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...

Victor Lundy, famed modernist and key Sarasota School figure, dies at age 101

2024-11-07T10:32:00-05:00

Victor Lundy, the renowned modernist architect whose work leaned on fine art and espoused a more humane form of architecture for the masses, has died in Texas at the age of 101, the Sarasota Observer is reporting.

A true man of his times, Lundy served in the U.S. Army’s 26th Infantry Division during World War II (his sketches from the war are considered important) before returning home to complete his B.A. and eventually matriculate into the Harvard GSD, where he studied for his master’s degree under Walter Gropius.

Lundy’s religious commissions—including the First Unitarian Church in Westport, Connecticut, and the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sarasota—are, perhaps, his best-known projects alongside the United States Tax Court Building in Washington, D.C. Lundy was considered one of the leading figures of the Sarasota School. His watercolor practice was another important aspect of his approach to designing. Docomomo US thanked him for his “optimistic spirit" in a commemorative post ...

Robert A.M. Stern Architects to author renovation of Austin’s historic UT Tower

2024-10-10T11:28:00-04:00

Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) has signed on to a new higher education project for the University of Texas at Austin. The project to renovate the historic UT Tower (aka the 'Main Building') back to its original 1937 appearance will be completed by the end of summer 2027. Restoration of its exterior will begin next month. The listed budget for the project is $70 million.

Image: The University of Texas at Austin

Morphosis completes Crow Museum of Asian Art for new UT Dallas arts precinct

2024-09-25T14:12:00-04:00

Today marked the opening of Morphosis' 57,000-square-foot Crow Art Museum of Asian Art for The University of Texas at Dallas. The project forms part of a larger 12-acre cultural precinct called on the Richardson campus that will include two new museums, a performing arts center, and grand plaza area.

Photo: © Mauricio Rojas, Courtesy of UT Dallas

The new two-story facility doubles the space of the current museum. It will be followed later by Phase II, with another two-story building for music and 66,000 square feet of programmable indoor and outdoor space. Phase III will include a car park structure and yet-to-be-named third museum building, according to a press release.

Photo: © Mauricio Rojas, Courtesy of UT Dallas

Partner Arne Emerson is leading the master plan for the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenæum, and says: "By enabling visibility into the learning and creative processes within, and providing a variety of spaces for both planned and spontaneous interaction, we aimed to ...

BIG and ICON break ground on Liz Lambert's 3D printed El Cosmico resort in Marfa

2024-09-12T13:17:00-04:00

What could be the world’s first 3D printed hotel development has just broken ground near art and design-rich Marfa, Texas. The vision of a Texas native, the noted Austin area hotelier Liz Lambert, will come together with design and logistical support from BIG and ICON. Both entities announced the project in March of 2023, at the time promising a concept defined by a high desert vernacular that equally purports a "primordial architectural language."

All images courtesy ICON and Bjarke Ingels Group

Their design for the expanded El Cosmico resort calls for multiple structures comprised of different organic forms to be 3D printed on a plot totaling more than 60 acres. Private residences and affordable housing units connect to a hotel with a new amphitheater for the Austin-based Long Center for the Performing Arts included.

All images courtesy ICON and Bjarke Ingels Group

Individually, the homes are to be realized at between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet. The project expands the process and ...

Crow Museum of Asian Art set to open at Morphosis-designed UT Dallas arts and cultural district

2024-08-31T08:00:00-04:00

The Crow Museum of Asian Art is debuting its second location within the Morphosis-designed Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum Arts and Performance Complex at the University of Texas at Dallas.

A ribbon-cutting dedication for the Museum and the groundbreaking ceremony for Phase II of the project, which includes the construction of the performance hall and music building, will be held on September 24th. We'll have photos of the new building soon.

Previously on Archinect: Morphosis designs new arts and cultural district master plan at the University of Texas at Dallas

Handel's 58-story ATX Tower tops out in Austin

2024-07-22T18:39:00-04:00

The forthcoming ATX Tower project in Austin from Handel Architects in partnership with Page celebrated its topping-out ceremony last week. The mixed-use, 425,000-square-foot design includes 369 high-end apartments and over 100,000 square feet of workspaces in a distinctive 58-story silhouette that captures the scale and material character of its adjoining neighbors near Republic Square.

