neighborhoods where
long time residents are concerned that the
Trinity River project willcontribute to the
displacement of their communities. The plan
for La Bajada would both rdevelop polluted
industrial sites and help to preserve existing
neighborhoods through development along
the corridor and by proteecting the status of
adjacent communities.

Although this area has low income residents

and a sub-standard quality of housing,
there is ample open space for parks and for
recreational opportunities. These parks are
not currently managed well and are currently
rarely used. New mixed-use development
along the corridor is intended to bring a new
diverse community of residents that will
compliment the existing communities to the
north and bring new resources to the parks
and schools of La Bajada.

La Bajada_Land Use La Bajada_Development Framework

043
 Singleton Blvd Development
DE
The development of Singleton Blvd is one of the main issues in West Dallas
because Singleton Blvd would be regarded as a gate way to access this area
from downtown. The New Woodball Rogers Bridge is expected to be the first
“signature bridge” completed along the Trinity; it will connect with Singleton
Boulevard on this side of the river.
Landscape Systems
The south of Singleton has industrial, utilities and commercial uses which will Although this area has low quality neighborhoods, there are enough openspace
move out this area. The north area is ocuupied by several existing and parks. However, open space or parks are not managed and rarely used
neighborhoods and residents are most concerned that the Trinity Project will not by residents even in weekends.
displace their homes and communities. Adding mixed use buildings, connecting pedestrian network, and redeveloping
The plan of Singleton Blvd would enable to redevelopment south industrial area existing openspace might attract people into this area.

West Dallas Neighborhoods as well as to preserve existing neighborhoods conditions. The La Bajada District

ACROSS THE DIVIDE

ACROSS THE DIVIDE

ACROSS THE DIVIDE

ACROSS THE DIVIDE

21 22 23 24
Road work on Singleton Blvd., March, 2007 Streetscape of Singleton Bblvd proposal Winnetka Park, March, 2007 Revitalization based on new neighborhood park

Buildings on Singleton Blvd. and Sylvan Ave Buildings on Singleton Blvd. and Sylvan Ave

Sylvan Ave Singleton Blvd Sylvan Ave Singleton Blvd Sylvan Ave Neighborhoods Park Singleton Blvd Moore Park Winnetka Park

Transition area to save exisiting neighborhoods
The scale and heights of proposed buildings and blocks
would lower down towards existing residential area.
Mixed use and midium density buildings on Singleton Blvd and Sylvan Ave
Two main streets, Singleton and Sylvan, would be occupied with
mixed use buildings having lower floor retail and upper floor office or Connective corridor intersected with Singleton Blvd Revitalize Winnetka park Neighborhood park
housings. It could contribute residents to experience walkable
streetscacpe and livable neighborhoods.
Building typess
Proposed Buildings

JONG BUM KIM

JONG BUM KIM

JONG BUM KIM

JONG BUM KIM

Existing Buildings
Vacant Lots

Sylvan Ave
rs Bridge
dball Roge
New Woo
rs Bridge
dball Roge Continental Viaduct
New Woo
Singleton Blvd

Continental Viaduct

Continental Viaduct

The Trinity River Corridor_View from West Dallas Levee Top

045
 TM
The Trinity Meanders Dallas, Texas

T h e Tr in it y M e a n d e r s a n d t h e No r t h e r n D e s ig n D is t r ic t
The channelization of the Trinity River
corridor by the Army Corp of Engineers in
the 1930’s has had a significant impact upon
the development of the Dallas riverfront. As
a result of this infrastructural transformation,
the original course of the river was severed
from its’ larger watershed.

This disconnected stretch of the river, now

named the Trinity Meanders, winds through
an area of Dallas that has developed into
America’s largest Design District. It is
an area laden with warehouses and light
industrial production facilities. These land
uses were originally developed when the new
land was made available by the construction
of the levees. Originally developed by
Trammel-Crow, the district was once
serviced by an extensive network of rail
infrastructure, now abandoned. This area of
the city can now be characterized by large
surface parking lots for delivery vehicles,
along with a mixture of warehouses, both
active and vacant.

The Trinity Meanders meanwhile, has been

appropriated by the Corps of Engineers as
a flood control channel, transporting storm
water from the Turtle Creek watershed,
along its course, to a pumping station that
discharges the flood water over the levee and
into the Trinity River flood control channel.

The Dallas Design District and the Trinity Meanders

047
 LA

The Trinity Meanders The Trinity Meanders_1942 The Trinity Meanders_1958 Landscape Infrastructure

