In 1980, writer David Dillon posed the question in a commentary published in Dallas Magazine: “Why is Dallas architecture so bad?” At the time Dallas was at the height of a building boom, but in Dillon’s eyes, new construction in the city did not have the best...
Picture the scene. It is 1980 and D Magazine founder and owner Wick Allison has just participated in a discussion at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture (another organization he helped start). A visitor to the city posed a question about Dallas’ lackluster...
The David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture was founded in 2011 as a way to connect the School of Architecture to the public conversation about architecture and urbanism in north Texas. The Center sponsors student and faculty research projects and organizes public events that bring together architects, historians, planners, policy-makers, and everyday citizens to examine issues of critical importance to Dallas-Fort Worth.
David Dillon was the award-winning architecture critic for the Dallas Morning News between 1981 and 2006 and after his untimely death in 2010, his wife Sally donated his papers to Special Collections at UT Arlington. The Center honors David’s tradition of insightful writing about architecture and civic culture and his role as an advocate for better design in everyday life.
The Center is funded primarily through philanthropic support. You can join in supporting our work by visiting our Donate page. https://giving.uta.edu/support_DDC