The building will open its doors to occupants by early February 2025. The interiors for ATX Tower were created by New York-based INC Architecture & Design.

Image courtesy Ryan Companies

It will be followed by another mixed-use project — HKS's (scaled-back) Wilson Tower — and the 74-story The Waterline high-rise from KPF, which is on track to becoming the state's tallest.

Both Austin's downtown residential and office real estate markets have experienced downturns in the last year-plus, posing a considerable threat to the formerly breakneck pace of development that has transpired with the continued inc...

Snøhetta completes redesign of the Blanton Museum of Art grounds with rain-capturing shade structures and native plants

2024-07-17T14:31:00-04:00

Snøhetta has completed work on their $35 million redesign of The Blanton Museum of Art grounds for the University of Texas at Austin.

The debut of the New Ground Initiative comes at the end of a three-year revitalization that saw the Blanton continuously operate during construction. The 200,000-square-foot campus now has a greater permanent presence as the gateway between the university and city of Austin thanks to public art installations and key improvements to the existing landscape design and architecture.

Image courtesy Casey Dunn

Lead architects and UTSOA alumni Craig Dykers, John Newman, and Elaine Molinar were able to guide the project using their student experiences, resulting in an inclusive new space.

Image courtesy Casey Dunn

At the center of the project stands a previously completed intervention of petal-like 40-by-30-foot metallic shade structures that was designed to reconcile an open area now referred to as the Moody Patio. Besides providing protection from Texas's re...

ICON's first 3D printed CODEX homes come to market in Texas

2024-07-16T11:24:00-04:00

The first eight 3D printed homes from construction tech company ICON’s new CODEX architectural catalog are coming to Wimberley, Texas, as part of an initial release intended for the Austin area market.

The single-story homes, currently under construction, belong to the TexNext and AlphaBeta collections and range from four to five bedrooms and 2,800 to 4,000 square feet, featuring a mix of luxury and sensibilities to the state's unique history and architectural heritage.

ALPHABETA S. Image: courtesy of ICON

Residences from the TexNext line are designed in partnership with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). According to the company, each of the homes included in the new release is designed to optimize thermal performance and energy efficiency, rating between 45 and 60% more efficient than typical homes of their size in the latter category.

RANCH MESA. Image courtesy ICON

These will feature ICON's proprietary CarbonX concrete, which, when paired with the company's 3D printed wall system and robot...

Snøhetta shares updated construction photos for El Paso Children's Museum

2024-07-12T11:20:00-04:00

The El Paso Children's Museum in Texas from Snøhetta and Exigo Architecture is advancing toward completion later this summer. The four-story, 70,000-square-foot museum is part of El Paso’s Downtown Arts District and will serve the community as its first purpose-built children's museum when it officially opens to the public on August 10th.

Snøhetta says: "The development of La Nube — Spanish for ‘the cloud’ — was directly influenced by input from the community. During the master planning process, a recurring theme was 'Blue Sky Thinking.' The sky is limitless, undefined by borders and holds clouds that can take an infinite number of shapes. The sky connects us all, regardless of culture, language, age, or ability."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Snøhetta (@snohetta)

The design utilizes repeated barrel vaults and a glass-wrapped rectilinear base to create a "cloud-like" composition distinct from the apparent firmament and mix of corporate architecture b...

Donald Judd's restored Architecture Office to reopen in September 2025 after devastating fire

2024-07-11T17:37:00-04:00

The Judd Foundation has announced progress on restoring Donald Judd's fire-damaged Architecture Office project in Marfa, Texas: The restoration will now make the building ready for public use by September 20, 2025. It continues the pre-fire work that began in 2019. The final construction phase will go on through the end of this year, followed by a reinstallation of the building’s art collection next summer.

Troy Schaum, the principal of SCHAUM/SHIEH (who is leading the restoration project team), shared: “Restoration of the Architecture Office simultaneously embraces challenges of sustainability in the desert climate, the history of Marfa, and Donald Judd’s work. Through the phases of the work, the building was meticulously restored brick by brick, but also reexamined holistically to incorporate Judd’s interventions for the building with practices embedded in Marfa’s historic urban fabric.”

