UT Southwestern Medical Center at RedBird

This project was selected as a Meritr winner in ARCHITECT's 2024 Architecture & Interiors Awards, Interiors: Leisure, Health and Wellness category.

“We applaud this transformation of an aging retail center to a light filled modernist vision of a modern healthcare environment.” –Juror Ben Crawford

Transforming a former Sears into one of UT Southwestern’s largest outpatient centers, this project exemplifies adaptive reuse of community spaces. It significantly expands treatment opportunities and provides a vital front door for prevention and screening services in Southern Dallas, an area historically underserved.

The Sears at Southern Dallas’s once-vibrant Red Bird mall closed in 2019 after a period of decline. The broader “Reimagine RedBird” initiative is revitalizing the mall site, with the conversion of the Sears space into an outpatient center redefining the development. Now a catalyst for wellness in Southern Dallas, which has a large population but limited healthcare options, UT Southwestern at RedBird offers easy access to top-tier primary and specialized care programs.

Renovating the 1970s retail space presented challenges, including floors not designed to support heavy medical equipment and large floor plates lacking natural light. By strategically modifying the original 250,000-square-foot facility, the project included reinforcing the foundation, updating the exterior to meet current codes, and creating new entry points. A deep-slotted courtyard was introduced to bring daylight into the building's core.

The design aims to create a warm, inviting patient experience that is tranquil and efficient, with streamlined circulation. Despite the facility's large size, it is filled with natural light, thanks to the courtyard with floor-to-ceiling window walls. This courtyard, featuring a manicured evergreen bamboo garden, provides a calming visual respite and serves as a key wayfinding element, enhancing the patient experience from arrival. Additional natural light is provided by six-foot-high windows, a twelve-foot-high glazed curtain wall system, and a minimalist glass canopy.

The courtyard also separates the North and South Bars of the facility. The North Bar includes infusion therapy, three clinic modules, and a retail pharmacy, while the South Bar focuses on diagnostic imaging, including a dedicated women’s diagnostics area.

The innovative onstage/offstage clinic model, one of the largest implementations within UT Southwestern, separates patient areas from staff zones. Patients move from waiting areas to exam rooms without encountering staff-only areas, enhancing privacy and reducing wait times. Meanwhile, the offstage core provides staff with efficient circulation and dedicated communication spaces.

Overall, this project transforms a neglected retail space into a state-of-the-art medical facility, addressing critical healthcare needs in Southern Dallas and setting a new standard for community-focused adaptive reuse.

Project Credits: : UT Southwestern Medical Center at RedBird
Location: Dallas, TX
Client/Owner: UT Southwestern Medical Center (client), The Shops at RedBird (owner)
Architect (include team member names, their titles, and any relevant AIA designations):
● Ron Stelmarski, FAIA – Design Director, Principal
● Kevin Mereness – Interior Design Principal
● Andy Metter – Design Principal
● Ian Sinnett, AIA – Senior Medical Planner, Principal
● Kat Middlebrook – Interior Designer
● Sapna Bhat – Senior Project Manager
● Nanette Harmon – Senior Project Architect
● Stephanie Lowrance – Designer
● Seth Bryant – Designer
Interior Designer: Perkins&Will
Mechanical Engineer: KAI
Structural Engineer: Click Engineering
Electrical Engineer: KAI
Civil Engineer: Kimley-Horn
Construction Manager: Whiting Turner
General Contractor: Whiting Turner
Landscape Architect: Hocker Design
Size in Square Feet: 82,415 sf
Cost: Withheld

Acoustical System: Armstrong Ceiling
Cabinets: Formica
Flooring: Concept Surfaces, Florida Tile
Glass: McGrory Glass
Metal: Fry Reglet, Schluter Systems, Gage
Paints and Finishes: Sherwin-Williams
Wallcoverings: Koroseal
Windows and Doors: Mecho Shade