CAMP GATE HOUSE AT THE DALLAS ARBORETUM & BOTANICAL SOCIETY
/DALLAS, TEXAS
The Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Society commissioned SHM Architects to design a pavilion that replaces a “permanently temporary” vinyl tent used as a surge ticket counter and valet stand during their popular evening events. It was also important to provide a covered rest area with seating for a tram stop at the Alex Camp House and Fogelson Fountain.
The Alex Camp House was designed by prominent Houston architect John Staub and completed in 1938. Staub successfully combined Latin Colonial, English Regency, and Art Deco styles, resulting in a handsome regional vernacular. Simple forms with beautifully balanced proportions rendered in a restrained material palette convey a sense of relaxed elegance.
/DESCRIPTION
With a deeply respectful nod to Staub, SHM’s design methodology began with in-depth research and analysis of the Camp House. This process yielded an architectural language that refers to the Camp House’s geometry and material palette, but stops short of literal reproduction. A brick tower echoes the house's chimney forms while it conceals a staff storage area and controls. Original cast-iron decorative details, window patterns, and shutters are reinterpreted here as an ornamental steel and acid-etched glass screen wall, giving the open-air pavilion a luminous translucent backdrop.