Image: Matthew Millman, courtesy Judd Foundation

Image: Matthew Millman, courtesy Judd Foundati...

Updating KPF’s quest to deliver Texas’ new tallest skyscraper

2024-06-10T10:37:00-04:00

Contractor Brett Bickford recently described his firm DPR's work on their “dream job” constructing the new 74-story KPF-designed The Waterline skyscraper in Austin. The project that will yield 2.7 million square feet of space and a mixed-use program that includes 351 luxury residences, a 251-key hotel, and 700,000-square-foot office component will become the state’s new tallest building in 2026. Construction recently reached the halfway mark, with I.M. Pei’s 1981 JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston dead in its sights and the adjacent Lady Bird Lake and Waller Creek water features anchoring it in the periphery.

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...

Preserving the legacy of William Sidney Pittman, the 'first Black architect of Texas'

2024-02-28T12:23:00-05:00

Many of his designs sit within historic Black neighborhoods with African American historical and cultural institutions. At the Glen Oaks Cemetery in South Dallas, Pittman’s grave marker reminds visitors why his buildings are significant points of interest—after all, he was the “first Black architect of Texas.”

The building legacy of William Sidney Pittman, who arrived in Dallas from Washington, D.C., right before World War I, stands at only seven surviving structures. UT Austin School of Architecture assistant professor Tara A. Dudley says: “His arrival provided African Americans in Texas access to a professional architect within the race — as opposed to relying on white architects as most did — and who, as a Black man, understood the needs and requirements of the African American community.”

Pittman, who was also a tremendously incisive polemic writer and early inspiration for Paul Revere Williams, died in March of 1958 with a portfolio of fifteen completed buildings in the state. Dudley and others are now ardently at work preserving his legacy there and in D.C. (where his 1912 Anthony Bowen YMCA design still stands). As she tells Texas Highways, “[His] work needs to be preserved for future generations as a testament to his significance in the profession of architecture in the U.S. in th...

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...

Better Block Foundation, a nonprofit for open-source neighborhood design and ‘wikiblock’ urbanism, is hiring

2023-12-07T12:42:00-05:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for an Architect/Designer at Build Block, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Landscape Designer at the Better Block Foundation.

The role, based in Dallas, TX, “goes beyond the conventional office setting, requiring a genuine commitment to hands-on, physical work in the field,” according to the company. Among the responsibilities will be delivering site design and presentation materials, material sourcing and ordering, construction documents, and potential public speaking and development roles. “The Landscape Designer should be passionate about new urbanism and willing to swing a hammer, get paint on his/her clothing, answer volunteers’ questions, etc.,” the company adds. “This position is very hands-on.”

Before/After: Collaborative neighborhood placemaking. Image credit: The Better Block Foundation

Why the role interests us

The role at the Better Block Foundation offer...

Herzog & de Meuron updates Sixth&Blanco mass timber project in Austin

2023-11-16T19:00:00-05:00

Herzog & de Meuron has updated its plans for the forthcoming Sixth&Blanco mixed-use development in Austin, Texas.

The mass timber design will be realized as the firm’s first-ever completed work in Texas. The plan calls for a full city block construction with a hotel, office spaces, a residential component, and retail.

Image: © Herzog & de Meuron

Updated renderings provided by the firm a year removed from the project’s initial announcement show a more concise linear volume with added greenery and recesses minus many original facade elements in whose place a new open-air terrace has been created on the structure’s third level.

Image: © Herzog & de Meuron

New colorful reflective awnings were added at the drop-off point for shoppers and hotel guests. A total of 50,000 square feet of retail space is planned, along with ten apartment units totaling 4,600 square feet and located on the two uppermost floors. The design is organized around a central courtyard and sa...

Austin becomes largest city in the U.S. to dump parking requirements

2023-11-05T09:00:00-05:00

Austin on Thursday became the largest city in the country to stop requiring new developments to have a set amount of parking — a move aimed at both fighting climate change and spurring more housing construction amid the city’s affordability crisis. The Austin City Council voted 8-2 Thursday to wipe out minimum parking requirements for virtually every kind of property citywide. That includes single-family homes, apartment buildings, offices and shopping malls.

