How Gensler Architect Steven Upchurch Will Approach Dallas’ Landmark Gold Campbell Centre Towers

Gensler Architect Steven Upchurch drives by the Campbell Center on his way to and from work every day. Despite being dubbed the most “invalid” building by the Dallas Observer, the golden twin towers, steeped in history, still manage to pique the esteemed designer’s interest.

Located at the intersection of the North Central Expressway and Northwest Highway, Campbell Center’s first tower was built in 1972 from glass with a microscopic coating of real gold. The second building was added in 1977.

The buildings that cement a place on American television have been portrayed as the offices of Cliff Barnes – the archenemy of JR Ewing on the popular television show Dallas from 1982 to 1988.

DID YOU KNOW ALREADY?

The Gild marks Fenway’s second purchase in the Dallas market in the past 24 months. The first is approximately 860,000 square feet of industrial / office space on 3000 N. Redbud Blvd. in McKinney. The property used to be the headquarters of Blockbuster Video Corporation and is now home to United Parcel Service and other users.

But as the investors who bought the building (Fenway Capital Advisors and Waterfall Asset Management) put it, the building has lost some of its luster over the years.

Patrick Tribolet, managing partner of Fenway Capital, had kept an eye on the Campell Center since pre-COVID and bought the 20-story towers about a year after the pandemic. The property is said to have sold for about $ 105 million, or about $ 120 per square foot. It was the second largest office purchase in North Texas in 2021 at the time (April).

Although the total investment has not been shared, the renovations are expected to amount to several million dollars and will primarily upgrade the aging facility. Upon completion, the famous gold-clad office complex will officially debut as The Gild.

Steven Upchurch is the co-managing director of Gensler Dallas and a hospitality leader. With over three decades of experience in design, planning, management and real estate development, he is growing and diversifying Gensler’s lifestyle sector.

Breathe in new life

“When we got the opportunity, I thought, what are you going to do with something like that? It’s so iconic, “Upchurch told the CEO of D.” I moved to Texas in the late ’80s and worked near these buildings. They were always like these jewels and then they became obsolete. “

Upchurch accepted a position with Gensler in Los Angeles in 2007 and returned to DFW about a decade later. “[The towers] are still there and no one had done anything to them, ”he said.

With a portfolio full of mixed-use dining and entertainment projects, Upchurch has been tapped by investors to lead the restoration project at The Gild.

“COVID offered many of our customers many opportunities, such as the Magnolia Hotel downtown,” he said. “It was an opportunity for some people who were waiting for something big to put a stake in Dallas.”

With a property already north of Dallas, the repositioning of Campbell Center (The Gild) presented the perfect opportunity for Fenway to make a big difference closer to downtown.

The new normal

Upchurch said when he and the clients began looking into the renovation, they immediately took inspiration from other successful redesigns of older buildings in urban cities.

“Nothing gives us a chance like this project to get out of COVID,” said Upchurch, pointing to a push in design towards healthy work environments.

“Customers want flexibility in their work area. They want resources for their employees that enable them to feel adaptable and flexible in the way they work – and that means technology, collaborative spaces that feel comfortable and open, and green spaces, whether indoors or outdoors, ”he said.

Inside, the buildings will have several work lounges for tenants, a modernized lobby area, a new café and cafés, and a conference center.

Gensler

The Gild will feature numerous updates to the exterior and interior spaces for an improved tenant and visitor experience. The “greening” of the parking deck and improvements to the house entrances ensure a “dramatic, park-like arrival experience”.

A new connector park and office courtyards will offer outdoor spaces that support a healthy work environment. Interior improvements will promote a people-centered work culture with social spaces in public corridors designed to promote human connection.

“It’s really important to get away from your actual desk and move to other areas where you’re comfortable and calm,” said Upchurch. “We’re taking this idea from our other projects, similar to the American Airlines corporate headquarters project and what we developed in the AT&T Discovery District, and applying that to create a great outdoor space.”

On the outside of The Gild, Upchurch said they really focused on landscaping to create green spaces.

“It’s a new identity and a much more welcoming environment,” he said of the first vision visitors will receive thanks to efforts to add trees and shade to the parking deck.

Upchurch said much of the groundwork that is being done now comes from the history of what went on with the rental space during COVID and what the possibilities are for people to return to work.

“We know that (the investors) are very focused on a creative tenant mix and the more diverse the tenant mix, the more exciting and successful this project will be in my opinion.

“We design for this potential creative use of space and different types of tenants, be it a collaborative work environment, a shared workspace or individual offices. And that’s great. That’s the kind of project you want – you want some of the bigger tenants to mix with some of the smaller boutique mom-and-pop tenants, right, because that interaction between them creates a lot of energy. “

Raise an eyebrow

But the real eye-catcher is a redesigned entrance – or, as Upchurch calls it, “the eyebrow” of the building’s north tower.

“Right now there isn’t really anything that is pulling you into the building, so it’s going to be a lot brighter, cleaner, and a lot more modern than it is today,” said Upchurch.

The gold-mirrored Campbell Center skyscrapers on the North Central Expressway are being redesigned. Gensler will lead the design.

Gensler

Basically, they peeled off the golden skin on the corner of the building and lifted it up – like an eyebrow.

“There’s really no sense of great identity,” Upchurch said of the old-looking entrance to the building at the moment. The entrance, he adds, “will open up the lobby and bring a lot more natural light into this space.”

The lobby is large, but also sunken – and dark. To create more light, Upchurch took advantage of double the height and raised the opening on the second level to create a way for sunlight to flood the lobby.

“It will be beneficial to everyone in there,” he said.

All tenant and public areas are also being improved and modernized.

But don’t worry, the building will still be gold.

And yes, that’s a challenge.

“Most people see it as a glass box in gold, and you have to step in and feel very empathetic that it’s an iconic building,” Upchurch said, adding that while developing a color he focused on the nature palette.

“All of these things we’re doing will create a new identity and pull you into the lobbies of the building – today; it just doesn’t do that. “

Fenway hired Stream Realty Partner to manage and provide exclusive leasing agents. Stream’s Executive Vice President of Leasing Matt Wieser, Vice President Kristin Millington and Senior Associate Marissa Parkin will lead the effort

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