For my Dallas friends, there is an awesome resource available that you may not know about – the Dallas Center for Architecture (DCFA). It is part of the local Dallas Chapter American Institute of Architects but it is also so very much more. The DCFA is one of the nation’s first centers devoted to uniting citizens and community members with architects and allied professionals who are concerned about good design, community sustainability and other key living-environment issues for today and tomorrow.
The DCFA also serves to build collaborative relationships among allied organizations and the academic community, to serve as a center of learning for the public and industry professionals, to influence public policy on issues of sustainable community planning and the built environment, and to promote the value of architecture and community planning in Dallas and surrounding communities.
With a location relative to the proposed Woodall Rogers Deck Park, the DCFA can serve as a jumping off point where departing visitors can simply walk to the Nasher Sculpture Garden, The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, and a few blocks away in Victory Park, the future Dallas Museum of Nature & Science. This is a collection of buildings by some of the world’s finest architects – I.M. Pei, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas, and Thom Mayne – all of whom are Pritzker Prize winners. The location of the DCFA lends itself to bring in visitors who are interested in architecture, music, art, nature and science. The center is evolving into something shaped and molded by content and process, mixing and mingling, time and most importantly, imagination.
While still in its infancy, the Dallas Center for Architecture will be a point of origin for hundreds of different types of public programs ranging from symposia, workshops, training sessions, design charettes, community organization meetings, after school programs, theatre–the possibilities are endless. The calendar of events at the DCFA currently demonstrates the dazzling array of activities, some of which include downtown walking tours, film series, symposia, and exhibits.
It is the intention that the DCFA take on the personality of the individuals that get involved and breathe life into the programming – from volunteering in a support role to leading the charge, anything is possible.