The newly renovated Uptown Dallas office for CBRE at 2100 McKinney redefines what a modern workplace can be. Designed by Ware Malcomb, the 95,000-square-foot, two-floor transformation reopened in October 2025 as the firm’s 75th U.S. location, embracing its hospitality-driven Workplace360 model. The renovation blends elevated design with experience, featuring a hidden speakeasy tucked behind bookcases, a billiards room, curated artwork, and a custom spiral staircase connecting floors seven and eight. It’s a bold example of how workplace environments are evolving to attract talent, foster collaboration, and create memorable client experiences.

Construction was led by Clune Construction Company, with project management by Turner & Townsend, furnishings by MillerKnoll, and art curation by ArtLifting. This renovation showcases a highly collaborative effort, delivering a workplace that feels more like a boutique hotel than a traditional office.

The Fort Worth City Hall Council Chamber, which officially opened in March 2025, brings a new level of transparency and civic engagement to downtown Fort Worth. Lighting and daylighting design by Essential Light Design Studio worked in close collaboration with BOKA Powell, prime architect for the overall City Hall renovation, and Brinkley Sargent Wiginton, design architect for the council chamber expansion, to create a welcoming and community-focused environment. Inspired by public feedback, the space embraces a “neighborhood front porch” concept, incorporating warm materials like sustainable southern pine to foster openness and connection.

Designed as one of the few municipal chambers in the U.S. to prioritize natural daylight, the 250-seat theater-style venue uses daylight harvesting and high-efficiency LED systems to support LEED Gold sustainability goals while maintaining a bright, transparent atmosphere during proceedings. The exterior lighting system adds another layer of civic identity, with programmable rooftop illumination that can shift colors for national holidays and city-led initiatives. Located at 100 Fort Worth Trail, the project was built by Linbeck Group, bringing together a collaborative team dedicated to thoughtful, people-centered design.

Designed by Stantec, the new Workforce & Visual Arts Center at Temple College opened in mid-2025, creating a flexible, future-ready environment where creative disciplines and technical workforce training intersect. The 71,260-square-foot facility replaces outdated campus spaces with a modern hub that supports evolving industry needs while serving as a new northern gateway to the college. Through architecture, interiors, and integrated engineering services, Stantec delivered a building that blends visual arts studios, public gallery space, and outdoor creative areas with high-bay workforce labs designed for construction, robotics, agriculture, and emerging technologies.

Flexibility was a driving force behind the design. Overhead electrical busways, adaptable infrastructure, and large work bays allow the facility to quickly evolve, even accommodating specialized additions like semiconductor manufacturing and cleanroom training equipment as program needs change. Working alongside Cloud Construction Company, the team helped Temple College maximize the long-term value of its bond investment while creating a facility that can grow with industry demands. The project involved Neme Design Studio for specialized design work and Perry Office Plus for interior furniture.

Lubbock-Cooper Liberty High School, designed by Parkhill, opened in 2023 as LCISD's second comprehensive high school in Lubbock, Texas. Created to support a growing student population, the campus reflects Parkhill’s K-12 philosophy of intentional, functional design that prioritizes student engagement and teacher support. The school offers a diverse, future-focused curriculum with dedicated spaces for Career & Technical Education (CTE), band, orchestra, theater, fashion design, and a fully equipped esports arena, all housed within a modern learning environment built for flexibility and collaboration.

A standout feature of the campus is its award-winning, 250-mph wind-rated gymnasium that doubles as one of the largest high school storm shelters in Texas, constructed using innovative Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF). This design earned both the 2025 Education Winner and People’s Choice awards from ICF Builder Magazine. Inside, more than 125,000 square feet of custom terrazzo flooring runs throughout the school, highlighted by a striking 500-square-foot “LCP” logo in navy and red. The project was built by general contractor Lee Lewis Construction. © Wade Griffith Photography 2026

Completed in August 2024, Martinez Elementary School in Little Elm, Texas, is a 113,500-square-foot campus designed to support 750 students through flexibility, efficiency, and connection. Designed by Pfluger Architects and built by Balfour Beatty, the project reflects a performance-driven collaboration with CMTA Engineers for Denton ISD.

