Archinect - News

$1 billion Gensler plan could give ancient Houston Astrodome a brighter future

2024-11-21T16:55:00-05:00

The historic Houston Astrodome could soon receive a $1 billion revival courtesy of Gensler.

Plans for Vision: Astrodome from the Astrodome Conservancy called for the erection of four new smaller structures inside the stadium. An arching internal pedestrian boulevard comparable to the New York High Line then interjects itself as an elevated connector to the adjoining NRG Stadium and NRG Center venues.

Image courtesy Astrodome Conservancy

Officially a 450,000-square-foot plan that will rejuvenate the facility (at one point known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World") into a retail and entertainment destination for Houstonians, the endeavor is being supported by favorable results from the Conservancy's 2020 public engagement survey.

Image courtesy Astrodome Conservancy

If approved, the 86% majority of Harris County residents will get their wish in the form of the retail, office, cultural, hospitality, other commercial, and food/beverage offerings lining the selection of redeveloped spaces...

AIA Houston President Melvalean McLemore on architecture's lack of Black women representation

2024-06-03T17:08:00-04:00

When Melvalean McLemore earned her license to practice architecture in 2016, she was only the 16th Black woman in Texas to do so. McLemore became the first Black woman president of the American Institute of Architects Houston chapter late last year [...]. While being first is exciting, McLemore said it was a bittersweet feeling. “It’s a little bit sad to hear that someone is the first of anything in 2023, 2024,” McLemore said.

Bisnow recently interviewed Melvalean McLemore, AIA Houston President, Moody Nolan Texas studio design leader, and a 2024 AIA Young Architects Award recipient; discussing her path to architecture and the lack of Black women in architecture.

"There are still less than three dozen Black female architects in Texas, and Texas is a huge state," McLemore told the outlet. "We produce a lot of architects, so you have to really think about how rare it is."

Houston's Rothko Chapel breaks ground on 2026 expansion

2024-05-24T11:50:00-04:00

Houston’s iconic Rothko Chapel is expanding for 2026 and recently broke ground on Phase 2 of its $42 million campus plan. The initiative will yield two new buildings designed by Brooklyn-based Architectural Research Office (ARO) and an outdoor garden from Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. The new buildings will stand at 6,600 and 3,800 square feet, respectively, and the entire project will be targeting LEED v4.0 certification.

Rendering courtesy of ARO

“On the heels of our recent 50th anniversary, the work also gives us a welcome opportunity to lift up and celebrate those who have contributed to the design, building, and stewardship of the Rothko Chapel, including the de Menils, Philip Johnson, Howard Barnstone, Gene Aubrey, Barnett Newman, and so many others. All of them shared a vision that brought together modern art and sacred space to promote human unity, solidarity, and justice. This vision is still as relevant today as it was 50 years ago, and I believe it will remain so...

Skanska and BIG complete curving terracotta-colored tower in Houston

2024-02-21T11:43:00-05:00

A team led by Skanska and Bjarke Ingels Group has completed a major new office tower in Houston, Texas. Named 1550 on the Green, the 28-story tower is part of a three-block master plan by Skanska, designed by BIG, with interiors by Michael Hsu.

Image credit: Skanska USA Commercial Development, Inc.

The 375,000-square-foot tower is primarily devoted to office accommodation, with ground floor space dedicated to hospitality. Other amenities in the scheme, per the project’s official website, include a 7,000-square-foot fitness center and a 9,400-square-foot tenant-exclusive rooftop event space.

Image credit: Skanska USA Commercial Development, Inc.

Externally, the tower adopts a multi-tiered, curved structure overlooking Discovery Green park. “Vines that will eventually creep along the terracotta-colored tower are meant to help the building blend into the surrounding park,” the Houston Chronicle writes about the tower. “The building's curve allows even tenants on lower levels to view Disc...

SOM completes Rice University’s new engineering and science building behind a patterned brick facade

2023-12-08T13:24:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has completed a new engineering and science building for Rice University in Houston, Texas. Named the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, the 250,000-square-foot facility seeks to “provide students and researchers with technology-rich facilities that align with the University’s goal to stay at the forefront of scientific discovery.”

Image credit: Dave Burk © SOM

The new building contains laboratories, classrooms, offices, a cafe, and gathering spaces. At the top level, meanwhile, a multi-purpose event space contains an outdoor terrace set against the backdrop of the Houston skyline.

