I worked in Fountain Place when it first opened in 1986. It was the most unique and innovative architectural structure that downtown Dallas had seen in a long time. It still stands tall, sleek, and beautiful today.
I think my favorite thing about Fountain Place is the water gardens for which the building is named. When it first opened, Dallasites hadn't seen anything like it: the enormous prism of glass surrounded by an urban garden of water that flows over terraced cement and around potted trees. Nearby, a contagion of synchronized water choreography performs a seemingly impromptu recital from a series of holes cut in the marble, laid out in the shape of a linear vegetable garden. If you sit and observe it long enough, you will begin to see the cyclical pattern repeat itself. It has a hypnotic and relaxing effect.
In the heat of the summer, kids would run and play in the water, squealing when they received a surprise spraying. You couldn't help but laugh at them. Adults who would get too close sometimes got caught off guard and, thus, ended up wet. Occasionally they would get mad, but mostly they would laugh.
As beautifully as the building is designed, with it's elegant glass facade, the architects overlooked one nearly fatal design flaw...the building's steeply pitched angles. The exterior is a carved away design, ensuring it's 10 sides give the structure a unique appearance from every direction. What they forgot to factor in was Dallas' winter weather and, more specifically, ice storms.
The first winter freeze allowed enormous sheets of solid ice to form on the building's giant angled surfaces. As the temperature rose above freezing, thus loosening the ice from the glass exterior, the first huge sheet came sliding down and shattered when it hit the sidewalk, narrowly missing those of us who were walking below as we attempted to enter the building for work. Many of us went straight inside to the building's management office to let them know what had happened. When I came out for lunch later that day, a huge portion of the surrounding public space had been marked off with orange traffic cones and yellow police tape. I think it's safe to say that while many of us narrowly escaped death or serious injury, I. M. Pei and Partners also avoided a costly law suit that could have put them out of business.
If you are into celebrity, or have no life of your own, you might be interested to know that some scenes from the television show Dallas were shot here. Apparently, J. R. Ewing's fictitious office was supposed to be in this building, so they were frequently shooting in the lobby. It was annoying for those of us who worked here because they must have complete silence when filming. The floors were marble, and we were all dressed in business suits and high heels or dress shoes. There is no possible way to walk on marble in dress shoes or high heels without making some noise, so we were all forced to be mute, tip-toeing around in our stocking feet, dodging the film crew with shoes in hand...waiting until we got outside of the lobby doors before we could speak or put our shoes back on to go out for lunch, use the elevators, or any other time we had to enter or leave the lobby. One should never have to witness senior management in sock feet. It takes away from their air of authority and managerial competence. I am reminded of this every time I go to the airport and am forced to walk around in socks or bare feet while my shoes are scanned for plastic explosive (as if any woman is gonna blow up her favorite pair of Jimmy Choos!) But, I digress...
Fountain Place is one of the most interesting architectural structures that I have seen anywhere in the world, and here it graces the skyline of little ol Big D. It's gorgeous, day or night. If the weather is nice and you're downtown, grab some lunch to-go and head over to the water garden. It's a great spot to soak up some sunshine, relax, and recharge your battery before you head back into the land of florescent light and cubicle monotony. read more