New office space sets the stage for continued growth and opportunity in the DFW area.
Kirksey Architecture has expanded its North Texas footprint by relocating to a new office in Dallas’ bustling Design District due to significant growth and to better serve clients throughout North Texas.Founded in Houston over 50 years ago, Kirksey planted its Dallas flag in 2022 with the acquisition of Dallas-based t. howard & associates (th+a). With an original headcount of 14 people, the Dallas office has continued to grow over the last year, necessitating a larger space to accommodate more activity-based design for 24 designers and architects.
Kirksey’s new 7,900-square-foot office now calls the Dallas Design District home within Quadrant Investment Properties’ Manufacturing District development, an industrial-chic neighborhood just northwest of Downtown Dallas with a vibrant mix of design showrooms, art galleries, luxury apartments, and fine dining. Kirksey designed the interior build-out within the newly renovated warehouses of the Design District at 143 Manufacturing Street, where the firm can better position itself for future growth and cultivate creativity in an eclectic urban enclave. True to the district’s live-work-play promise, Kirksey’s new office shares a patio with Triumphs Espresso & Whiskey bar, giving team members a fun option for coffee breaks or a convenient spot to meet clients or industry partners.
In making this strategic move, designers infused the Dallas location with distinctive Kirksey attributes, creating an aesthetic and workspace configuration reminiscent of their offices in Austin and Houston. Clients will recognize the hallmark features of lofty, expansive ceilings, diverse workstation types, exposed brick, and architectural framework, all enveloped in an inviting semi-industrial ambiance.
“Creating a great workplace experience requires aligning space, culture, interaction and behavior,” said Kirksey Executive Vice President Todd Howard. “Our new cutting-edge location will be a great space for our team to foster innovative ideas and will fully immerse us within the design fabric of Dallas.”
The team was involved in designing their own new office with decisions such as choosing the overall palette and naming the conference rooms after North Texas neighborhoods: The Cedars, Bishop Arts, Oak Lawn, Deep Ellum and Fair Park. Each space will have unique art and design elements as a nod to those areas. Kirksey is a carbon-neutral company since 2018, and the new Dallas office is on track to achieve LEED Gold once the certification process is complete.
“We focused on designing a space that embodies our core values such as sustainability, wellness, and collaboration as well as the latest workplace trends,” said Kirksey Senior Associate Nichole Bradley Culak, who leads the team’s corporate interiors work in Dallas. “This move allows us to demonstrate first-hand the benefits of design solutions centered on maximizing natural light and utilizing timeless, sustainable and healthy materials while providing an ecosystem of spaces that support different modes working and collaboration.”
Kirksey has several notable North Texas projects in the works, including Metrocare Hillside Innovation Center, Insperity Dallas Service Center office interiors, Dallas ISD Career Institute South Expansion, recently completed mixed-use residential high-rise The Victor with Munoz+Albin, the new Eagle Landing Dining Hall for the University of North Texas, the passively-ventilated aquatic and recreation facility for the City of Euless, and the Jubilee Park Community Clinic which establishes a new model for community care.