Construction of Freight Residences began in October 2014 and will finish in December 2015. The 49 unit community provides urban housing for families and features a 10,000 sq. ft. shared front lawn, where children can play in view of their parents’ windows. 

Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture is the architect of record in partnership with design architect Dynia Architects.

Athletic Business Conference & Expo 2015, New Orleans, LA

Recreation Center Stew: A Recipe for Success
with Craig Bouck and Mick Massey
Thursday, November 19, 2015
8:30am – 10:00am

A good recipe offers a step-by-step methodology to achieve something flavorful and satisfying. Similarly, the planning process for a new recreation center is like following a good recipe. Discover how this complex process can be broken down into achievable steps.

You’ll learn how to:
•  Define your community’s need for a new recreation center.
•  Identify the achievable steps in the planning process for design, construction and operations.
•  Recognize that this seemingly complex process can actually be stress free.

Innovation + Evolution: The Future of Recreation Center Design
with Craig Bouck
Thursday, November 19, 2015
4:30pm – 6:00pm

What’s the next great innovation in community recreation center design? You can't break the rules until you know how they were made. INNOVATION - looking forward requires EVOLUTION - looking backward. Come explore the evolution of aquatics, locker rooms, athletic and community room spaces and discover what innovations are on the horizon.

You’ll learn how to:
•  Identify the intentions and solutions behind “game changing” recreation center design innovations.
•  Solve key design challenges.
•  Implement new innovations in recreation center design in your own community.

Avoiding Bloopers, Botches, Blunders and Booboos! The Big Decisions in Facility Design, Programming and Operations
with Craig Bouck, David Brody, Justin Caron, Erik Kocher, Laurie Braden and Lisa Paradis
Friday, November 20, 2015
4:00pm – 5:30pm

Join a panel of experts as they discuss how to identify and avoid common design, programming and operational mistakes. A diverse group, including architects, aquatics designers and operators, will share their ideas in a fast-moving panel format culminating in the popular “Idea a Minute” segment, where each panelist will identify issues to consider for your new or existing facility in a 30-minute, quick-fire, high-energy windup you won’t want to miss.

You’ll learn how to:
•  Identify frequently recurring major decisions in community and college recreation and aquatic center   
    planning, design and technology that are the key to a successful project.
•  Evaluate emerging and proven strategies in the operation and programming of recreation facilities
    that will result in a building that is easy to manage and fun to use.
•  Incorporate flexibility into the design and management of your building to accommodate the ever
    changing landscape of college and community recreation.

For more information, please visit the website.

We hope to see you at one of these conferences this month, but if not, please feel free to reach out to us to find out more about any of the information included in the sessions listed above.

Fresh off the plane, BRS rushed over to visit the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas. The museum— designed by Morphosis Architects—wowed all of us with its intricate exterior façade and dynamic interior. Exploring all that the Perot had to offer, we walked amongst dinosaurs, flew like birds, battled robots and discovered amazing gems and minerals.

When evening struck, we headed over to Klyde Warren Park in the heart of the Dallas Arts District. Local food trucks were immediately swarmed by BRSers, beers were in hand and the fun began.

Early the next morning, we headed to Grapevine and Southlake to participate in site visits for two of our projects, The REC of Grapevine and The MARQ Southlake. It was refreshing to see all of our hard work come to fruition as well as being enjoyed by their respective communities. The REC was completed in April of 2015 and The MARQ at Southlake (Phase 1) will be finished in December of 2015.

Later in the evening, we had a very special event with the firm’s founding partners: Don Barker, Ron Rinker, and Russ Seacat. Retired partners Roz Barhaugh and Duane Crawmer also joined us. As you may already know, we celebrated our 40th anniversary this summer. We wanted to honor our founders and reconnect them with the ever-evolving BRS team, which has grown to include 50 passionate go-getters who believe in communities living better. A formal dinner was followed by an inspiring speaking session of the firms’ history, as well as a lively Q+A session. Craig as the moderator kept the conversation rolling and asked those compelling questions that really brought out the most entertaining anecdotes and stories.

The last day of our retreat was filled with tours and museums galore! We started off with The Modern (Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth), moved onto the Kimbell Art Museum and then stampeded around the Dallas-Fort Worth area like a bunch of crazy loons—or longhorns if that’s more preferable.

Our last supper consisted of delicious Texas ribeye, Old Fashioned’s and the inevitable award ceremony.

A special thanks to the partners for giving us the rare opportunity to explore together as a firm a metropolitan area unfamiliar to many of us. A special shout out to Debra and the Cultural Committee for making everything happen. Until next year!