Trinity Park Conservancy has selected Weiss/Manfredi as the design architect to reimagine the Dawson State Jail in Dallas, Texas. Dubbed the city's "ugliest building", the project will be transformed with Malone Maxwell Dennehy Architects. The team has been asked to work with the Conservancy to integrate the building and its surrounding neighborhoods into Harold Simmons Park along the Trinity River.
The existing 10-story former jail is located at 106 Commerce West Street in Downtown Dallas. As the Conservancy notes, they previously launched a public search process for the project in July that resulted in 45 submissions. The committee selected Weiss/Manfredi following interviews with a shortlist of seven teams. “We are inspired by the potential to create a dynamic community destination and gateway to Harold Simmons Park, and are thrilled to begin work with the Trinity Park Conservancy, the Dallas community, and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates to create an open and inviting civic hub for the Park and its surrounding communities,” said Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi.
“The Conservancy is so pleased to choose Weiss/Manfredi and MMDA to reimagine this building to be a magnet for drawing people from all over the city into the Park, connecting them to nature and each other,” says Deedie Rose, Chair of the Conservancy’s Board of Directors. “It will provide an essential part of the public health infrastructure in our city that will create jobs, stimulate economic development and provide critical green space.”
As part of the process to reimagine the jail, the Conservancy is hosting the first of many listening sessions with community stakeholders and the design team on Friday, August 21. As the project moves along the Conservancy will hold similar listening sessions to gather more community input.
News via Trinity Park Conservancy