This situation has relegated the original The Design District in Dallas is projected to
Trinity to the status of a drainage ditch. undergo a significant transformation in the
near future. The primary driver of this change
Currently,it is the policy of the Army Corps is a restructuring of the larger river, and the
of Engineers to handle storm water in the provision of a new TIF development district
meanders by maximizing the speed of the along the course of the meanders, meant to
flow of water, with the assumption that this catalyze new investment.
will provide the optimal performance metric
for storm water mitigation. This policy has DLAB®, working together with the urban
subsequently resulted in a landscape that development office of the City of Dallas, has
is mowed regularly, and has hindered the proposed a green infrastructural system
ecological potential of the original meanders. to be laid into the existing rail-spur right-
of-ways. This new system is designed
There are two major urban issues that this to Catch, hold, and clean storm water,
policy has created however. First, given thereby releaving pressure on the flood
the tendency of the Trinity Meanders to fill control system and enabling the channel
rapidly (largely due to the exessive amount The Trinity Meanders_1972 to be regenerated into a riparian system.
of impervious cover in the district), there This distributed system mitigates the effects
is a significant amount of water directed of storm water events and pollutants in
toward the pumping station, which has the district, thereby allowing restoration
limited capacity to handle it. As the main of the Trinity Meanders into a new urban
section of the channelized Trinity River is park, changing from its current role as
often at capacity during major storm events, a flood retention pond. Additionally, the
the resulting flood water can not be emptied new infrastructure is to be an agent for
fast enough, and subsequent flooding in the incremental change, by proving a catalyst for
Design District is the result. Second, as a the adaptive reuse of existing underutilized
result of this situation, development in the building stock. New systems of mobility are
area is substantially hindere, and the river further overlaid into the district, a diverse set
has become an agent of blight. of programs and lifestyles are anticipated to
take root.

The Trinity Meanders_1995

The Trinity River Corridor_Drainage Systems The Design District_Historical development

049
 love field

meanders drainage region

remnant trinity meanders

LA baker creek pump station downtown Dallas

trinity corridor

The Trinity Meanders_Watershed The Trinity Meanders_TIF District

The Trinity Meanders Landscape Infrastructure

The Trinity Meanders_Drainage Channel The Trinity Meanders_Buildings The Trinity Meanders_Flood Stage The Trinity River Corridor_Flood Stage

Design District_Distribution Warehouses The Trinity Meanders_Surface Parking / Impervious Cover The Trinity Meanders_Undeveloped Land Design District_ Warehouses

The Design District_Historical development

051
 LA

The Trinity Meanders Landscape Infrastructure

The Trinity Meanders_Road Network The Trinity Meanders_Low Impact Development Netwwork The Trinity Meanders_Bio-Swale Network The Trinity Meanders_Hybrid Network

100% 75% 50% 25% 15%

C M Y K
0 0 17 13

20 40 60 20

10 20 40 0

10 5 30 10

10 10 30 0

20 10 50 30

0 20 60 20

0 40 80 20

0 0 0 32

10 10 40 0

10 10 30 10

10 50 100 10

10 70 70 10

15 30 60 34

50 40 96 49

22 12 3 0

6 7 55 0

30 30 5 0

25 90 95 15

00 65 100 9

Design District_Transit Network The Trinity Meanders_Pedestrian Connections ThePlanTrinity Meanders_Integrated Landscape System
0 250 750

Design District_ Park System Master

THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | SPRING 2010 | THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN | SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

The Western Design District_ Proposed Infrastructure

053
Trinity Meanders | Framework Plan

The Trinity Meanders Infrastructure Framework

055
 LA
BLOCK STRATEGY ALLEY TYPOLOGIES CUT-THROUGH MODULES

The Trinity Meanders Design District_Pedestrian Connections Design District_Infill Landscape Infrastructure

• DESIGNATE LINKAGE POINTS

• DESIGNATE LINKAGE POINTS

PUBLIC SPACE NEW STRUCTURE

PEDESTRIAN SYSTEM PUBLIC SPACE NEW STRUCTURE
• CONNECT POINTS WITH BIOSWALE
SYSTEM
• BIOSWALE PATH CAN DEVIATE TO AC-
COMDATE BUILDING FORM SERVICE ORIENTED

• PIPING CAN BE USED TO COMPLETE 0' 2.5' 5' 10' 12' 5' 10' 12' 12'

OCCUPATION SHELTER
CONNECTION
• CONNECT POINTS WITH BIOSWALE
SYSTEM
• BIOSWALE PATH CAN DEVIATE TO AC-
SERVICE ORIENTED
COMDATE BUILDING FORM

THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | SPRING 2010 | THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN | SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
• PIPING CAN BE USED TO COMPLETE
0' 2.5' 5' 10' 12' 5' 10' 12' 12'
CONNECTION

SITE DIAGRAMS
PUBLIC ORIENTED
• VEGETATED ON STREET RAINWATER 0' 2.5' 5' 10' 13' 4' 10' 6' 6' 12'

THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | SPRING 2010 | THE UNIVERSITY O

COLLECTORS CHANNEL STREET RUN-
OFF TO BIOSWALES.

TABLE SURFACE
ROOF
RESTING SURFACE
ROOM
SITTING SURFACE
ACCESS

• VEGETATED ON STREET RAINWATER

PARTITION VEGETATION
COLLECTORS CHANNEL STREET RUN-
OFF TO BIOSWALES.
RESIDENTIAL ORIENTED
0' 2.5' 5' 10' 5' 2' 4'-7" 5' 10' 12' 2' 7' 3'

• EACH BLOCK WILL INCORPORATE

A WATER STORAGE TANKS. CAN BE
ABOVE OR BELOW GRADE.
• SYSTEM OF GUTTERS AND PIPING
WILL DIRECT ROOF RUNOFF TO STOR-
AGE TANKS.
• PUBLIC SPACE CAN BE DEVELOPED
ON OR AROUND STORAGE TANKS

