Robert L. Crandall Campus, American Airlines by OJB Landscape Architecture

Built in 2024 / 2025 Built Landscapes / 2025 Campuses and Corporate / 2025 Entries / Texas / USA /
ojb.com

This 258-acre workplace campus near Dallas/Fort Worth blends native ecology with the built environment, focusing on restoring the Texas Blackland Prairie, which has dwindled to less than 1% of its original range. The campus features two districts: a corporate office complex and a hospitality/training/call center facility. The American Mile, a multi-modal spine, connects these districts, promoting health and wellness with walking trails, bike paths, and electric shuttles.

The sustainable conservation strategy features three key elements: preserving legacy trees and stone and replanting them in new compositions; controlling water through a courtyard recirculating detention pond system, planted rain gardens, and dry creeks; and utilizing a palette of native and adaptive planting that reflects the beauty and diversity of this endangered ecotone between the forest and the grassland.

Building condensate is collected and deployed into courtyard water features. These ponds bring cool air into the courtyards between buildings, creating a comfortable environment for outdoor collaboration in tech-enabled work pods, as well as for socialization and recreation. By strategically locating workplace amenities in these temperate micro-climates, employees benefit from the positive impacts of nature on productivity and engagement. The water features complement dry creeks that manage stormwater during severe weather and provide serene, planted moments in drier conditions.

The campus is divided into two distinct districts: a six-building corporate office complex and a dedicated hospitality, training, and call center facility. To minimize habitat destruction, the corporate office was constructed within the footprint of an existing structure. Surface parking lots in the campus core were redistributed to the site’s edges to reduce car dependency and create spaces for people. A multi-modal spine connects the districts and provides safe, efficient cross-campus connections. A new pedestrian bridge over the Trinity River allows employees to move between districts without cars. Extensive walking trails and bike paths encourage outdoor activity, supported by 300 shared bicycles and free electric shuttles on car-free routes. These initiatives reduce pollution and enhance the workplace experience for employees, many of whom stay on campus for weeks during training.

From the outset, the client prioritized habitat restoration and conservation as a design imperative—an uncommon stance for a large corporation, but one that was highly valued throughout the project. Pre-construction, mature specimen trees were identified, moved to an on-site nursery, and carefully reintegrated into the landscape during construction. Collectively, campus trees absorb over 83 tons of CO2 annually—equivalent to a household’s emissions over five years. Wildlife has also thrived in the restored habitats; despite the proximity to a busy freeway and an international airport, birds of prey regularly circle the site, and armadillos are often seen sunning themselves on the trails. A bobcat even established a den and raised her kittens within one of the employee courtyards, which was closed to ensure their safety. By integrating conservation strategies to enhance the workplace experience, the project elevates workplace standards while fostering a mutually beneficial relationship between human and environmental health.

• Project typology:

Workplace campus with recreational and open space

• All landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape:

OJB Landscape Architecture

• All architecture offices involved in the design:

Pelli Clarke & Partners, Design Architect
Kendall Heaton Architects, Architect of Record
Gensler, Interior Architect

• Other credits:
MEP Engineer: Blum Consulting Engineers
Lighting Designer: Quentin Thomas Associates
Irrigation Design: Dunaway Associates
Signage / Wayfinding / Graphics: DG Studios

• Location of the project

Fort Worth, Texas, US

• Year Completed (last built phase):

2021, phase 1, 2024 phase 2