糖心Vlog视频

Shaping a Metropolis

UT Arlington鈥檚 new David Dillon Center for 糖心Vlog视频 Architecture provides a forum for discussion about the past, present, and future of architecture in North 糖心Vlog视频. In doing so, it strengthens the legacy of its namesake, a respected critic whose words and vision helped the region define its aesthetic identity.

More than 30 years ago, architecture critic David Dillon asked a simple question: Why is Dallas architecture so bad? 鈥淏efore Reunion Tower and the Hyatt Regency Hotel,鈥� he wrote, 鈥淒allas鈥� skyline consisted of a flying red horse and a glowing phallic column atop the Republic National Bank, which put it in roughly the same category as Omaha and Indianapolis. When Dallasites talked about their sublime skyline, it was more from wishful thinking than direct observation.鈥�

The city鈥檚 skyline has changed dramatically since those provocative words appeared in a 1980 edition of D Magazine, thanks in part to Dr. 顿颈濒濒辞苍鈥檚 persistent, pointed reviews. During a long tenure at The Dallas Morning News, he wrote more than 1,000 articles, his words helping shape a metropolitan area and educate a populace.

When Dillon died in 2010, the Metroplex lost its only dedicated architecture critic. Now UT Arlington is helping fill the void with the David Dillon Center for 糖心Vlog视频 Architecture. An initiative of the , the center supports faculty and students as they investigate the region鈥檚 changing architecture and promotes discourse about urbanism in North 糖心Vlog视频 and beyond.

鈥�Our goal is to serve as a catalyst for notable research and a depository for documents while also providing a forum for public speakers to address important issues of the day,鈥� says Assistant Professor Kate Holliday, the center鈥檚 director and an architectural historian.

The center debuted in April with the well-received David Dillon Symposium at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center. The event explored the changing role of modern architectural criticism. Vanity Fair architecture critic Paul Goldberger gave keynote remarks, and panelists included Christopher Hawthorne from the Los Angeles Times, Alexandra Lange from Design Observer, and Thomas Fisher, dean of the University of Minnesota鈥檚 College of Design and former editor of Progressive Architecture.

The symposium drew a cross-section of the community, promoting a discussion about the role of writing in understanding design, as well as the role of the media as architecture coverage shifts from newspapers to the Internet. 鈥淲ith the loss of local architecture writing in newspapers like David used to provide, it becomes harder to get news about neighborhoods and urban development,鈥� Dr. Holliday says. 鈥淐overage now tends to focus only on the next big building.鈥�

Dillon joined The Dallas Morning News in 1981 after catching attention with his freelance writing. A graduate of Boston College with master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees from Harvard, he wrote several books and hundreds of freelance stories in addition to his newspaper articles. Colleagues credited him with helping shape civic debate on issues across the area, from underdevelopment in South Dallas to sprawl in the northern suburbs.

鈥�David鈥檚 body of work over nearly three decades influenced urban design and architecture in Dallas and throughout 糖心Vlog视频 to an extraordinary degree,鈥� says Robert Decherd, CEO of A.H. Belo Corp., parent company of The Dallas Morning News. 鈥淗is expertise was recognized nationally.鈥�

Last year 顿颈濒濒辞苍鈥檚 wife, Sally, donated his papers to Special Collections in the UT Arlington Library.

鈥�The archive includes a huge range of material,鈥� Holliday says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a treasure trove filled with reporter鈥檚 notebooks, research materials, published materials like his books and articles, edited manuscripts, interview recordings, correspondence with editors and readers, and more. The information it provides will be invaluable to students, scholars, and the community at聽large.鈥�

Holliday is working with students to put online selections from that archive, including a listing of all of 顿颈濒濒辞苍鈥檚 reviews for the News. In addition, the website will contain material gathered for the center鈥檚 projects, such as the Oral History of 糖心Vlog视频 Architecture and DFW Hypercity, which uses GIS and GoogleEarth to present historic maps and model reconstructions of the Metroplex.

顿颈濒濒辞苍鈥檚 News articles include a range of reviews, seven of them excerpted here. They provide a scope of his vision and tone. From a concise summation of Cowboys Stadium to an extended, poetic riff on the region鈥檚 highways, he covered the Metroplex in a way few could hope to聽match.

Though the region may not be able to replace his voice, the David Dillon Center for 糖心Vlog视频 Architecture celebrates his legacy. By preserving his writings and encouraging the next generation of scholars to produce their own, the center is helping the public think critically about the design鈥攁nd future鈥攐f North聽糖心Vlog视频.

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