blogOutside bulletin: Studio Outside is now hiring!

Well, it's now 2015 and I can't imagine a better post to start off the new year. Studio Outside has continued to grow over the past year and we are now looking to add two passionate contributors to the team!

Read below for descriptions of the two positions: 


Studio Outside is now accepting resumes and portfolios from landscape architects and designers to fill two positions – one requiring zero to three years of working experience and one requiring four to eight years of experience who are available for immediate work in Dallas, Texas.  A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from an accredited university is required.

The successful candidate for the 0 to 3 year position will have a firm foundation in:

  • Design graphic skills and support documentation
  • Computer applications (AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Sketchup or other modeling programs)
  • Helping to execute construction documents

The individual will work with principals, associates, and project leaders in the office to collaborate on a variety of project types and scales.

The successful candidate for the 4 to 8 year position will have professional design and project management experience leading teams through all stages from concept through construction.  Outstanding design skills are especially important for this position.  In addition, this individual will lead a team by exhibiting strength in:

  •  Design skills from conceptual planning to refined detail and site design
  • Meeting deadlines and budget requirements
  • Construction methodologies to effectively oversee preparation of CD sets including hardscape, plant materials, specs, and bidding.
  • Coordination with several disciplines on various projects
  • Client relationships
  • Development of junior staff
  • Computer Applications (AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite)

The individual will work with principals and associates in the office to collaborate on a variety of project types and scales.

Studio Outside is an award winning landscape architectural practice located in the Deep Ellum District of Dallas. The studio team has more than 35 years of experience throughout the United States and overseas. Current commissions are approximately split with half of our work around Texas and half around the country. Visit www.studiooutside.us for a comprehensive cross section of our diverse practice. Please also see our previous entries on the blog for more information on office interests and ongoing activities.

Studio Outside offers a half-day Friday schedule, and opportunities to grow professionally with the office and toward your personal goals. Studio Outside strongly supports all employees to become licensed and gears studio experience toward achieving that goal.

Please provide a portfolio and resume materials (hard copy or email is acceptable) to info@studiooutside.us. 

For Dallas, Could Looking to the Past Provide Keys to the Future?

Dallas in 1939, looking as radiant as I think it ever has. All I know is that it makes me wonder what if? What if we hadn’t buried our retail, what if we hadn’t torn everything down and built a parking lot?
— Robert Wilonsky

In April, Dallas Morning News' Robert Wilonsky and Dallas Historic Preservation Officer Mark Doty unveiled some rare footage of a Dallas that is unknown to most of us. The two-minute clip shows a 1939 version of Downtown Dallas and surroundings, revealing the pre-Central Expressway and pre-Mixmaster city core as an energetic nexus of commerce, shopping, and entertainment (and Downtown movie theaters!). 

Insight from Doty in the video's introduction reveals that this era in Dallas was the "time period where Downtown Dallas matured and reached a zenith of density and scope and scale", and that the introduction of Stemmons and Central Expressways were really the harbinger of Downtown Dallas's future decline. 

Recently, our office has been conducting research into the history of our neighborhood, and the central Dallas area in general. I believe, as many others do, that Dallas is at a critical point in its development. We've seen already what the expansion of the highway system and disinvestment in the city core does to the life and vibrancy of not only downtown but also the surrounding neighborhoods such as Deep Ellum and the Cedars. 

It's interesting that found in the talk of reviving Downtown and Deep Ellum are embedded visions of what Dallas could be: a city where people want to live IN the city, able to walk or take transit to areas of entertainment, shopping, and food, and living close to work.

Is it possible that in looking at what Dallas used to be, we could find pieces here and there that perfectly match the vision of what Dallas could be?