The building is anchored by a five-story central atrium, imagined by the team as “a hub of activity” connecting the wider facilities. A glazed facade at the ground level visually connects the building with the Engineering Quad outside, while a cantilevered sculptural stair is framed by brick walls and a fritted glass wall on the upper levels.

Image cred...

Your next job could be managing the Menil Collection’s iconic architecture

2023-09-27T12:41:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Landscape Designer at Balmori Associates, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an opportunity on Archinect Jobs for a Senior Project Manager at The Menil Collection.

The role, based at the Menil campus in Houston, TX, calls for an individual who will “lead museum and neighborhood capital projects and provide aesthetic guidance on architectural integrity and quality standards for the Menil’s buildings and grounds.” Among the credentials requested in applicants are a master’s degree in architecture or a related field, and a minimum of five years of project management experience in residential, small commercial, or related projects.

The Menil Collection Main Building by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Image credit: Flickr user Rob Corder licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Why the role interests us

The open role at The Menil Collection offers us the opportunity to explore the private art collection’s championing o...

Michael Hsu Office of Architecture offers $20,000 pro-bono Design for All Partnership to south Texas nonprofits

2023-04-20T16:50:00-04:00

A unique new philanthropic initiative from Michael Hsu Office of Architecture (MHOA) is offering nonprofits in the Austin, Texas area the chance to win a $20,000 pro-bono consultation in the interests of providing much-needed space to organizations affected by the city’s rapid transformation into a new capital for America’s high-tech industries.

The firm recently announced it will be accepting design proposals for what is now its second iteration of the Design for All Partnership "seed program" that last year afforded the organization Austin Angels the chance to construct a new foster care facility at a vacant former church lot in the Buda neighborhood.

"A lot of these nonprofits are having a hard time finding affordable space," MHOA founder Hsu told the Austin Chronicle of his firm’s endeavor. "And there's all sorts of challenges in trying to build something even if they do find a space because it's so time-intensive. There's a lot of hidden costs, and part of this [partnership] i...

The 'healing nature' of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects' new land bridge in Houston

2023-02-20T18:59:00-05:00

Named the Land Bridge and Prairie project, the new park was unveiled this weekend, when for the first time since the 1950s, visitors were able to cross over Memorial Drive and enjoy 1,500 acres of uninterrupted parkland at Memorial Park. Swelling like soft green mounds over a six-lane highway, the park is the latest example of how cities can mend the tears caused by disruptive roads without necessarily tearing them down.

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects' Principal, Thomas Woltz, described his initial visit of the project’s site as a “post-nuclear landscape” when some 66 million trees suffered from a brutal drought in 2011. Since then, his firm has worked with city planners, archivists, and the Memorial Park Conservancy to consolidate the 20 disparate segments that had previously left the 1,500-acre park feeling “subdivided” to Houstonians.

Fast Company reports that "while the civic landscape was designed for people, the gently sloped nature of the mounds allows for small animals to cross over the highway as well (an underground stream allows for aquatic animals to pass under the highway, too.)"

With the addition of the land bridge, Houston joins Los Angeles County and San Francisco as communities aiming to adopt solutions for local wildlife to be able to move about freely. The total costs for the Land Bridge and Prairie project was funded by a $70 million donation from the local Kinder Foundat...

Kevin Daly Architects completes new Houston Endowment HQ project

2023-01-11T18:02:00-05:00

Kevin Daly Architects (kdA) recently celebrated the completion of their new Houston Endowment headquarters project, designed in collaboration with Mexico City-based studio PRODUCTORA.

The 32,000-square-foot building stands beside the city’s Spotts Park and offers the 96-year-old Endowment a new and more sustainable location that is better suited to its organizational aims and the needs of its public representation overall.

Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy Kevin Daly Architects.

Challenged with creating a building they say is simultaneously a “front door and a back porch” to the Endowment, the design team came up with a two-story hybrid steel and CLT solution that sits underneath a column-supported lattice canopy covering recessed volumes which are then lined in a dynamic facade of optic white aluminum rain-screen panels.

Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy Kevin Daly Architects.

While noticeably similar to the 36-year-old Menil Collection just outside the city, the headquarters building also offer...

Cornell professors are building the first multistory 3D printed structure in the U.S.

2022-09-22T11:25:00-04:00

Construction is underway in Houston on the first multistory 3D printed building in the United States. Designed by two assistant professors of architecture at Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP), the two-story, single-family home merges 3D printed concrete with a traditional timber frame, creating what designers Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic believe is a precedent for future 3D printed multifamily and mixed-use developments.