INTERIOR PARTITION
WALL PLANTERS

EDGE PARTITION SURFACE PLANTERS

• EACH BLOCK WILL INCORPORATE
A WATER STORAGE TANKS. CAN BE
ACCESS
ABOVE OR BELOW GRADE.
• SYSTEM OF GUTTERS AND PIPING
WILL DIRECT ROOF RUNOFF TO STOR-
AGE TANKS.
• PUBLIC SPACE CAN BE DEVELOPED
ON OR AROUND STORAGE TANKS

PUBLIC ORIENTED
RESIDENTIAL ORIENTED
0' 2.5' 5' 10' 13' 4' 10' 6' 6' 12'

0' 2.5' 5' 10' 5' 2' 4'-7" 5' 10' 12' 2' 7' 3'

UNPROGRAMMED AREAS

Design District_ Block passages Design District_LID Block Infrastructure

0' 2.5' 5' 10' 12' 27' 12'

BLOCK STRATEGY:
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

UNPROGRAMMED AREAS
0' 2.5' 5' 10' 12' 27' 12'

Pump Station Park_Hydrology Pump Station Park_ Block passages Pump Station Park_Park Landscape Pump Station Park_Park Landscape The Trinity Meanders_Alley Typologies
PUMP STATION PARK SECTION
1 TO 120 SCALE

057
LANDSCAPE SYSTEM
 LA

The Trinity Meanders The Design District_Abandoned Rail Infrastructure Irving Boulevard_Urban Rail Irving Boulevard New Infrastructure

The Design District_Alley Redevelopment Irving Boulevard_New Roadway Infrastructure Irving Boulevard_New Roadway Infrastructure

059
 VC
Victory Connect Dallas, Texas

T h e S o u t h e r n D e s ig n D is t r ic t a n d t h e N ew D a lla s H ig h lin e
In order to effect a connection between
Ross Perot Jr.’s financially struggling Victory
Development and the redeveloping Trinity
River Corridor, Wallace Roberts and Todd,
consultants to the Trinity Trust, has Proposed
a new Hi-Line for Dallas. This investigation
attempts to address the implications of
this proposal and the need for significant
development along this new infrastructure
in order to bring a new social and economic
potential to the south end of the Design
District.

Much of this land is currently vacant and

available for development. DLab proposes
burying the existing high-tension lines
that bisect the area in order to develop a
neighborhood park for the design district.
The new park will act as the social heart
for new development in the area. The new
infrastructure and associated development
connects directly to the cultural nexus of
Dragon Street, reinforcing its role as a center
for art and design. Additional investigations
by the DLab address development tactics
throughout the Old Industrial District.

UT Austin | School of Archite ctu re The

Victory Connect and Southern Design Dallas Urban
District_Development Laboratory
Framework Plan

061
 Victory - Continental Streetscape Study 19

The redevelopment potential of Wichita St. is

very strong. Its location sandwiched between St
ar St
Victory Park and Continental Landing will put
La
m stion
extreme pressure on the these parcels of land. Hou
These parcels could be developed to
incorporate the High Line concept as part
of the building structure, and therefore
minimize the overall length as a bridge
ne
structure. RT LI
g DA
Existin

y Ave
Victor

ion
y Stat
Victor

Continental Ave
y
s Fw
mon
Stem

DE ro
ntB
lvd

erf
Riv

UPR
Proposed Continental Walk

R
Existing DART Line
Potential DART D2

Potential Future Transit Corridors

Potential Future Transit Stop

Victory Connect The Southern Design District

Proposed High Line

Potential Vertical Transition Point WRT_Proposed High-Line w/ Development Areas WRT_Proposed Linkages w/ Development Areas Victory Development_Mixed-Use Zone Victory Development_Mixed-Use Zone

The trajectory of the WRT proposed Dallas

High-Line was conditioned by a series of
HAYDEN CONSULTANTS WRT
HAYDEN CONSULTANTS WRT
V I CT O RY – C O NT I N E NTA L ST R E ET S CA P E ST U DY
V I CT O RY – C O NT I N E NTA L ST R E ET S CA P E ST U DY

impediments that disconnect the Victory

Development from the adjoining sectors
of the city, and eventually the Trinity River
Corridor. The proposed pathway must cross 7am Sunday bike ride
to Trinity park.

the Stemmons Freeway Corridor at +45,

continue through the district and connect to
the top of the Levee at +35. This elevated
linkage currently has no program that would
help to activate the new public infrastructure
however, as there is limited existing
development on the adjacent lots. 7pm weekday dinner meeting.

Afternoon drink and people

With this is mind, DLab has tested a watching.

series of development proposals that RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL

would engage the new High-Line, and Favorite new store.
RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL
provide opportunities for the necessary RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL
programming to work toward activating RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL
RESIDENTIALRESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL
6pm weekday
the elevated public infrastructure while Jog across Trinity.

establishing a series of public places along RESIDENTIALRESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL

the path. Regular connections from street
level to the level of the High-Line, along with
RESIDENTIALRESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL
access to the park are intended to establish RESIDENTIALRESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL
as porous a network of access points as OFFICE OFFICE OFFICE
possible along the length of the system. 9pm Friday drinks and
the Dallas skyline. OFFICE OFFICE OFFICE
OFFICE OFFICE DART TRAIL STEMMONS FWY I-35 STEMMONS FWY
As part of the new overall strategy,
development would be controlled by a
1pm Saturday
skate on Continental.
OFFICE OFFICE
series of performance and volumetric 12pm weekend stroll
RETAIL OFFICE
codes, including the maintenance of a view
around neighborhood.

