The Network Operations Control Center is the heartbeat of the newly erected Southwest Airlines Training and Operational Support building in Dallas. No plane can fly and no crew or maintenance can be scheduled without directives from command center operatives. According to Scott Cherry, who serves as a project manager for Southwest Airlines, several hundred people are working in the center at any given time, each talking to other airlines and agencies as they control flight and ground crew activity.
To ensure a design that would be able to support all this activity and take their high-tech operations into the future, the airline tapped BOKA Powell, a full-service architecture, planning and interior design firm located in Dallas. The firm has both international design experience as well as intimate knowledge of the architectural needs of its city. The design task specific to the command center was twofold: to create a beautiful, structurally sound facility and to organize employees for more efficient, streamlined work.