SWA's strategically-placed “dog intercepts” keep park human-friendly

– Chuck McDaniel
A newly opened park in downtown Dallas has been designed by SWA to be welcoming to dogs but to minimise their impact and ensure it remains a pleasant place for people to spend time.
Pacific Plaza Park is one of four new green spaces that Parks for Downtown Dallas plans to have introduced to the area by 2022, with the aim of providing more outdoor amenities for its growing population.
The 3.9ac (1.6ha) facility transformed a surface-level car-park into urban oasis inspired by local history, featuring a patch of 23 existing mature oak trees integrated into it, flexible space for programming, a children's play area and “The Thread” – a solid, 614ft (187m)-long limestone wall-seat.
There are also a number of dog intercept stations located at the entrances of the park designed to encourage dogs to relieve themselves before they get to the main space.
"The idea came from our SWA Dallas project team," explained SWA managing principal Chuck McDaniel to CLAD. "While investigating the current state of dog parks – and in this case dog relief areas – we found the common materials used were typically wood chips, shredded bark and artificial turf, all of which absorbed animal urine, retaining the uric acid and thus the associated aroma.
"Artificial turf was the only material that could effectively be sprayed with a chemical and washed away if a drain was nearby to receive the runoff. But artificial turf is hot in the summers and more importantly did not meet the aesthetic requirements of the parks design. We wanted to devise another alternative."
The resulting stations take the form of black granite boulders with pitched faces that provide an opportunity for dogs to mark the territory while hiding the urine with their rough texture.
The boulders are set into black gravel, which ensures drainage and is fine enough to be compliant for accessibility.
Additional filtration is provided below by a filter fabric and an additional layer of gravel set into the base of the stations, which drain into the sewers.
An automated irrigation system is used for a short period twice a day to rinse nearby plants, the boulders and the gravel, washing into the system below.
park Dallas SWA dogs






Mather & Co-designed Gretna Green Experience opens to the public

Project to save last major bellfoundry which cast bells for St Paul's and Washington National Cathedral

Perkins & Will reveals designs for net-zero sports and cultural centre in Toronto

World’s first living waterslides announced for Therme Manchester

Heatherwick reveals Volcano-inspired opera house designs for Hainan

Natural history museum planned for Abu Dhabi

Controversial London music venue, MSG Sphere, gets full planning permission

Clifford's Tower opens to the public after £5m redevelopment

Clifford's Tower opens to the public after £5m redevelopment

Glasgow's iconic Burrell Collection reopens after five-year, £68.5m revamp

SB Architects delivers Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Costa Rica with tree-house spa and private residences

Ole Scheeren designs vertical jungle resort complex in China

Designer Brian d’Souza launches Swell to create evocative soundscapes for physical environments

Basalt Architects create geothermal Forest Lagoon in the wilds of Iceland

Hot Pickle design £73m Guinness visitor attraction for Diageo in London

Amsterdam's new digital art centre Fabrique des Lumières will use tech to bring art alive

Pharrell Williams to launch tropical Bahamian beach resort

Banyan Tree curating solar-powered wellness retreat on private Mozambican island

Dubai Expo hits 10 million visits

Foster + Partners designs Dorchester Collection's first hotel in Middle East

Neil Jacobs reveals Six Senses Places concept for major cities

Orient Express returns to Italy after 46 years with six trains designed by Dimorestudio and new Rome hotel

400-year-old mineral spring will power Preidlhof’s €2m medicinal bath experience

Universal Beijing Resort reveals expansion plans for second phase

Pop-up stadium built with shipping containers opens ahead of 2022 World Cup

Playfulness will inspire Serenbe’s new wellness community, Spela

John McAslan + Partners-designed M7 cultural hub and museum opens in Doha

LPO Architects and GrecoDeco create vast subterranean wellness retreat for Oslo

Herzog and de Meuron’s M+ museum of visual culture distils essence of Hong Kong