RETAIL RETAIL
corridor from Victory to the New Bridge. The 12pm weekday walk HIGHLINE
dog on lunch break.
existing continental Bridge, which is to be 5:45pm weekday
ride light rail to AA Arena.

superseeded by the Margaret Hunt Bridge

would be made into a pedestrian oriented
walkway over the new park.

Victory Connect_High-Line Program Victory Connect_High-Line Access

063
 DE

Victory Connect The Southern Design District

Over the next two decades, 1 Victory Development

population in the Stemmons Corridor area, 2 Access to High-Line
which includes the Design District, is 3 Stemmons Freeway
expected to increase up to sixfold.
4 Hotel
Most of the existing population is 5 Housing
concentrated in two single-family residential 6 Mixed-Use
areas, Arlington Heights and “Little Mexico.” 7 Mixed-Use
8 Irving Boulevard
The population growth in the 9 Mixed-Use
Design District, attracted by the Trinity Park
0 Trinity Access
and economic revitalization, will require a Population Growth within the forwardDallas! Stemmons Corridor Study Area
higher density of housing and improved
connectivity. Year 2000 2005 2007 2030 2030

Population 7,456 14,220 46,602 29,627 93,796

Households 2,027 3,866 8,109 25,500

Families 1,179 PEDESTRIAN ACCESS

TO THE HIGHLINE
Employment 112,585 145,200 PEDESTRIAN ACCESS
TO THE HIGHLINE
Sources: Census 2000 NCTCOG Estimate Office of Economic Development NCTCOG Projection Forward Dallas! Projection

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

PARKING
PARKING ACCESS
TO THE HIGHLINE PARKING ACCESS
Victory Connect_Development Diagrams
PARKING ACCESS TO THE HIGHLINE
TO THE HIGHLINE 065
 Highrise level
VICTORY PARK

35’ lowrise level

20’
Bicycle parking
35 Highline level 20 Highline level

24’

DE LAND PACRLES YARDS AND OPEN SPACE HIGHLINE CONNECTION

STREET LEVEL CONNECTION

CONTINENTAL BRIDGE / TRINITY PARK

20 Residential park level 0 Street level

DESIGN DISTRICT RESIDENCE | SITE PLAN

Victory Connect The Southern Design District

Victory Connect_Development Diagrams DESIGN DISTRICT RESIDENCE | EAST-WEST SECTION

067
 LA

Victory Connect Victory Connect_Existing Substations Victory Connect_New Park Zone Victory Connect_New Park with Adjacent Block Structure The Southern Design District

THE DALLAS URBAN LABORATORY | SPRING 2009 | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
The Design District is traversed by a system of high- BUILDING HEIGHT 11~20F 4~10F 1F~3F BUILDING HEIGHT 11~20F 4~10F 1F~3F BUILDING HEIGHT 11~20F 4~10F 1F~3F

WIRE STATION Wire Station WIRE STATION Wire Station WIRE STATION Wire Station
GREEN SPACE Green Space GREEN SPACE Green Space GREEN SPACE Green Space
WALK PATH Walk Path WALK PATH Walk Path BUILDING HEIGHT 11~20F 4~10F 1F~3F WALK PATH Walk Path
NEW ACCESS

tension wires that cross the river from West Dallas and
New Access NEW ACCESS New Access NEW ACCESS New Access
WIRE STATION Wire Station
SETBACK Setback SETBACK Setback SETBACK Setback
GREEN SPACE Green Space

WALK PATH Walk Path

NEW ACCESS New Access

SETBACK Setback

continue through the district to the Victory development.

The construction of the new Margaret Hunt bridge, and
the reconstruction of the Trinity River Park has created a
significant conflict with this existing infrastructure how-
ever. Burying the lines between the substations opens
up a significant opportunity for a new urban park that
can provide a new social heart for theemergent develop-
ment. Alongside the park, new housing blocks provide
activated street frontages and catalyze a community of
urban dwellers where no housing has previously existed.

PARK SITE PLAN SCALE 1”=16’

Victory Connect_Powerline Park Victory Connect_Powerline Park Victory Connect_Powerline Park

069
 DE

Victory Connect Victory Connect_Site Plan . Housing Victory Connect_ Housing Victory Connect_Housing Victory Connect_Housing Powerline Park

Victory Connect_Housing Section with Powerline Park Victory Connect_Housing Section

071
 DE

Design District Existing Levee Interface Levee Development_Stakeholder Scenario Levee Development_Current Development Model Levee Development_SBC Levee Interface

With the reconstruction of the Trinity River Corridor

into an urban park, new development opportunities are
emerging along the edge of the existing levees. The most
valuable sites are located in the undeveloped zone at the
edge of the Design District. The existing land structure
is not set up for urbanization, as much of this territory
has been kept clear by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The existing stakeholder groups are concerned about Trinity
River

unregulated development that would sever potential PARKING GARAGE

VERTICAL CIRCULATION TO THE LEVEE
future connections to the park.

