DALLAS, Texas—September 10, 2020—To re-envision the Philip Johnson-designed Thanks-Giving Square, CallisonRTKL is providing pro-bono design services to the non-profit Thanks-Giving Foundation in downtown Dallas. At a time when fresh air and open spaces are deemed essential to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19, this news could not be more welcome.
Designed in the 70s to be a place of serenity and gratitude, Thanks-Giving Square, bounded by Pacific Avenue, North Ervay Street and Bryan Street, is a sunken garden filled with waterfalls whose sound masks the hustle and bustle of downtown Dallas. A 100-foot bridge spans the Great Fountain and leads to the iconic interfaith Chapel of Thanksgiving with its mesmerizing stained-glass spire.
CallisonRTKL has been working closely with the Thanks-Giving Foundation, which owns and operates the Square, discussing the non-profit’s goals and direction, organizing a day-long design charrette and sketching a series of thoughts to visualize the newly imagined space.
“The Square is a hidden gem with great potential to help define the city of Dallas,” says Kyle Ogden, President and CEO of the Thanks-Giving Foundation. “While we want to continue to feature Thanks-Giving Square as the physical location for reflection, public healing and thankfulness, we want also to provide a transformative visitor experience that challenges visitors to open their hearts to change and leave more aware, enlightened, engaged, connected, caring, inclusive, committed and grateful.”
The re-envisioned design concepts potentially include an overlook along Pacific Avenue as well as a small multi-function pavilion on the west edge of the park to connect to the Dallas tunnel system. The design also re-envisions the perimeter of the space to better connect with the sidewalk and greater community outside of its approximately 1.7-acre site.
“Having called downtown Dallas home, as a resident and place of work for 15 years, I’ve experienced many unique aspects of Thanks-Giving Square with family and colleagues,” says CallisonRTKL Vice President Noel Aveton, who leads the urban design and landscape architecture studio in the Dallas office. “With its grand water displays and mature trees, the Square is a special location you can retreat to for a meaningful moment of respite from our busy lives. And with a greater appreciation of open spaces during the pandemic, the human value and connection between health, wellbeing and sense of self is highlighted in public spaces such as Thanks-Giving Square. Now, more than ever, accessible public open spaces are being considered essential infrastructure, where environmental benefits meet public health, ultimately creating places that allow us to come together as a community.”