Camp Gatehouse at the Dallas Arboretum

/COMMUNITY SPACES

General Contractor
McCaslin Hill

Structural Engineer
Philip Lalonde

Landscape Architect
Kevin Clark | Naud Burnett

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, heaters, and fans for a tram stop at the Alex Camp House and Fogelson Fountain.

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 Camp 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.

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.

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.