A strategy of reparcelization along the levees is

proposed that would be the basis of a new regulatory
plan that would provide new investment opportumnities
while controlling development outcomes. Development
along the levee would be required to maintain visual Trinity
River

connections to the park while providing public access 14% SLOPE

KATY TRAIL ACCESS
TO THE LEVEE
points to the top of the levee, and therefore down into
the park. On the district side of the levee, development
would be required to activate the street edge with new
programming. Succesion based controls would allow
for flexibility of development, while creating minimum
performance standards for future urbanization.
CURENT CONDITION

FILL
FOR LEVEE RAISE

LEGEND Through Streets Minor Streets Alleys LEGEND Critical Lines for Lot Re-Structure LEGEND Critical Lines for Lot Re-Structure LEGEND Critical Lines for Lot Re-Structure LEGEND Critical Lines for Lot Re-Structure LEGEND Through Streets Minor Streets Alleys

Various Private Owners Various Private Owners Various Private Owners

City Land City Land City Land City Land Various Private Owners 21~25F 16~20F 6~15F 3~5F 1F~2F

TRC PROPOSAL

Victory Connect_Development Diagrams

073
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Design District Design District_View from Levee Adaptive Re-Use in the Warehouse District

Turtle Creek Trail

Dragon Street

New Transit Loop

Design District_Vacant Parcels Design District_Rail Corridors Design District_New Public Infrastructure Design District_Adaptive Reuse Scenario

075
 MO

Design District Design District_Dragon Street Design District_Dragon Street w/ highline development beyond Street Improvements

Design District_Street Typologies

077
 nts
North Texas Station Dallas, Texas

A n ew t own fo r 30, 000 r e s id e n t s in S o u t h D a lla s

In response to a directive from the City of Dallas, Office
of the City Manager and the Department of Sustainable
Development and Construction, the Dallas Urban
Laboratory was asked to develop an alternative vision
to the low-density sprawl development model that is
pervasive in South Dallas. This project envisions the
development of a new town for 30,000 residents, branded
as North Texas Station, ackowledging the importance
of the establishment of a new southern campus for the
University of North Texas at Dallas. The project visualizes
an alternative development model to the increasingly
unsustainable land use patterns that continue to
consume the vital ecological resources of Dallas’ urban
periphery.

The project design process involved meeting and

exceeding the goals set forth by the City of Dallas
in their UNT Dallas Area Vision and Policy Plan, an
amendment to the Forward Dallas! Comprehensive
Plan that designated the project area around a new
University of North Texas at Dallas [UNTD] campus as a
special zoning district, thereby superseding the standard
practice of low density land use normally assigned to
this outer tier of the city, and underlining this area as
“one of the most significant economic development
opportunities in southern Dallas”.

A primary impetus for this reassessment is the

report prepared by the North Central texas Council
of Governments (NCTCOG), that projects an average
development density of 4.6 units per acre. Given the
population growth in the metropolitan area, this level of
density can no longer be sustained.

NCTCOG_Progected Metropolitan Growth Centers

079
 LA

Site Location_South Dallas The Urban Necklace

The new urban district is centered on a critical

ecological corridor in the region, the study area, at
3,482 acres. It is one of the largest concentrations of
vacant land within the city limits. The projects’ primary
Downtown development strategy centers around the founding
Plano
of a new University of North Texas at Dallas [UNTD]
campus, along with harnessing the planned extension of
the Dallas Area Rapid Transit [DART] light rail service,
via the blue line, and on capitalizing upon the area’s
strategic location, all of which positions this area well
Downtown Garland

for future growth.

The district, currently is comprised of low-density and

low-income neighborhoods, it lacks spatial coherence,
cultural amenities or access to jobs. The goal of the
project is to incorporate the new campus, the proposed
commuter rail extension, and the unique landscape
into a fully integrated town. Rather than accepting the
rail extension as a linear divisive element, as has been
Medical/Market Station the standard practice for DART, the project is organized
along a new streetcar-based urban rail loop. The loop
acts as a backbone for new development, an urban
South Irving Station
necklace; providing an essential link that connects
to the existing neighborhoods, the new districts of
West Irving Station
the town and the new campus around the ecological
CentrePort/DFW Airport Station
corridor, while preserving the natural landscape at the
heart of the area. Rather than creating isolated nodes
Hurst/Bell Station
of traditional transit-oriented development, this mode-
shift from rail to a streetcar system allows the transit
Richland Hills Station stops to be located closer together, thus encouraging a
more connective development to occur along an urban
corridor. Sharing a surface level with the streets and
pedestrian pathways, the rail loop allows for alternate
Fort Worth Intermodal
modes of transportation such as transit, biking, and
Downtown Fort Transportation Center (ITC) Station
walking; promoting a multi-modal connectivity with the
Worth
UNTD campus circulation system.

Dallas_City Limits with UNTD Site Dallas_Trinity River Watershed with DART Transit Network

081
 LA

NTS_Site Conditions UNTD_Existing Campus Entrance

University of North Texas at Dallas_View East from first buildings

083
 DE

NTS_Existing Housing Areas and Planned Development NTS_Runyon Creek and Lancaster Road Runyon Creek Watershed

The Runyon Creek Watershed is an

important segment of the ecosystem of
the Trinity River. The creek bisects the
site, providing an ecological heart for
development in the district. Located around
the periphery of this landscape are a series
neighborhoods housing low to middle
income families.

Runyon Creek provides important

recreational and ecological services for the
area, and therefor is a critical component that
must be integrated into future development
as the area becomes increasingly colonized.

