Southwest Airlines Training and Operational Support (TOPS) Center Expansion

Dallas, Texas

As part of a design-build team with Manhattan Construction, BOKA Powell delivered a 490,000 SF expansion of Southwest Airlines’ corporate headquarters at Love Field in Dallas, Texas. The facility features offices, conference space, and the carrier’s national training center, all of which are designed to foster a unique, collaborative atmosphere for employees.

The Training and Operational Support (TOPS) Center is also home to a blast-resistant Network Operations Center (NOC) from which the carrier manages flight operations, scheduling, dispatch, and maintenance for its fleet of nearly 600 aircraft. A situation room provides communications and logistical support during emergency operations. Heightened security measures and the hardening of structural and building systems, including redundant electrical and HVAC, allow Southwest to maintain uninterrupted flight operations during a wide range of natural disasters and man-caused catastrophes.

Noteworthy within the TOPS center is the striking blue glow of the NOC, which was designed to create a calming environment and reduce eye strain. Programming the facility required extensive coordination among numerous divisions and C-level executives to ensure that the building supports day-to-day functionality and accommodates logical adjacencies.