DALLAS – Gaedeke Group is taking a bold step at Banner Place to create a 21st century lobby, utilizing a technique rarely used in large commercial spaces to de-luster brass and installing a 3,000-pound suspended, elliptical lighting feature and locally commissioned original artwork. Nearly 1,000 sf of gleaming brass, indicative of the 1984 construction, is being redressed as oil-rubbed bronze as part of a $650,000 renovation.
The striking change, for now, is confined to the lobby's brass elements, including a two-story column, sides and railings of a circular staircase, and two second-floor mezzanine spaces in the 280,432-sf class A office building at 12770 Coit Rd. in North Dallas.
"We are creating a simplistic, clean yet timeless look that will carry over for many years to come," says Anthony Reynolds, the Dallas-based landlord's in-house construction manager. "We are an environmentally friendly company so we chose to modify the look of the existing brass and reuse it instead of removing it."
Patrick Magill of Magill Associates in Dallas has incorporated minimalist and futuristic elements into the redesign, transitioning a grand lobby with an existing floor-to-ceiling exterior glass wall and marble floors and walls throughout the first level into 21st century space. A custom-designed elliptical light made of green glass – internally dubbed the "UFO" – will be suspended by aircraft cables from the ceiling so it appears to be floating un-tethered above a newly crafted security desk. Adding to the aura will be three large abstract paintings by Kenneth Womack of Dallas-based Womack Paints. Magill also has custom designed rock sculptures, made of fabricated driftwood, for the lobby's planter beds. The pieces will be set in glass pebbles to further enhance the sleek clean lines of the new look, which will include minimalist-style designer furniture.
The lobby ceiling, also being replaced, will feature wood beams with recessed round lights, extending roughly 65 feet from the second-floor elevator lobby to the exterior glass wall to visually unite the open spaces. As part of its ongoing green initiative, Gaedeke is pursuing LEED certification for Banner Place, which currently holds Energy Star certification and a BOMA 360 designation for operating performance excellence, as well as Oak Lawn Plaza in Uptown.
The Gaedeke portfolio presently contains five LEED-certified properties. Banner Place's work is expected to be completed within 90 days. It is the first major renovation since Banner Place's completion 19 years ago. The property consists of a 12-story building with a climate-controlled sky bridge connecting to a six-level parking garage, situated close to Central Expressway, Interstate 635 and the "High Five" fly-over to provide easy access to the entire metroplex.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Belinda Dabliz, 214-273-3323