NTS_Site Context NTS_Site Context

085
 MO

DART_Blue Line
NTS_Urban Rail Loop DART_Mode Shift

The situation of the project in its site draws

from its ecological and topographical
characteristics. The approach to transit
and new development is sensitive to these
qualities, which define the ground structure
of the project while utilizing strategies that
emphasize how these site characteristics
contribute to the rich quality of life fostered
by the project.

The new rail loop extends the service of the

regional commuter rail line while promoting
a multi-modal integration with pedestrian
and bicycle systems of circulation by virtue
of a mode-shift down to surface rail. Unlike
the commuter rail line which is considered
to be spatially divisive by residents in the
adjacent neighborhoods, the new rail loop
seeks to resolve the disjunctive spatial land
uses currently in practice. The frequency of
rail stops [quarter-mile intervals] along the
loop reduces dependency on the automobile,
conserving energy, reducing pollution, and
providing independence for those who do not
drive.

This lighter, streetcar-based corridor rail

system links each district of the town; each
transit stop has a concentration of local
retail and community-oriented programs,
thus contributing to the unique identity of
each neighborhood and reducing automobile
dependency for short trips.

NTS_Urban Rail System NTS_Urban Rail System

087
 DE

NTS_University of North Texas at Dallas UNTD_Sasaki Plan 2004 South Campus

Originally designed and programmed by Academic subject areas include:

Sasaki Associates, the new campus of The
University of North Texas at Dallas was College of Liberal Arts
planed to accomodate a largely suburban College of Science, Technology and
commuter-based student population. The Information Management
resultant configuration of the campus is College of Business Administration
therefor largely encircled by extensive areas College of Education
of surface-parking. Even with only the first College of Health and Human Services
two buildings constructed, this situation Certificate and Endorsement Programs
has exposed inadequacies with the original Graduate Education
design of the university. A reconsideration Pharmacy
of the organization and programming of Law (downtown)
the project in order to established a more Programs & Institutes
integrated urban campus is now required. Urban Policy Institute

The original Sasaki-designed UNTD campus The program has been divided into two
has been redesigned in order to link the general stages of campus development in
campus area to the network of paths that order to provide the University with order-of-
engage with the ecological corridor. The magnitude benchmarks relating headcount to
main public space of the campus reinforces estimated space requirements:
the identity of the district by orienting itself
to the rail stop, to the local community- NTS_Site Context • A program for 16,000 headcount students,
based retail, the campus, and the ecological which is the University’s medium-term
corridor. Associated social programs, planning horizon (2030)
such as fraternities and sororities, student
residential colleges, sports facilities for an • A program for 25,000 to 26,000
aspiring NCAA Division 1 institution are also headcount students, which reflects the long-
accomodated in the new plan. term enrollment target (2030 +)

UNTD_Urban Rail System UNTD_Campus Site Terrirory

089
 DE

East Camp Wisdom Road

NTS_Transit Corridor Development Development Districts_3482 Acres

The project integrates a mixture of programs

with the distribution of development around
the new urban rail loop, balancing housing
with work, education, and recreational
activities; providing a series of distinct
districts that form a cohesive linear town.

Each district is comprised of a mix of

housing typologies which allow for a
demographic mix in the community.

NTS_Development Areas NTS_New Districts

091
 DE

NTS_Land Consolidation and Parcelization System Development Districts

The street network encourages walkability,

while pedestrian and bicycle paths lace
throughout the neighborhoods, the campus
and the ecological corridor. Small block sizes
in the urban districts, combined with inner-
block pathways promote a circulation system
independent of the rail and automobile routes.
Blocks are oriented to provide maximum
porosity and easy connections to the rail
system.

NTS_Urban Districts NTS_Land Parcelization NTS_Transect Codes

093
 DE

NTS_Land Use Residential Densities

North Texas Station has been designed T6 Stuart-Simpson Road Town Center
to concentrate a mixture of uses along
the new rail loop as it circumscribes the Maximum build-out scenario_
area oaround Runyon Creek. New housing 35 dwelling units/acre
districts, designed to provide for a mixture Population density_100 to 145 persons/acre
of demographic needs is distributed into a Employment density_190 to 250 jobs/acre
series of adjacent neighborhoods and serve
as important linkages between the low- Minimum FAR_3.0 - 4.0
density existing development in the area and Minimum net residential density_
the intensive transit related uses along the 45 to 60 units/acre
corridor. Facilities of the UNTD campusare Minimum lot coverage_
distributed at a series of rail stops including,: 70 percent
the main academic campus, the sports
campus, medical research facilities and Maximum residential parking_1.5/unit
a new conference center. The university Maximum office/retail parking_
programs act as catalysts along the rail 2 / 1000 Sq. Ft.
loop and offer a diversity of programmatic Maximum surface parking_15 percent
uses and employment opportunities for the
community at-large. Average jobs per housinng ratio_5 jobs / 1
dwelling unit
The central axis of the new town is Stuart- Mix of uses_50 percent residential / 50
Simpson Road, whichacts as a “main street” percent non-residential
for the new town, and is the area in which
the largest concentration of programmatic
mixes and the highest density of housing is
located.