The campus moves beyond the traditional school prototype—replacing long corridors and isolated zones with a central learning hub that connects classrooms, the library, dining, and outdoor spaces. This shared environment keeps students engaged, visible, and supported throughout the day.

The University of Arizona’s Applied Research Building (ARB) in Tucson, AZ, designed by Smithgroup and built by McCarthy, is a one-of-a-kind facility advancing the future of discovery.

Bringing together eight university departments, the four-story, 89,000-square-foot building houses cutting-edge laboratories and advanced technologies supporting research in space exploration, advanced manufacturing, and imaging science. ARB positions the University as a leader in testing satellites, probes, and spacecraft technologies across both lower and upper atmospheric conditions.

Inspired by space science and the Sonoran Desert climate, the building’s design makes a bold statement. Its crinkled metal façade draws on the International Space Station's solar arrays, featuring textured vertical fins, a breathable rain screen, and integrated frit to reduce solar heat gain while responding thoughtfully to its environment.

Art + Artisans curated 167 works of art from 76 artists for TIAA’s new 450,00 sq. ft., 15-story headquarters located at The Star in Frisco, TX. In collaboration with the Corgan interiors team, the art program was seamlessly woven into the building’s design, creating a cohesive environment that reflects the natural beauty of Texas and TIAA’s values of education, service, and inclusion. An internal arts committee of TIAA employees helped select the works, ensuring the collection resonates deeply with the people who experience it every day.

© Wade Griffith Photography 2025

C.W. Cline Elementary School in Friendswood, Texas was designed by PBK Architects and built by Satterfield & Pontikes Construction as part of the district’s 2020 bond program, opening for the 2023–24 school year. Shaped through a collaborative design session with staff, parents, students, and community members, the campus was guided by goals of flexibility, safety, timeless design, outdoor learning, and strong internal connectivity. At the heart of the 123,000-square-foot school is a central learning commons that functions as the educational hub, surrounded by grade-level pods that promote collaboration, teamwork, and personalized instruction for PreK–5 students.

Purposefully designed to extend learning beyond the classroom, the campus features innovation hubs, maker spaces, art and music rooms, and shared spaces that support both students and the broader community. Outdoor elements, including a sensory garden, amphitheater, early childhood pathway, and covered pavilion, create opportunities for hands-on exploration and connection with nature.

The Memorial & Alexander Halls renovation at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, designed by Kirksey Architecture and built by JE Dunn Construction, honors nearly a century of tradition while reimagining the student living experience for today’s Honors Residential College. Originally constructed in 1930 and 1940, the beloved residence halls were carefully modernized with a focus on community, accessibility, sustainability, and academic integration, while preserving original architectural character and the memories tied to these iconic buildings.

A new three-level connector now unites the halls, creating indoor and outdoor gathering spaces that encourage collaboration and connection, including lounges, a courtyard, a community kitchen, and a learning center. With upgraded dorm rooms, reconfigured amenities, complete MEP replacements, and improved natural light throughout, the renovation strikes a thoughtful balance between historic preservation and modern student life—ensuring Memorial and Alexander Halls remain central to the Baylor experience for generations to come.

The Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Visual and Performing Arts Center, designed by PBK, is a centrally located event venue in Cypress, Texas supporting all of the visual and performing arts programs for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD.

The building design features a new 1,500 seat state-of-the-art auditorium with two balconies, a small secondary theater, visual arts display and support spaces, a multipurpose room, dance studio, ticketing, and concessions. The main audience chamber and performance stage is designed to support a wide variety of programs and performances.

Additional contributions to the project were made by Salas O’Brien, Jaffe Holden, Schuler Shook, Dally & Associates, Satterfield & Pontikes, & Rockfon.

The public art piece "Drawn Together", designed by RE:site Studio, was completed in 2024 and is located outside of the TIAA Corporate Center in Frisco, Texas.

It represents TIAA’s core: the teacher and the teaching relationship. In the work, colored pencil shapes cut from steel pipes form two, reaching hands. Connecting to TIAA’s value of diversity, the color palette unites Crayola skin-tone shades with TIAA Brand colors.

Design Optimization & Management by Metalab. Art Consulting by Art + Artisans.

© Wade Griffith Photography 2025

The Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building that I photographed for Smithgroup was featured in Metal Architecture.

© Wade Griffith Photography 2025