The new Children’s Health pediatric campus in Dallas will be among the largest facilities of its kind in the U.S. The project is a collaboration between many entities. The new Dallas pediatric campus will be located in Dallas’ Southwestern Medical District, directly across from UT Southwestern’ s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital. This project is a joint venture between Children’s Health and UT Southwestern. It will serve as a collaborative center for innovation, academic research, training, and the advancement of lifesaving technologies.

Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center have selected HKS and Perkins&Will as the integrated design team to collaborate on the new campus. McCarthy Vaughn Partnership (MVP) – a joint venture of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and J.T. Vaughn Construction LLC – will serve as construction manager for the $5 billion project, which will include 552 beds and 4.5 million square feet of construction.

The new campus will replace the current Children’s Health hospital in Dallas. Children’s Health anticipates the hospital will open in 2031? How are the various entities involved in the design and construction process? What is the communication and decision-making process? What new strategies have the teams developed for this enormous collaborative effort?

Moderator

Chuck ARMSTRONG, FAIA

Chuck Armstrong, FAIA, served as Design Director and Principal at Corgan, bringing nearly 40 years of architectural leadership across healthcare, aviation, corporate, retail, and institutional projects worldwide. Known for his thoughtful design approach and ability to lead complex teams, Chuck guided more than 40 award-winning projects from vision to reality.

His portfolio includes the New Parkland Hospital, DFW International Airport Terminal D, Toyota North America Headquarters, One Arts Plaza, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Sacramento International Airport. In 2015, he was elevated to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in recognition of his contributions to advancing the aesthetic, scientific, and practical efficiency of the profession.

Chuck holds a Bachelor of Architecture from The University of Texas at Austin and has served as a visiting critic at several universities, supporting the development of future design leaders.

Panelists

City Hall and its Future:
A Public Conversation – Video Now on YouTube

“City Hall and Its Future: A Public Conversation” was presented by The Dallas Architecture Forum and the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture at SMU on January 22, 2026. This important program began with introductory remarks by Eurico Francisco, AIA. Seemee Ali, PhD then examined the historic importance of city centers as places of gathering and civic identity. She also reviewed how Dallas civic visionaries led by then-mayor J. Erik Jonsson commissioned Pritzker prize-winning architect I M Pei to design our current Dallas City Hall to move forward from the shadow of the Kennedy assassination. Ali noted that Pei was personally selected by Jackie Kennedy to design JFK’s Presidential Library in Boston, and allowing our current Dallas City Hall to be destroyed would create yet again a gaping wound in the urban fabric of Dallas.

Economist Cullum Clark, PhD, faculty member at SMU, presented important economic data about what creates and sustains a vibrant city center, including informative data showing how Dallas compares with other major cities on key metrics related to this issue.  He also discussed the adverse impact that sports arenas, convention centers, and casinos located in city centers can have on the city’s residents. Some of those results may include public intoxication, drug use, and prostitution. Clark’s data also indicated that even well-managed convention centers are generally “vacant” about 60% of the time, with no positive street activation around them when not in use.

Bob Meckfessel, FAIA enumerated concerns he and other leading architects in Dallas have about the process certain developers and city leaders are pursuing to force a premature decision to abandon our current city hall.

The program concluded with a video by Quin Mathews highlighting key elements of the history, durability, and importance of the I M Pei-designed City Hall.

Dallas city staff members were invited by program organizers to participate in this discussion but declined to do so.

Watch the “City Hall and its Future: A Public Conversation” Video Below

“Save Dallas City Hall” 

Please visit the expanded Save Dallas City Hall website for more information on action steps you can take to help save Dallas City Hall.

The web address is www.savedallascityhall.com

• City Hall has been a place of public gathering – from celebrations to protests, center of Dallas’ history for almost half a century
• Appx 45 years of deferred maintenance cannot be resolved in a few weeks by “back of napkin” estimates – we have had de facto “demolition by neglect”
• The city must conduct a comprehensive and transparent analysis of needed repairs by recognized experts: Structural engineers, MEP engineers, architects, contractors, and preservation experts
• Commercial office buildings in Dallas may be in similar condition with aging infrastructure and smaller floor plates – City’s track record on this issue is not good – i.e. 7800 N. Stemmons
• Dallas must not destroy an internationally renowned public building for a real estate play for private entertainment
  

How You Can Help Save and Transform City Hall

• Contact your City Council representative
• Ask City Council to insist on a thorough, expert-led study of this crucial issue
• Urge City Council and Staff to analyze financial expense and civic detriment related to relegating the city’s municipal center to rented commercial space
• Insist that the council and city leaders engage innovative design professionals to reimagine the current City Hall plaza and building for the city and its citizens – maintaining this masterpiece while renovating it for future decades
• Talk to friends, neighbors, and colleagues – ask them to contact their City Council member
• Sign the petition at savedallascityhall.com
• Wear a “Save Dallas City Hall” button
• Attend and speak at City Council and other meetings to show support

Enjoy this E-Magazine about our 2024-2025 Season 

The Dallas Architecture Forum is pleased to present inspiring talks by past Forum speakers on our YouTube Channel!

View the great design thought leaders already on the channel (or soon to be posted) below.

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Experience inspired design — virtual and online!