A Texas design firm has found a new and lucrative way of using its award winning talents — by giving ugly 1980s office towers a cosmetic make-over.
Dallas landmark Chase Tower was one of Staffelbach’s recent refurbishment projects
Dallas-based Staffelbach, launched almost 50 years ago as an interior design studio, has found itself with a full order book as more and more owners of 1980s and 90s office towers realise the benefits of remodelling.
“There are so many buildings in Dallas in that age bracket,” said Jo Staffelbach Heinz, president of the international acclaimed design firm. “Nowadays about 80 per cent of our work is taken up by office blocks.” And while Staffelbach has a respectable catalogue of completed interiors and space management, the company is now banishing that Eighties-style from office lobbies and public areas.
Its latest success was a project to revive North Dallas’s Berkshire Tower. “The lobby was so dark it looked like a crypt,” said property manager Kathy Czorniak, of Transwestern. “You couldn’t see people on the other side of the lobby it was so dark, it was terrible.”
When it was built in 1984 the Berkshire was clad inside and out with expensive stone and polished brass. “Everywhere you looked in the lobby except the ceiling it was granite,” said the design company founder Andre Staffelbach. Shiny brass trim surrounded the entryways, and even the vaulted elevator lobby was lined with sheets of antiqued brass.
Eight months on and the Berkshire’s vaulted ceiling has been resurfaced in white plaster and modern light fixtures installed. The colonial-style wooden lobby doors have also been replaced with frosted glass units. “We had all the brass ripped out and opened up the entryways to let in more light,” Staffelbach added. “Everyone’s plan was to lighten it up.”
Dragging the Berkshire into the 21st century has produced instant dividends for its tenants.
“We’ve had a great response to what we have done,” said Transwestern’s vice-president Scott Walker. “We only have two floors left to lease, and it’s the biggest block of available office space in this area.”
The average office project makeover costs between $2m and $4m [£1.2m and £2.3m] and can include everything from cosmetics to adding amenities such as workout rooms and conference centres. “We are trying to achieve a transformation, but keep it on budget,” Heinz said. “It’s not a blank check and it certainly won’t break the bank.”
Some of the company’s recent projects include remodelling at the Urban Towers in Las Colinas, the Trammell Crow Center and Tower 2600. One of the biggest current assignments is a lobby remodelling at the landmark Chase Tower in downtown Dallas which boasts one of the 1980s most expensive polished stone interiors.
The newest generation of office buildings takes style cues from hotels, offering softer finishes and more comfortable furnishings. “That whole approach has entered into the office,” adds Heinz. “People want their office to have a more residential feel.”
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