Modern open office space with high ceilings, skylights, circular workstations, lounge areas, and people working or walking; one person is sitting on a hanging swing chair.
Photography by Justin Miers.

May 29, 2026

Words: Lisa Di Venuta

A 1980s Mall Morphs Into A Creative Hub In Plano, Texas

Hot Shots: Agent Architecture

founders: Andrew Barnes and Sara Barnes 
social: @agent_architecture 
project: Assembly Park, Plano, Texas

standout: When the Dallas-based architects, partners in work and life, founded their firm in 2017, they chose a name representative of their values and how they understood their role: as agents acting on behalf of both their clients and the surrounding community. The pair’s latest endeavor, converting a 1980s mall into 180,000 square feet of creative office space plus amenities, resonated personally, as the Barneses grew up in the suburbs. In the cross-shaped concourse, now a communal hub, existing skylights and clerestories inspired an indoor-outdoor concept with exposed glulam beams, an A-frame library clad in recycled teak, and a glass-enclosed lunch pod. “Our goal,” the duo says, “was for the tenant suites to feel surrounded on all sides by daylight.” agentarchitecture.co

  • A woman stands with hands in her pockets next to a man seated in a yellow chair against a plain white wall.
    Photography by Justin Clemons.
  • Modern open office space with high ceilings, skylights, circular workstations, lounge areas, and people working or walking; one person is sitting on a hanging swing chair.
    Photography by Justin Miers.
  • A modern office space with glass meeting rooms, high ceilings, and natural light; one person sits at a desk inside a glass enclosure while another walks past outside.
    Photography by Justin Miers.
  • Modern office space with a communal table, red chairs, overhead white frame with hanging plants, and natural light from skylights.
    Photography by Justin Miers.

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