As noted by The Texas Tribune, housing advocates, developers, and climate activists have increasingly advocated for the erasure of parking requirements, which have been found to drive up housing costs and fuels a dependency on cars. Cities across the country in recent years, including Portland, Minneapolis, and San Jose, have taken similar actions to scale back requirements. In 2019, the L.A. City Planning Department released its Downtown Community Plan, called DTLA 2040, which included plans to eliminate parking requirements for all of downtown Los Angeles.

Previously on Archinect: Are vacant parking lots affecting the cost of housing? A new study in Boston sheds light on the issue

According to Austin City Council Member and the proposal’s author, Zohaib Qadri, keeping parking requirements contradicted the billions of dollars the city has set out to invest in its public transit system.

Opponents of the move worry that getting rid of parking requirements will redirect parking to near...

Four design teams shortlisted for former KKK site reclamation project in Texas

2023-10-11T17:51:00-04:00

A four-finalist shortlist for Transform 1012 N. Main Street’s adaptive reuse and racial equity project has been announced as part of a multiphase selection process that will eventually deliver the new Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing to Fort Worth, Texas.

The chance at redesigning what was once the Ku Klux Klan Klavern No. 101 Auditorium will fall on a proposal that best expresses and reflects the group’s reclamatory mission while “[prioritizing] community, equity, and collective healing in the design of the space” above all other considerations of site and material.

“The exceptional quality of the submissions prompted us to expand the initially envisioned shortlist from three to four teams and to extend our selection deadline for a few days,” Ben Crawford, the Chair of Transform 1012’s Design Architect Selection Committee, added. “We are thrilled to welcome these architects to Fort Worth to see how they could be a partner in reimagining the processes for enacting th...

15 featured architecture and design jobs in Texas

2023-10-05T11:34:00-04:00

If you're an experienced professional ready for a new architectural career opportunity in Texas, this newest edition of our curated job picks from Archinect Jobs is for you. Look below at this selection of 10 featured employers looking to grow with exciting roles across the state.

To explore 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, and interviewing skills, to increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

Perkins&Will seeks a Senior Project Architect - Education in Dallas
Experience and qualifications include 10+ years of experience, in addition to significant education experience; proficiency with 3D modeling, visualization, and graphic software; advanced experience in all phases and aspects of a project, including reviewing construction documentation; and strong verbal and written communication skills.

Federal Reserve Building by Perkins...

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...

BIG-designed National Juneteenth Museum receives $1 million grant

2023-08-09T13:45:00-04:00

Bank of America has awarded a $1 million grant towards the development of the National Juneteenth Museum, designed by BIG. The money will contribute to the project’s estimated $70 million price tag. Located in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside neighborhood, the museum will serve as an epicenter for awareness and preservation of Juneteenth’s history. It also aims to revitalize the surrounding area by acting as an economic catalyst.

The 50,000-square-foot museum takes on a handcrafted design, utilizing materials such as heavy timber. It also draws on the local architecture of gabled rooftops. The structure’s undulating roof results in a series of peaks and valleys that combine to form a star-shaped courtyard in the middle of the museum. In addition, the building will feature 10,000 square feet of exhibit galleries, a 250-seat theater to host lectures, a speaker series, performances, and more, a black box, a business incubator for local entrepreneurs, and a food hall featuring local vend...

The DOJ says it will sue Texas over floating Rio Grande migrant barriers

2023-07-22T09:05:00-04:00

The Justice Department has put Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on notice that it intends to file suit over a floating barrier wall he erected in the Rio Grande River to keep migrants from crossing the border illegally. The letter, a copy of which was obtained by USA TODAY, gives Texas officials until Monday to commit to removing the barrier. If there is no response, the Justice Department will pursue legal action, the letter warns.

The buoys, which are manufactured off-site by a U.S./Dubai-based company called Cochrane USA, were already challenged by a local kayaking rental business owner who claimed their presence was damaging to the river’s ecosystem. The DOJ’s letter was met with a tweet from Abbott wherein he claimed "sovereign authority” over the international border. The news comes in the wake of another DOJ investigation involving potentially life-threatening commands given to a Texas DPS trooper regarding the handling of migrants, an allegation which Abbott apparently denies.

