The Las Colinas Association hosted the inaugural Las Colinas Architecture tour on Friday, September 22nd. Over a hundred people joined to tour Las Colinas’s architectural marvels. The event kicked off at The Constellation Club in The Towers a Williams Square. Guests enjoyed breakfast and coffee sponsored by the Irving Economic Development Partnership before embarking on the inaugural tour.

Las Colinas’ trophy office building and defining landmark, The Towers at Williams Square represent the spirit of Ben Carpenter’s vision – distinctive design, quality materials, and a premier location on Lake Carolyn. Forty years after their construction, the buildings continue to attract high-growth tenants. A recent renovation upgraded the lobbies, common areas, and food service. The 26^th floor is home to The Constellation Club, a private members-only country club in the sky with some of the best views in Dallas-Fort Worth.

From the Towers at Williams Square attendees walked down to Williams Square Plaza. Home to the famous Mustangs of Las Colinas sculptures by Kenya’s Robert Glen, Williams Square Plaza is Las Colinas’ town square. The granite expanse of the original plaza depicted the open Texas plain through which the famous horses galloped. The 2022 renovation, led by members of the original design team, softened the plaza with additional landscaping and added an elevated viewing platform to provide a new perspective.

The tour wouldn’t be complete without visiting Las Colinas’s beloved Mandalay Canal. Inspired by Ben Carpenter’s travels, including trips to southern Europe and his World War II service in Burma (now Myanmar and the source of the Mandalay name), the Mandalay Canal is the original heart of Las Colinas commerce. The surrounding office buildings, the first multi-tenant buildings in Las Colinas, have undergone recent renovations to remain top-of-the-market options. The 50^th anniversary of Las Colinas brings investments in the canal area, and a new strategy for revitalizing the retail district. The October 2023 GLOW Canalside Celebration will debut a new canal vision as a linear event space for additional future activations.

Two motor coaches then took attendees to their next stop, Toyota Music Factory. Transportation was provided in partnership with Austin Commercial. 

The fruit of a significant public-private partnership led by the City of Irving, Toyota Music Factory combines an innovative, flexible indoor-outdoor amphitheater with a mix of office and retail space. The Pavilion instantly transforms from a fully indoor theater with seating for up to 2,500 to an outdoor concert venue with lawn seating for a total of 8,000 seats. Over twenty restaurants and the Alamo Drafthouse surround Music Factory Plaza, able to host smaller concerts and community events. Office space adds a daytime population to the expected concert and convention crowd. New owners Brookfield Properties plan on additional renovations and new tenants, including Jaxon Beer Garden and Rayleigh, a new indoor event venue opening soon.

Next stop was Verizon, where attendees enjoyed lunch sponsored by Verizon and learned about how designers and architects worked to bring the 1990s building into the 2020s. Originally built as the headquarters for GTE’s national telephone operations, Verizon’s Hidden Ridge campus uses a connective spine combined with spiraling wings to define the two-building complex overlooking the TPC Las Colinas. The buildings’ curtain walls provide plenty of glass views of the golf course and central courtyard, with a series of ponds and outdoor amenities.

Guests then departed to Pioneer Natural Resources. The newest recent addition to the Las Colinas skyline (until the opening of the Christus Health building in late 2023), Pioneer’s glass headquarters building rises ten levels above the original site of the Hackberry Creek Ranch house, the Carpenter family home that started it all. A glass curtain wall and stone façade wrap the million sq. ft. highly-amenitized office building with a landscape inspired by the original ranch.

The final stop was the most highly anticipated location on the tour, 5959 Las Colinas Blvd., the former ExxonMobil HQ. Capital Commercial Investments, the new owners of the property, opened the doors to the public for the first time ever on this tour. The Prairie-style office building, hidden from street view behind trees and rolling terrain, has been a staple of the Las Colinas skyline for thirty years, despite its low-slung roofline. Large floorplates are wrapped with alternating window banks, and the interior reflects the rich history and reach of its original tenant. The building anchors nearly 300 acres of DFW’s best infill development opportunity.After touring the alluring property, guests enjoyed a social hour sponsored by Capital Commercial Investments. 

HOK kept attendees hydrated by sponsoring the water bottles. HKS kept the harsh Texas sun off attendees by supplying umbrellas. KDC ensured attendees had a bag to hold all materials and promotional items guests received upon arrival.