Singing Hills Recreation and Senior Center

The Singing Hills Recreation and Senior Center serves as a hub where recreation, community, and education converge. Integrated with a newly extended passenger rail line, it connects directly to Downtown Dallas and a nearby University of North Texas campus, acting as both an arrival gateway and a symbol of greater equity for the area. Set against a limestone outcropping with wooded views of the Dallas skyline, the design abstracts the tree canopy into an undulating overhead plane, framing activity and allowing the landscape to visually flow through the building. Program spaces include a gymnasium, game room, fitness room, catering kitchen, technology lab, and multipurpose community room, bookended by outdoor gathering areas. A tree-filled plaza on the east end links the rail station and recreation center, while the senior center and its covered patio anchor the west end.

“This community center in an area outside of a major city provides a space for community and overlapping generations. Architecturally, it’s very sophisticated in how it burrows into the landscape, reducing its height and emphasizing the horizontal line rather than boxiness in the landscape.”

—Barbara Bestor, FAIA