Exploring Dallas during the 2011 Convention

Michael Woods, AIA, a principal at RTKL Associates in Dallas, wants to take you on a tour of his hometown.



Map out your visit of the host city.

View Texas Architects Tour of Dallas in a larger map

Take a walk downtown from the convention center:

Main Street Garden Park - Thomas Balsley Associates
Wilson Building- Sanguinett & Staats/Corgan Associates
Mercantile Building - Walter Ahlschlager/ BGO Architects
Third Rail Lofts - Good Fulton & Farrell Architects
Gables Republic Tower - Harrison & Abramovitz/ RTKL Associates
The Joule Hotel - Coburn & Smith/Architexas
Dallas Museum of Art - Edward Larrabee Barnes
Nasher Sculpture Center - Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Museum Tower - Johnson Fain Architects
Margot and Bill WInspear Opera House - Foster + Partners
Wyly Theater - Rex/OMA

Venture off the beaten path:

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge - Santiago Calatrava
Cistercian Chapel - Cunningham Architects
Whiterock Lake
7035 Lakewood Blvd - CD Hutsell
Dallas Arboretum - Lake/Flato Architects


Purchase the AIA Guide to Dallas Architecture online at aiadallas.org


Be sure to register online for the convention before September 28. It won't be the same without you!

72nd Annual Convention and
Design Products and Ideas Expo
27-29 October 2011
Dallas Convention Center

Dallas Arts District Tour in October

The Dallas Center for Architecture, Nasher Sculpture Center, Winspear Opera House, and Wyly Theater are among projects to be highlighted on the Dallas Arts District Tour (Tour A, Thurs., Oct. 27, 9:30 am to noon) during the Texas Society of Architects Annual Convention and Design Products and Ideas Expo, Oct. 27-29, 2011. 

Several of the projects on the Dallas Arts District tour were featured in the March/April 2011 issue of Texas Architect magazine. Read about these projects in the issue posted below.

Winspear Opera House

Winspear Opera House

Wyly Theater

Wyly Theater

The Arts District is one of twelve tours that will showcase innovative designs by regional and nationally renowned architects. Stay tuned to the Society's blog and other communication outlets for more information on tours, Continuing Education sessions, and events.

Convention registration opens mid summer.

Below is a complete list of the 2011 Texas Society of Architects' convention tours:

Tour A: Walking the Dallas Arts District

Tour B: Classic Modern Dallas - The Rose Residence

Tour C: Oak Cliff Community Renewal

Tour D: Victory Park - Urban Redevelopment

Tour E: Backstage Pass - Winspear and Wyly Performance Venues

Tour F: On Campus at SMU - Past, Present, and Future

Tour G: Trinity River Audubon Center

Tour H: Designed for Learning - Three Special Schools

Tour I: Mind, Body, and Soul (a library, research lab, and chapel)

Tour J: Urban Reserve - A Modern Neighborhood

Tour K: Cowboys Stadium

Tour L: Perot Museum of Nature and Science

The Courthouses of Central Texas

Thursday, October 27th

7:45 PM–8:45 PM
The Courthouses of Central Texas
Brantley Hightower, AIA, Lake|Flato Architects, San Antonio

The 254 county courthouses of Texas represent a rich and enduring architectural legacy. While the 50 courthouses of the central Texas region exhibit an endearing collection of historical styles, they remain relevant for the contemporary architect. They provide lessons about meaning and modernity as well as sustainability and community. Come along for a unique look at these structures as architectural artifact.

Sponsored by Talex Engineers
111019 LUHs 1

72nd Annual Convention and

Design Products & Ideas Expo
27-29 October 2011
Dallas Convention Center

Maeda and Ryan to Deliver Keynote Addresses at TSA Convention in Dallas

John Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design

John Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, and Rebecca Ryan, of Next Generation Consulting, will deliver keynote addresses on Fri., Oct. 28, during the Texas Society of Architects 72nd Annual Convention and Design Products and Ideas Expo, Oct 27-29, in Dallas.

Maeda is a Japanese-American graphic designer, computer scientist, university professor, and author whose work in design and technology explores the area where the two fields merge. As a software engineering student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he became fascinated with the work of Paul Rand and Muriel Cooper. Cooper was a director of MIT’s Visual Language Workshop. After completing his bachelors and masters degrees at MIT, Maeda studied in Japan at Tsukuba University’s Institute of Art and Design to complete his Ph.D. in design.

In 1999, Maeda was named one of the 21 most important people in the 21st century by Esquire. In 2001, he received the national Design Award for Communication Design in the United States and Japan’s Mainichi Design Prize. In 2006, Maeda published the best-seller Laws of Simplicity based on a research project to find ways for people to simplify their life in the face of growing complexity. He is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council.

Rebecca Ryan, Next Generation Consulting

Rebecca Ryan and her team at Next Generation Consulting is “a reliable source for CEOs, mayors, legislators, economic developers, and non-profit leaders who want to attract and retain the next generation of creative workers to their community or organization.” So wrote Richard Florida for the foreword of Ryan’s Live First, Work Second. Ryan is able to help others see their organizations and institutions through the lens of this newest crop of creatives so that smart and strategic adjustments align in ways that will draw them in. Regardless of zip code, native language, or vocation, members of the Creative Class place as much emphasis on where and how they live as where they work.

Raised in Wisconsin by members of the “greatest generation,” Ryan played professional basketball in Iowa, Minneapolis, Germany, and Hungary before returning to her home state. Accolades include 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year (U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship), Communicator of the Year 2006 (Women in Communication), and Ones to Watch 2009 (Inside Public Accounting).