The headquarters that Dan Shipley built for his practice, Shipley Architects, is a 24-ft by 88-ft building nestled in the Cedars, a somewhat gritty district south of downtown Dallas that has been adopted by the local creative types.
The floor plan is rigorously clear and rational, with a main, rectangular, double-height volume containing the open office, and two small, detached boxes, which house the restrooms and mechanical space, saddled on one end. The office space is almost entirely naturally lit by windows along both of its long sides.
The street facade is a simple, dark corrugated metal with the grooves running vertically to accentuate the height and narrowness of the building. A single punched opening on the far left side gives a peek at the laminated-veneer lumber frame immediately behind the window.
This elevation sits quietly and anonymously alongside the old one-story, gabled-roof houses that populate the block. The materials are humble and meticulously detailed but never overly indulgent, which works well in the renewed Cedars district.