When completed, the 4,000-square-foot home will contain three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a two-car garage, while a 40-foot-high chimney will make the home one of the tallest 3D printed structures in the U.S.

Construction progress using COBOD BOD2 3D construction printer. Image credit: Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic/Courtesy of Cornell Chronicle

The project is the latest by Lok and Zivkovic to investigate applications of 3D printing in architecture. The professors, who are also co-principals of HANNAH Design Office, have previously experiment...

12 featured architecture & design jobs in Houston

2022-06-06T13:16:00-04:00

Looking for new career opportunities at architecture firms and academic institutions in the Houston area? Peruse our curated selection of attractive openings in the fourth-most populous U.S. city posted recently on Archinect Jobs.

To look up specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, interviewing skills, and increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

PBK Architects seeks a Job Captain, Project Architect, Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, and Corporate BIM Manager
"The Corporate BIM Manager's role is to understand how BIM will affect project workflows throughout PBK. The primary responsibility is to manage and coordinate BIM standards development, implementation and enforcement on all related BIM projects, files and models across all of PBK's offices. The Manager will perform all essential functions and responsibilities in accordance...

Rice architecture students design and build ADU with a nod to Texas’ architectural past

2022-05-05T08:29:00-04:00

Architecture students from Rice University have unveiled their newly-completed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in Houston, Texas. Designed by Rice alumni Madeleine Pelzel and Kati Gullick during their time at the university, the 640-square-foot ADU was ultimately built in real life over a period of three years.

The solar-powered structure is split by an outside breezeway reminiscent of traditional Texas Dogtrot dwellings, with a living room and kitchen on one side and a bedroom and bathroom on the other. The Dogtrot form dates back to the era before air conditioning, designed to encourage natural ventilation and shading. Separating the living and sleeping elements of the home also allows for more precise energy use, rather than heating or cooling the entire unit simultaneously.

Image via Rice University

To create the scheme’s unique roof structure, the students used a computer-controlled mill to print plywood plates, connecting the roof and walls at precise angles. The roof’s gentle s...

OMA revitalizes historic US Post Office mail sorting warehouse with POST Houston

2021-12-03T18:32:00-05:00

The first phase of OMA’s POST Houston, a project revitalizing the historic Barbara Jordan Post Office in Houston, Texas, is nearing completion. Finalized areas of the building opened to the public for the first time.

Image: OMA / Steve Hyde

Designed by OMA Partner Jason Long and OMA New York, POST Houston is the transformation of a former United States Post Office mail sorting warehouse into a mixed-use, public space in downtown Houston. The owners of the 500,000-square-foot concrete warehouse, which was originally built in 1962, wanted to preserve the scale and aura of the structure, while also integrating it into the fabric of the downtown area.

The original Barbara Jordan Post Office structure. Image: OMA

“Our approach balanced wholesale preservation with surgical interventions,” said the architects. “Like farmers working on concrete soil, we raked a series of horizontal thoroughfares into and through it. Along each line, we cut an interior void,” they continued. The apertures allo...

Rogers Partners is helping one of America's premier folk art destinations expand in Houston

2021-11-18T14:19:00-05:00

One of America’s premier folk art institutions is getting a major expansion for the first time thanks to a newly-unveiled design from Rogers Partners.

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art opened in 1980 and is dedicated to outsider and folk art.

Orange Show traces its origins to a transplanted local postal carrier named Jeff McKissack, who transformed his East End Houston property into a shrine for the signature fruit of his native Florida over a three-decade span until his death the same year.

Image courtesy of the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, Houston, and Rogers Partners.

The expansion allows for one unified program for the first time in the organization’s 40-year history. A 31,000-square-foot warehouse building adjacent to the center will be turned into a flexible exhibition space and education center with a special feature that will serve as the new centerpiece to one of the city’s most important public art festivals.

Since the mid-80s, the center has hosted Housto...

A rare Frank Lloyd Wright Texas home sells for $2.7 million

2021-11-12T12:14:00-05:00

The sole example of Frank Lloyd Wright-famed Usonian style in the greater Houston area has been sold for $2.7 million to a pair of unnamed buyers.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Wright’s coveted William Thaxton House was able to lure a new owner at a reduced price. The home had been on the market for most of this year after being initially listed for $3.15 million.