ICON, Lennar, and BIG reveal first completed Wolf Ranch model home in Texas

2023-07-21T17:55:00-04:00

The first 3D printed model home concept Wolf Ranch development, built by Lennar and ICON and co-designed by BIG, has been completed in Georgetown, Texas.

The initial of what will eventually turn into a 100-home development outside the rapidly-expanding state capital showcases one of eight different floorplans, which range in scale from 1,574 to 2,112 square feet, offering buyers three-and four-bedroom options within an expected price range of $475,990 to $559,990.

Image screen capture from ICON-3D Tech Wolf Ranch Trailer.

Striated walls made using ICON’s Vulcan 3D printing technology and patented Lavacrete material define the residence’s design, which comes complete with polished concrete floors, a rooftop photovoltaic array, and fixtures and furnishings.

Image screen capture from ICON-3D Tech Wolf Ranch Trailer.

The remainder of the development, which features a playful variety of forms derived from the 24 different elevation styles offered by the company, is nearing completion aft...

Texas begins installation of defensive buoys along the Rio Grande

2023-07-13T11:29:00-04:00

Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande on Friday in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests. Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The barriers are being deployed along a strategic 1,000-foot-long point in the Rio Grande. CNN recently reported on one local business owner’s attempt to halt their placement via a lawsuit. Abbott, for his part, promised "mile after mile" more.

The issue goes beyond affecting what an ACLU attorney called the “moral conscience of Texas.” As the suit’s plaintiff told reporters, “I know it’s a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesn’t belong in the river.”

(The buoys are designed by Cochrane USA, according to multiple sources.)

Selection process detailed for historic reuse of former KKK site as a cultural arts center in Fort Worth

2023-06-29T19:56:00-04:00

Transform 1012 N. Main Street, the non-profit coalition responsible for a new reclamation project targeting a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium in Fort Worth, Texas, has just announced the next phases of the selection process for an architect who will eventually deliver The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing in what is being pitched as an "act of reparative justice" for the community.

Eight months after the process began, work will now continue towards the ultimate goal of creating a unifying cultural hub replete with state-of-the-art performance spaces, arts educational offerings, room for social service organizations that work with LGBTQ+ youth, a maker space, and exhibition areas dedicated toward social justice programming.

The Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing Exterior. Concept rendering by MASS Design Group. Courtesy of Transform 1012 N. Main Street.

The space is named in honor of Fred Rouse, a local Black man who was lynched by a white mob in 1921, t...

Michael Graves Architecture acquires Texas' Parallax Team as expansion continues

2023-06-21T16:58:00-04:00

Michael Graves Architecture has once again expanded its operation after announcing the acquisition of the Texas-based AEC technology consultants Parallax Team.

The firm’s fifth such expansion in the past 15 months follows the acquisitions of PGN Architects, Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce, Waldon Studio, and Jose Carballo Architectural Group (each located in the mid-Atlantic market) and will buy the firm stakes in a new sector.

“We have been working closely with Parallax for some time, and have remained impressed with the way their team is able to seamlessly integrate these important technologies into day-to-day practice,” the firm’s President and CEO Joe Furey said. “When evaluating this acquisition, we were not only excited at the prospect of joining their team with ours but at the proposition of being involved with a company that has such unifying potential — both internally for our staff, and externally from an industry standpoint. Collaboration has been an essential part of our...

Snøhetta's Blanton New Grounds redesign opens at the University of Texas at Austin

2023-05-25T12:20:00-04:00

A recently completed project from three alumni Snøhetta staffers at the University of Texas at Austin’s Blanton Museum of Art has delivered an artistic intervention they say stands as a new gateway between the 51,000-student campus and its host city.

Principal and co-founder Craig Dykers, Managing Director Elaine Molinar, and Director John Newman, each School of Architecture graduates from the late-1980s, collaborated to enact a new canopy-like intervention that’s meant as a centerpiece to the museum’s $35 million Blanton New Grounds initiative.

Photo: Sloan Breeden Photography

Their solution involved a series of 40-by-30-foot metallic shade structures formed in the shape of flower petals to create a canopy of the new landscaped garden entrance to the museum while also framing Ellsworth Kelly’s 2018 monumental stone Austin chapel on the Blanton’s Moody Patio.

Photo: Sloan Breeden Photography

The petals double as a rainwat...