Restaurant Concept

Our client asked us to consider the potential of exploring a speculative restaurant concept in an area that has experienced a remarkable transformation over the past 10 years; transforming from a section of Dallas that has long existed as a mix of older single-family homes and small retail to one that imagines itself to be the “Abbot-Kinney” of the city – becoming a district filled with retail/restaurant, street festivals, and vibrant life.

As the project has its start on a single, formerly residential site, challenges such as how to introduce a large enough restaurant space to be viable but also be able to provide necessary parking to serve it were necessary to solve. Studying the site quickly revealed a scheme that elevates the building ABOVE the parking that serves it, rather than creating additional complexity by placing parking in a below-grade garage. By elevating the building above its parking field, it benefits by gaining presence on the street and enhancing views from its roof deck to downtown Dallas. As a result, the building and site depart from the Dallas standard of two-dimensional Euclidian zoning in favor of a more integrated, three-dimensional concept of the city and multi-use districts.

Seeking to lightly touch the site, the concept takes its inspiration from several sources, including an “off the shelf” aesthetic derived from both shipping containers and Airstream trailers.