The now 8,000-square-foot home is one of only three houses in the state that Wright designed and has undergone several renovations and was given a heavily-publicized addition in 1991. Originally constructed in 1955 for a local insurance executive, Wright’s concrete block design features two fireplaces, an inground pool, and accessible courtyard with a plethora of steel-framed windows that give the home his signature inside-out harmony with the natural world.

Floor plan courtesy of William Storrer, adapted by Douglas M. Steiner. Source

Featuring a unique parallelogram footprint, the new owners will enter through t...

BIG's 3D-printed Mars simulation habitat is taking shape

2021-08-09T12:23:00-04:00

Images have been revealed of a 3D-printed structure being built to help simulate life on Mars. Named Mars Dune Alpha, the habitat was designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group for NASA and advanced construction developer ICON, intended to form part of future long-duration, explorative science missions. The 1,700 square-foot structure is currently being built at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where it will host a simulation environment for future space explorers.

Rendering. Image: BIG / ICON / NASA

The habitat has been designed along varying levels of privacy. Four private crew quarters are located on one end of the habitat, while dedicated work stations, medical stations, and food-growing stations are located at the opposite end. Shared living spaces will connect the two zones in the middle. Varying ceiling heights, responding to an arching shell structure, accentuate the unique experiences and uses of each area to avoid a sense of monotony or user fatigue. Meanwhile, a mix o...

INVI flexes its (digital) design muscle with the new South Plains Museum and Cultural Center

2021-05-20T15:27:00-04:00

A new online home for the erstwhile Southern Apache Museum is now operating in Houston, furthering a trend of digitizing cultural spaces that has accelerated during the pandemic era.

Those looking for a transformative delve into the history of Native culture can visit the renamed Southern Plains Museum and Cultural Center (SPMCC) latest iteration, which opened last November with the help of a $10,000 grant from the city's Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

The new virtual museum has space for a number of different smaller specialIzed museums addressing a number of categories related to the history of Native Americans in the region, including the original institution as well as an American Indian Genocide Museum. It also features a virtual library, garden, Aztec pyramid, and health clinic.

A virtual tour of the museum via YouTube

Virtual architecture firm INVI, which touts itself as creating “virtual experiences through architecture, storytelling, and design,” according to the studi...

OMA reveals NASA-inspired music venue in Houston, Texas

2021-05-17T09:06:00-04:00

OMA/Jason Long have unveiled their design for The Terminal, a 5,000-capacity music venue for Houston, Texas. The scheme, developed in partnership with global live entertainment company Live Nation, will form the cultural anchor for POST Houston, a hub for culture, food, shopping, and recreation set within the rejuvenated historic Barbara Jordan Post Office.

The Terminal view from stage. Image: OMA + Luxigon

OMA’s scheme features a large, flat general assembly area with a balcony of raked seating hovering above the main floor. The flat central area allows for flexible arrangements and complex scenography, while the balcony seating is clad in fiberglass grating to provide expansive views. Behind and below the balcony, a sheltered space is formed for visitors to gather away from the main act, while not being completely removed from it. The design team compare this anomaly to “students hanging out under the bleachers during a homecoming game.”

The Terminal Tribune. Image: OMA + Luxigo...

First photos and a virtual tour of Steven Holl's new Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

2020-11-19T17:28:00-05:00

Nearly eight years after selecting Steven Holl's ambitious expansion concept, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is preparing to officially open the completed structure to the public on Saturday, November 21.

Dedicated to the collection of modern and contemporary art, the new 237,000-sf Nancy and Rich Kinder Building houses galleries, seven garden courtyards, a 215-seat theater, two pedestrian tunnels, a parking arrival hall, conference rooms, a restaurant overlooking the Isamu Noguchi sculpture garden, a cafe, and a triple-story forum.

North facade. © Richard Barnes.

"The Texas sky opens 180°overhead above a luminous canopy covering the new building," explains the architects' project description. "Concave curves, imagined from cloud circles, push down on the roof geometry, allowing natural light to slip in with precise measure and quality, perfect for top-lit galleries. Organized horizontally on two levels, all galleries have natural light and are flexible with open flow."

East facad...

Rice University selects Adjaye Associates' design for new student center

2020-11-03T16:53:00-05:00

Rice University plans to build a new student center, which will largely replace the current Rice Memorial Center. [...] Rice plans to retain a few elements of the Rice Memorial Center, such as the chapel and the cloisters, but most of the RMC will be demolished.

The new student center building for Rice University designed by Adjaye Associates will be a three-story, 80,000-square-foot structure that mostly replaces the current Rice Memorial Center, according to the school's announcement.

