Dallas architect designed stadium where TCU to play championship game
INGLEWOOD, California (CBSDFW.COM) - One of the fans cheering on TCU last night has a special connection to the stadium where they played: he helped design it.
Dallas architect Bryan Trubey worked on a number of massive projects with his previous employer, architectural firm HKS, including SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California, and both AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Park in Arlington.
He was also part of the team that designed stadiums for the Indianapolis Colts and the Minnesota Vikings, and worked on projects for TCU and A&M.
"A lot of what we do is basically anthropology," Trubey told CBS11 in a recent interview. "When we're thinking about how to create something that we want the whole world to look at and instantly recognize: okay, that's SoFi, that's in Los Angeles."
Trubey said he does that by immersing himself in the culture of the location. He will temporarily live in the area, learning everything he can about the traditions, history and the people.
"The research we do is the most essential thing," said Trubey. "It's a human thing, if you think about it. If you really like somebody, or care about somebody, or love somebody, you're actually very interested in who they are, very deeply."
He said tapping into what he calls "the DNA" of a community helps him in the creative process. "That's how you fall in love - it's the same thing with architecture."
Once the anthropology is finished, the artistry begins. Trubey and his team transform those ideas and concepts into masterpieces we can touch - monuments he hopes every fan can enjoy.
"You could go to many, many games over a period of years and you're still going to find new parts of that structure - new experiences as a fan - that you've never seen or been a part of before," said Trubey. "And that adds a richness to projects that makes them endure."
Two of his biggest Texas projects sit near each other: AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field.
When it came to designing the new home of the Cowboys, Trubey said he wanted to bring out a different side of the Jones family. "Their involvement in the arts community was significantly overshadowed by their ownership of the Cowboys," he said. He said he asked, "What if we actually created an environment where we could do monumental art in a monumental modern structure?" The large-scale works that grace the structure generated enough interest that the stadium now holds regular art tours.
Trubey said when designing a stadium, you have to look at more than the sports that will take place. That's how he approached the Globe Life project.
"In the baseball world, Globe Life is doing what AT&T did in the NFL world," said Trubey. "And you can see it from all the events.. it's creating a significant amount of revenue and activation from non-baseball events -- because we designed it that way."
At TCU, Trubey's work focused on adding suites, club seats and a new south end zone building at the Amon G. Carter stadium... all while maintaining the landmark's art deco flair.
"It's an amazing program - an amazing school," said Trubey. "And [it is] really a part of the personality of not just North Texas, but of Fort Worth."
Now Trubey is in California where he took a seat in the stadium he helped design, to cheer on the Horned Frogs as the team made history. "It's one of those once-in-a-career coincidences, is what it really is."
Trubey, who now works for architectural firm Overland Partners, is currently involved in plans to renovate Fair Park in Dallas and create a new destination center for Dude Perfect.