Dallas Museum of Art Enclosure Consulting

The Dallas Museum of Art, located in the Arts District of Downtown Dallas, houses over 24,000 pieces spanning over 5,000 years. This multi-story, limestone clad museum serves as a creative escape for the city and hosts a variety of events throughout the year. Occupants of the museum had reported long-time moisture infiltration in the below-grade parking garage as well as other exterior perimeters, including the Fleischner Courtyard. Walter P Moore was hired as the exterior envelope consultant to determine the origin of the moisture intrusion, develop conceptual repairs, and implement a repair design for the enclosure based on the client’s priorities to protect the invaluable art housed inside. The investigation phase consisted of a visual review of the exterior envelope and grade adjacent to the building, as well as borings, test pits, water testing of the curtain wall, and drain scoping.

Through our investigation, it was determined water infiltration is primarily due to lack of drainage adjacent to the exterior envelope, undersized drainage systems, pervasive clogging of storm sewer lines and vulnerabilities in the curtain wall system. Walter P Moore developed repair documents to address the water infiltration, with construction to be completed early 2023.