Refinement ...in Glass, Stone, Metal, Water and Gardens ?EUR??,,????'?????<

By Daniel Woodroffe, ASLA, LEED-AP; Managing Principal, TBG Partners

The entry fountain features 50 choreography switches and coordinated LED lighting. Sequencing nozzle assemblies produce a wide variety of geometric and varying heights to interact with the LED lighting for dazzling visual displays. The nozzle assemblies are controlled and programs changed through the building?EUR??,,????'?????<

 

With surgical precision its canted wall of glass, a sail-like phenomenon beckoning downtown eyes from afar with its lustrous sheen and compelling geometries, permeates a placid, elliptical reflecting pool reinforcing the interior and exterior relationship. The pool, designed to a mere 1/8-inch tolerance, was built over the parking garage, requiring necessary infrastructure to be cast-in pours, months before the landscape documents were even scheduled to be completed.

Comprised entirely of custom and radial-cut stone, this infinity-edge pool appears as a skin of water, and a delicate skin, at that, which ever so gracefully accepts the structural glass panes?EUR??,,????'?????<

The elliptical reflecting pool wraps around the entire front face of the Hunt Oil Headquarters building. The pool holds about 67,350 gallons of water and has an infinity-edge that appears as a delicate skin of water. The pool was built over the parking garage, which required the infrastructure casts to be poured in place. The pumping equipment, two 40 hp pumps, one 25 hp pump and one 5 hp pump, move 6,200 gallons per minute. The pumping equipment is housed in the parking garage. With all water features running, 12,640 gpm is flowing.

And this is simply the front fountain.

Equal parts mysterious, alluring and aesthetic, yet wholly captivating, Hunt Consolidated Headquarters (Hunt) is not for the architecturally faint of heart. The vision: bold. Refinement: unparalleled. Borne from meticulous interdisciplinary coordination, Hunt sets a new standard for urban corporate environments from its extraordinary architecture, lush and expansive green space, remarkable lighting and water features and, in general, its urbane contribution to the downtown Dallas urban fabric.

If God truly is in the details, Hunt might well be the corporate Shangri-la.

The canted wall of glass of the building?EUR??,,????'?????<

Water has been an essential source of life for millennia, long before the widespread use of curtain wall, high-performance glass and other elements of modern architectural comportment. From the glossy sheen of the building?EUR??,,????'?????<

The saw tooth design by the building feeds water to the outdoor elliptical pool, which then cascades to form a stream. The building?EUR??,,????'?????<

Eschewing Convention

The vision for the new Hunt was anything but banal: a gateway into downtown and the arts district; a prominent urban green space that will correlate with a forthcoming, signature five-acre park; a world-class home for one of the world?EUR??,,????'?????<

This bold vision came to fruition on time and within budget thanks to an extraordinarily well-coordinated effort between disciplines, consultants and client. The completed effort is an award-winning, unmistakable component of the downtown Dallas built environment, yet its array of stone, glass and metal is anything but austere, thanks to its bucolic and inviting environs.

The garden on the property?EUR??,,????'?????<

Custom Fountains

The custom fountain wraps the entire front face of the building and introduces into the main entry vestibule, blurring the line between interior and exterior, landscape and architecture, organic and built. The dynamic of an elliptical fountain within an elliptical building structure is a remarkable phenomenon. This fountain, an elliptical pool with stainless-steel basin, trough and weir strips, is capable of producing vivacious LED-choreographed light shows, which can be choreographed with the building?EUR??,,????'?????<

While the centerpiece fountain is undoubtedly a salient focal point, the soothing cascade of water lures the eyes to its source: an architectonic stream deriving from an additional garden on the south side. Serving as the connective ribbon uniting these distinct elements, the watercourse features meandering cobble-like streams formed from cut-stone blocks; this design required grade manipulation to ensure it could attain the desired stream-like forms.

Segmental slabs of stone were placed in an architectural abstract of an organic ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Green Expanse

On the side opposite the centerpiece fountain, the west-facing elevation, there exists a large green expanse that was envisioned as the building?EUR??,,????'?????<

Moreover, this array of drought-tolerant species is watered via drip irrigation, allowing an efficient and economical use of water. Mature trees were locally sourced and harvested?EUR??,,????'?????<

The built elements of this front yard are all of clean and minimal aesthetic yet, of course, highly refined: granite and slate sidewalks flank and pass through the lawn and seemingly float on water; the handsome main walkway is comprised of honed and flamed slate; lighting on handrails and bollards are concealed through deft integration; joints in the stone match with the nosing of the curb stone, which also matches perfectly with the tower?EUR??,,????'?????<

Soothing cascades from the stream on the south side garden form a connective ribbon. The south runnel holds approximately 18,610 gallons. One 50 hp pump, one 20 hp pump and one 5 hp pump move about 4,900 gpm. The black Mexican cobbled streambed stands out sharply through the clear waters. All that?EUR??,,????'?????<

Roof Garden

Beyond the garden-like setting that defines the tower?EUR??,,????'?????<

Much like the garden on the south side from which the architectural stream originates, the eighth-floor terrace garden is comprised of a carefully chosen, drought-tolerant palette that can handle a range of climatic conditions. Both gardens feature nontraditional Dallas materials such as red and twistleaf yuccas, gulf muhly, purple lantanas, bulbines and knockout roses, an adaptive species that provides brilliant year-round color. Like the rest of the vegetation, these plants are watered with exceptionally efficient drip irrigation, which required detailed coordination between architects and contractors. Much like everything else at Hunt, the rooftop garden is of a highly integrated continuity. For example, the building?EUR??,,????'?????<

Segmental slabs of amber-colored granite placed in varying vertical alignments create an architectural lift at the incline near the point where two runnels merge, with additional stone pieces protruding into the landscape. The stones create a contoured weir edge with varying spouts and spillways. This design required grade manipulation to ensure the desired stream-like form.

Challenges

Of course, an undertaking of such adroit skill and overarching coordination inherently presents a m????????(C)lange of unique challenges: building vertically on a tight schedule in a bustling downtown setting; as the centerpiece fountain is essentially a part of the building, pipes had to be poured in place; the parking garage is located underneath; penetrations had to be cast into structural beams?EUR??,,????'?????<

All of the fountain stone for the elliptical fountain was either rolled or radial-cut, achieving extraordinary refinement, a mere 1/8-inch tolerance that enhances its curvilinear design. This aqueous membrane is accented with stainless-steel weirs and features a series of choreographed jets as well as dazzling lighting effects that coordinate with the vertical sail?EUR??,,????'?????<

Hunt?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Hunt Oil Headquarters
Dallas, Texas

Landscape Architect:
TBG, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth,
Houston and San Antonio,
Daniel Woodroffe, ASLA, LEED-AP,
Managing Principal

Water Features:
Greenscape Pump Services, Inc.,
Mark Bush, senior project manager