6 Texas-based architecture firms currently hiring

2020-10-16T14:52:00-04:00

From the list of architectural career opportunities on Archinect Jobs, we have selected six current openings for architects, graphic designers, and early-career academics in the Lone Star State.

If y'all need to look up specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, interviewing skills, and increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

STG Design seeks an Architect Project Manager in Austin
"STG Design is looking for an Architectural Project Manager with 10 or more years’ experience in urban multi-family projects to join our Austin office. [...] STG has a 40+ year history of delivering award-winning commercial architecture and interior design. We’re building on that for the future, too. We recently became employee-owned and man are we energized."

Congo Street Initiative by bcWORKSHOP in partnership with Congo Street families, resident volunteers,...

Gerald D. Hines, developer of iconic Houston skyscrapers, has died

2020-08-25T13:37:00-04:00

Real estate magnate Gerald D. Hines, the developer behind many of America's most iconic skyscrapers from the late-20th century, has passed away at age 95.

Hines is perhaps best known as the backer for many of downtown Houston's skyline-altering developments, including SOM's One Shell Plaza, Johnson Burgee's Penzoil Place, and I. M. Pei & Partners's JP Morgan Chase towers, among many others. His projects can be found all over the world, including in New York City, San Francisco, China, Spain, and other locales. Hines's work with the Johnson Burgee firm, however, stands out the most, with many of the firm's most well-known projects coming out of their work for Hines.

Bank of America Center in Houston, one of the many projects developed by Hines. Image courtesy of Anders Lagerås.

Characterized by Paul Goldberger as the "un-Trump" in a 2015 interview with The Houston Chronicle, Hines is remembered as a detail-oriented developer who, by some accounts, helped launch the contemporary idea ...

ARO's renovated Rothko Chapel set to reopen in September

2020-05-19T13:46:00-04:00

With the renovation and expansion of the Rothko Chapel campus in Houston nearing completion, project organizers have announced that the sacred art space will reopen to the public in September.

The renovation is being designed by New York City-based Architecture Research Office and includes a series of preservation- and climate-minded fixes for the space that will "more closely align the building with the original vision of Mark Rothko and John and Dominique de Menil, the Chapel’s founders," according to a press release.

Rendering courtesy of Architecture Research Office.

The $30 million Open Spaces master plan for the chapel campus aims to offer "a space for ecumenical and interfaith celebration and contemplation, as well as to foster community engagement on critical social issues." The project seeks to continue the space's decades-long function as a space for international peace and spirituality by modernizing and building in resilience to the chapel and its surrounding site.

For t...

Houston, Texas releases comprehensive plan to create a more resilient city

2020-02-20T11:29:00-05:00

On Wednesday, the city released its “Resilient Houston” strategy, a robust plan to invest in and strengthen the capabilities of neighborhoods, communities and the entire region to address, withstand and quickly recover from physical, social and economic shocks and stresses. Mayor Sylvester Turner unveiled the strategy alongside Chief Resilience Officer Marissa Aho and signed an executive order requiring all city departments to make resilience part of all strategic planning.

The new plan comes in relation to the six floods that have occurred in the region: the Memorial Day Flood in 2015, the 2016 Tax Day Flood and Hurricane Harvey in 2017. According to the Kinder Institute, the Resilient Houston plan focuses on 5 core visions:

A Healthy Place to Live
An Equitable, Inclusive and Affordable City
A Leader in Climate Adaptation
A City That Grows Up, Not Out
A Transformative Economy

These goals will be achieved through "collaborative action" and the collective efforts of groups, organization and initiatives at the neighborhood, city, and regional levels, the Kinder Institute reports. 'We are faced with a choice. Either we commit now to making the investments in our workforce and infrastructure that can prevent huge losses, or we become short-sighted and think we have plenty of time," said Mayor Turner in an address. “By choosing the latter, we will be too late.”

6 Texas-based firms currently hiring on Archinect Jobs

2019-12-19T11:00:00-05:00

A notable gem of the Southwest, Texas offers beautiful landscapes, a rich culture, and a one-of-a-kind building history. An area filled with traditional architecture, infrastructure, and eye-catching contemporary works, the state has lots to offer for those searching for work in terms of firm variability.

Below are six Texas-based firms looking to hire the right candidate to join their team.

