Transposing the American urban grid into an abstract base

The Arts District, a constantly changing neighborhood, hosts the cultural venues of Dallas city. Several new buildings have been constructed: a museum completed by Renzo Piano, an opera by Norman Foster, and a theater by Rem Koolhaas. The last two buildings are located on either side of an abandoned parcel. Our initial approach to the parcel responded to the client’s desire for a European type of historic public square. Our interpretation proposed an additional layer, the transposition of the American urban grid, which became a kind of abstract base. The resulting plaza hosts various objects for present and future: rectangular gardens, reflecting pools, ramps, and flexible terraced spaces, arranged according to the financial and cultural situations of any given moment. Waiving any predetermined composition, this game of recomposition allows for permanent reconstructions to accommodate to any given, specific moment throughout the life of the Arts District.