NTS_Program NTS_Build Out Scenario NTS_Housing Districts

095
 LA

NTS_Green Infrastructure Network Ecological Interface Zone

The Runyon Creek Springs ecological

corridor is a branch of Five Mile Creek, a
secondary component of the The Upper
Trinity River (Segment 0805), located
upstream of the confluence of the Cedar
Creek Reservoir discharge canal in
Henderson/Navarro County to the confluence
of Elm Fork Trinity River in Dallas County.

Segment 0805 is 100 miles long; its

watershed is approximately 1,000 square
miles. The watershed covers approximately
128 square miles in Dallas County. It is
densely populated and includes the cities
of Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Highland Park, and
University Park.

The state of Texas requires water quality

in the Upper Trinity River to be suitable
for contact recreation. However, bacterial
concentrations are occasionally elevat-ed,
indicating a possible health risk for people
who swim or wade in them, activi-ties called
“contact recreation” in the state’s Texas
Surface Water Quality Standards.

Under threat from increasing sub-

urbanization, management of the south
Dallas watershed is crucial to the long-term
health of the ecosystem.

Riparian Recharge Hydrology

097
 LA

NTS_Green Infrastructure Network Mitigation Zones

Hydrological Infrastructure Hydrological Distribution System

099
 DE

North Texas Station

Houston School Road_View From Southwest North Texas Station_The Urban Necklace

101
 1

6 4
4
DE 1 4
6
Lancaster Road 2 Commercial and Medical Research District

Tree Nursery 1
2
UNTD_Medical Research 2
3 3
Neighborhood Micro-Retail 3

Housing Blocks 4

Mixed Use Blocks 5

Rail Stop 6 0
8 8 2 4 4 4
Eco-Housing 7 4
Ecological Corridor 8 4
4
Grocery 9
10

Constructed Wetlands 10
5
NTS_Transect at Lancaster Road and Medical Research Buildings riparian
street-
scape
public
space transit
garage
parking bike
street
parking road
side-
walk building

5
1 6

8 7 7 5 9
7
5
4
10
9

Section C
10

NTS_Lancaster Road Commercial and Medical Research District NTS_Transect at Lancaster Road and Ecological Housing District street- public
transit
garage
parking bike
street
parking road
side-
walk building
riparian scape space

103
street- public garage street side-
riparian scape space transit parking bike parking road walk building
 DE

Western Residential District Stuart-Simpson Road

UNTD_Hotel and Conference Center 1

Stuart -Simpson Road 2

Mixed Use Blocks 3

Housing District 4

Neighborhood Park 5

Elementary School 6

Runyon Creek Corridor 7

Esplanade 8

Rail Stop 9

Lancaster Road 10

7 2 3 4 4 4

10

Section C
10

Section C

NTS_Western Residential District NTS_Western Residential District street- public

transit
garage
parking bike
street
parking road
side-
walk building
riparian scape space

105 riparian
street-
scape
public
space transit
gar
par
 DE

NTS_Neighborhood Center Western District

NTS_Western Residential District NTS_Western Residential District

107
DE

NTS_Runyon Creek Ecological Corridor

109
 3
2

1 4 2

DE 2

Town Center District

UNTD_Library 1
5
UNTD_Residential College 2
0
UNTD_Student Recreation Center 3 6
UNTD_Lawn 4 8
UNTD_Bookstore 5
7
Town Center 6

Main Street District 7

Housing District 8

Dallas City Limits 9 8

Runyon Creek 10

Development District_RTKL 11

11

NTS_Town Centert District NTS_Stuart-Simpson Road

111
 DE

NTS_Town Center District University Square

Landscape and Public Space Infrastructure

Landscape infrastructure in the central

district is based upon an open-space
framework that counter-balances the
development densities of the district, while
providing for a series of public, and semi-
public recreational areas and urban spaces
designed to accommodate the needs of
the urban residents and balance them with
commercial and civic functions.

Embedded into the public space framework

in the district is the UNTD Commons, a
place that serves as the programmatic
nexus for the project. The location has
been established in order to serve as a link
between the campus and the town, and
serve as a catalyst for the commercial and
residential program of Simpson Stuart Road,
combining them together with the adjacent
UNTD campus and university residential
colleges. The commons is occupied by the
university bookstore which is designed to
act as a lawn for public events. The space is
additionally served by retail and commercial
space, cafes and a cinema, along with
bicycle parking, and an underground parking
garage.

NTS_University Square with Bookstore NTS_University Square Bicycle Parking

113
 DE

NTS_Stuart Simpson Road_Regulatory Framework NTS_Max Development Envelopes

Maximum Development Envelopes

Succesion- Based Volumetric Codes Succesion-based regulatory envelopes are

coded to establish limitations on volumetric
Within the urban core, a set of site-specific build-out. SBC’s provide increased flex-
regulatory frameworks are established to ibility over standard FBC’s, accomodating
provide controls that are designed to ensure for architectural and economic diversity to
Minimum standards for architectural and be established over time while ensuring that
urban performance have been established critical environmental performance stan-
to ensure the spatial and programmatic dards can be maintained.
definition of critical l;ocations along the
urban corridor. A series of build-to planes The maximum build-out coding for the urban
regulate the performance criteria for the core transit district of North Texas Station
spatial definition of the town center and has been developed around a series of
significant programmatic adjacencies along critical factors including:
the urban corridor of the rail loop.
_Block Size and Density
A series of build- to-planes identify the
program and percentage of the architectural _Permeability of the Urban Structure
form that provides spatial definition to the
vertical surface, thus defining important _Sunlight Penetration
edges of the development as it grows over
the projected time horizon. In addition, _Skylight Penetration
regulatory envelopes have been coded to
establish limitations of maximum volumetric _Skyline Identity
build-out of the urban fabric as the town
and University continue to evolve towards a NTS_Building Typologies NTS_Minimum Performance Requirements _Urban Viewsheds
morphological climax over time.
_Critical Alignments
5 7 8 8 0 0 2 7 8 0

