Architecture
Original plans for the development, initially called Dallas Main Center, called for two 72-story towers, a 600-room hotel, and a parking garage. Original designs for the tower were capped with stepped pyramid crowns and were initially intended to be clad in a silver glazing with gold accent band curtain wall. In order to gain FAA approval to build the tower, the stepped pyramid was removed. Another design change altered the curtain wall materials, which were replaced with blue glazing and grey marble accent bands.[8]
As a result of the collapse of the price for oil, real estate, and banking industry in Texas in the mid-eighties, the twin tower and hotel were never completed. The hotel site remains a surface parking lot, and the site of the second 72-story tower was purchased by the City of Dallas after a 2006 bond election. The surface parking lot was converted into Belo Garden Park.
Lighting
The building's facetted facade was first accented at night by nearly 2 mi of green argon lighting running primarily at the edges and corners of the tower. The lighting design concept was by Theo Kondos Associates, lighting design firm in New York City, New York. Due to the green lighting, the building is often referred to as "The Pickle." Green was chosen over red or blue because it is more visible from a distance. It has also been reported that the second tower, if built would have been accented with purple lighting (often called “The Eggplant”).
Several months later, many of the argon tubes had burnt out due to a combination of several high voltage phenomena—one of which is referred to as the "corona effect" that discharges high voltage at the ends of the tube connections burning them out. After an intensive study, the developer shut down the entire lighting system and replaced it with a "mid-point grounded" system and larger, 18 mm tubes. Cold temperatures continued to plague the replacement system's performance.
In a renovation project that began in May 2013, the original green argon lighting was replaced with multi-colored LED tubes. The renovations were 90 percent complete by November 14, 2013, when the LED outline was showcased at the re-lighting ceremony. This was made possible by Innovative Lighting in Irving, and Turner Construction.[8]
Art
Alexander Liberman's sculpture "Venture" (1985) was located in the front plaza of the building until April 2013. The 38 ft tall sculpture is composed of twelve wide steel tubes of approximately 1” thickness cut into various lengths and stacked end-to-end and painted red. The current building owners removed the sculpture to make room for a valet parking entry to the building. The sculpture was donated to the City of Dallas. It was refurbished and installed near Garage C at Dallas Love Field Airport.
During the 2013 renovation of the building's lighting, the nearby OMNI Hotel's LED system was host to the 2nd edition of the Video Association of Dallas' EXPANDED CINEMA video exhibition. One work in the program, "Ar City" by Dallas-based artist Michael A. Morris, poetically addressed the transition from the argon lighting to the new LED system, drawing attention to the absence of the green light on the skyline by reproducing the color with the OMNI's lights and musing on the uses of liquid argon.[9][10][11] Many artists have been exhibited inside OMNI hotel such as Mona Kasra.[12]
Broadcast and communications center
The top two floors function as a broadcast communications tower using the building itself as a broadcast tower structure. ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW operate television transmission facilities on the 72nd floor and 74th level roof as well as most federal law enforcement agencies. All point-to-point microwave and fixed-service antennas are concealed within a specifically designed glass communications parapet on the top floor. The base of the 73rd floor parapet opens to the 72nd floor data and communications center below allowing for easy and safe access during installation and servicing of wireless devices. It also protects the hardware from weather. The building operates a sophisticated in-building distributed antenna system as well as a shared tenant data center. James Chiles designed this facility in 1985 one year prior to his rooftop antenna design of Renaissance Tower in 1986.[13]
Amateur radio operators also install repeater systems on this building.
Floor directory
The 72nd-73rd floors contain mechanical space and telecommunications equipment for the broadcast antennas on the roof. Two rooftop balconies on the 72nd floor are closed to the public and store the building's window washing equipment.[14]
The lower level contains retail such as shops and restaurants which connect to the Dallas Pedestrian Network.