In case you missed it, check out last week's Austin job round up in conjunction with Archinect's Spotlight on Austin regional coverage, profiling current employment opportunities at Runa Workshop, Clayton & Little, LEVY Architects, A Parallel Architecture, Bercy Chen Studio, Sensory Interactive, and New Waterloo.

Financial Company Office Space in Beaumon, TX. Image courtesy of Huitt-Zollars, Inc./Architects

Huitt-Zollars, Inc./Architects is offering job opportunities in their Houston and Fort Worth offices
HZ is a leading full service...

Planning for Texas Central High-Speed Rail continues apace

2019-12-17T18:55:00-05:00

A long-in-the-works plan to link Houston and Dallas with high-speed rail is making steady progress as backers for the project announce that they could be one year away from breaking ground.

Earlier this year, Archinect reported that Texas Central Texas Central, the group advocating for and developing the planned train route, had signed a deal with Italian construction giant Salini Impreglio and its American subsidiary Lane Construction to design and construct the train line.

This month, Dallas News reports that Texas Central has submitted environmental and safety documentation to the federal government with the aim of having approvals to start construction by the summer of 2020.

Map highlighting the route to be taken by the proposed train. (Courtesy of Texas Central)

Holly Reed, Texas Central’s managing director of external affairs, tells Dallas News, “We’ve had our heads down working on this for a long time ... The conversation has shifted from, ‘Is this really going to happen?’ to...

Houston voters approve $3.5 billion for rapid bus and light rail-heavy transit expansion

2019-11-06T17:00:00-05:00

With a two-thirds majority, Houston-area voters approved a $3.5 billion bond issue to pay for transit projects. This is the first time since 2003 that METRO has asked voters to borrow more money through bonds. METRO’s plans include a bus rapid transit line to Bush Intercontinental Airport along with a light rail line to Hobby Airport. The transit agency also wants to build new park and ride facilities and make enhancements to the current bus network.

The plan will help to expand Houston's fledgling transportation system, which currently includes a trio of interlocking light rail lines as well as a traditional bus network.

Houston has over 120 mies of HOV lane. METRONext uses that for a two-way, all-day regional express bus network. City residents will be able to get to work in the Energy Corridor or Clear Lake. Suburban residents will be able to go to an Astros game or museum, not just their jobs. pic.twitter.com/PQVD5RUfVB
— Christof Spieler (@christofspieler) November 4, 2019

The $7.5 billion plan makes Houston the latest city to embrace Bus Rapid Transit following in the footsteps of New York City, San Francisco, Portland, and Indianapolis. The plan would bring 75 miles of bus rapid transit service as well as 16 additional miles of light rail lines to the region.

Tiny homes get headway in Houston

2019-10-22T11:50:00-04:00

Refuge, one of Houston's leading developers, in conjunction with architecture firms Brett Zamore Design and Gibson Design, Inc., have created the mini-development of one- and two-bedroom homes, each between about 600 and 800 square feet, packed with amenities for modern living.

According to Culture Map, the homes feature open floor plans, plenty of patio space and are "far from being crammed or crowded." One of the homes is currently valued at $249,900, Culture Map reports.

Texas High-Speed Rail route takes a big step forward

2019-09-16T12:45:00-04:00

Texas Central, the private company developing the Texas Bullet Train, announced it had signed a deal with Salini Impregilo, the Italian construction giant, and its American subsidiary, Lane Construction, to design, construct and install the 240-mile high-speed rail line using Japan’s Shinkansen trains.

The plan to build a 90-minute bullet train between Dallas and Houston still requires a number of local, state, and federal approvals before it can move forward.

Nonetheless, backers of the project are raising funding for the initiative and setting out to complete early design work. Texas Central optimistically hopes to break ground sometime in 2020.

University of Houston's new Advanced Media Technology Lab set to open in 2020

2019-08-30T14:45:00-04:00

The University of Houston's Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design is set to debut a new media and technology lab that aims to "develop the next generation of structural materials, digital fabrication, and sensor technologies."

The school's Advanced Media Technology Lab is scheduled to open during the Spring 2020 semester and aims to "take experiential learning to the next level" by providing students with the tools they need to prototype new approaches to materials research, building envelope design, social design, and prototyping for mass production, according to a university website. According to a press release, the lab will focus on "digital fabrication, robotics, 3D printing/additive manufacturing, advanced computation and parametric design, as well as advanced visualization and simulation." The 8,500-square-foot research lab is currently under construction adjacent to the college’s Keeland Design Lab.

The new $5 million media lab is funded partially by a $1 mil...