10

10 Section C 10

Section A Section B

NTS_Town Center District building public space NTS_Stuart-Simpson Road District street- public
transit
garage
parking bike
street
parking road
side-
walk building
riparian scape space
garage street
parking
bike
landscape
riparian
115
road
transit
 3
3

DE 4 4 UNTD

1
UNTD_Campus District 5 9 UNTD_Sports Park
1 2 8 UNTD

UNTD_Existing Student Union 1 6 9 2 1 UNTD_Student / Faculty Parking

UNTD_Administration 2 2 UNTD_Bicycle Parking

UNTD_Community Gardens 3 3 UNTD_Visitor Parking

6
UNTD_Physical Sciences 4
5 4 UNTD_Baseball
0
UNTD_Liberal Arts 5 5 UNTD_Football [DIV. 1]

Student Retail 6
7 9 0 7 6 UNTD_Recreational Center

Housing District 7 7 Footbridge

8
Ecological Zone 8 0 8 Ecological Corridor

Transit Stop 9 9 Transit Stop

UNTD_Residential College 10 0 10 Intermural Fields

11 Sorority / Fraternity District

9
11
7

9
NTS_University of North Texas at Dallas_Southern Campus NTS_University of North Texas at Dallas_Athletics

117
 DE

NTS_A new model for transit-based urban development in South Dallas DLab© participants 2007 - 2012

Roni Sami Mansour Abona Aaron Michael Hollis Peter V. Storey

Sun Goo Bae Creighton Morris Hoover Tyler James Stowell
Shawn Michael Balon Li-Chin Michael Hsu Kasey Irene Turney
Shannon Marie Bambenek Erika Gordon Huddleston Natalie Lynn Ward
Bradley Ryan Barnett Britta Mae Johanson Jeffrey Michael Watson
Jonathann Andrew Berry Kyle Alan Johnson Dawson Allen Williams
Shannon Patricia Bronson Jong Bum Kim Julie Ann Williams
Elizabeth T. Brooks Andrei A. Klipin Abby Jane Wiltse
Erin Kae Buhl Chelsea Justine Larsson Wenyu Xie
Conner Garrison Callahan Ik Joo Lee Don Bruce Xu
Benjamin Campbell Hye Kyuing Lee Chia-Hui Yang
Shan Che Hang Li Daphne Mary Yuanidis
Guan Quan Chen Ting Li Yunhui Zhang
Jessica Ellen Chiles Melynn Jaye Mayfield Le Zhong
Eunjee Choi Newsha Mirzaie
Willian Scott Clinton Steven Howbert Moore
Melissa Michelle Cole Marvin Wayne Moss
Ashley Jill Craig Angelica Rose Norton
Ryan Arthur Deffebach Kai Wall Petersen
Katie Droughton Kimberly Nicole Power
Ashley Nicole Elgie Noel C. Ramirez
Christopher C. Emmens Michael Ratliff
Merrill Eng Lane McCall Sealy
Frank Carrington Farkash Melissa Blaise Seanard
Chad Jamison Gnant Lyndsey Shaffer
Alexander J. Goldberg Enoch Y. Shih
Xianyan Gong Joseph David Skelton
Adam Conrad Grote Jefferey David Sloan

NTS_The Urban Necklace_Aerial View from Lancaster Road

 Donors
Dallas Urban Laboratory Founder :
Anonymous Foundation
Belo Corp.
Deedie and Rusty Rose
Dallas Urban Laboratory Benefactor :
West Dallas Investments LLP
Taine and Bob Carrozza / Carrozza Investments
Dallas Urban Laboratory Patron :
City of Dallas
Barbara and Larry Good
HDR Architecture, Inc.
Urban Edge Developers
Dallas Urban Laboratory Partner :
Anonymous, in memory of Larry Wheat
Booziotis & Company
Corgan Associates, Inc.
Emily Summers Design Associates
Hillwood Development Corporation
James Harwick + Partners, Inc.
Olympus Real Estate Partners
The Dallas Urban Laboratory is an applied
research initiative of the School of Architecture
and the Graduate Program in Urban Design.
It is funded by private donations from alumni and
friends of The University of Texas at Austin, along
with the generous support of organizations and
individuals within the Dallas community. Funds
are used to support students by providing travel,
supplies and assistantships for their work with the
Dallas community.
To support the Dallas Urban Laboratory contact:
Dean J Almy III, AIA, FFUD
Associate Professor
Director, Graduate Program in Urban Design
Director, Dallas Urban Laboratory
512.232.9311
dja3@utexas.edu
Julie Hooper, CFRE
Assistant Dean for Development
and External Relations
512.471.6114
jhooper@austin.utexas.edu
To make an online gift to support the Dlab follow
the link and select :
Dallas Urban Laboratory in the drop down menu:
Designed by:
Dean J Almy III
© Dlab 2014
Lab notations . DLab©