Archinect - News2024-12-22T04:21:06-05:00https://archinect.com/news/article/150290094/oma-revitalizes-historic-us-post-office-mail-sorting-warehouse-with-post-houston
OMA revitalizes historic US Post Office mail sorting warehouse with POST Houston Nathaniel Bahadursingh2021-12-03T18:32:00-05:00>2024-10-25T04:07:38-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/80/808ce552cf6ef281f65dd0ac54238741.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>The first phase of <a href="https://archinect.com/firms/cover/382/oma-the-office-for-metropolitan-architecture" target="_blank">OMA</a>’s POST Houston, a project revitalizing the historic Barbara Jordan Post Office in <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/11330/houston" target="_blank">Houston</a>, Texas, is nearing completion. Finalized areas of the building opened to the public for the first time.</p>
<figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/34/34c78bd7f3d6a9d7004f34874565cfbf.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/34/34c78bd7f3d6a9d7004f34874565cfbf.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Image: OMA / Steve Hyde</figcaption><p><br></p><p>Designed by OMA Partner Jason Long and OMA New York, <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/1882580/post-houstom" target="_blank">POST Houston</a> 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. <br></p></figure><figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/a7/a7c3a7f0c22e7da5b0f827c8f591c213.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/a7/a7c3a7f0c22e7da5b0f827c8f591c213.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=514"></a></p><figcaption>The original Barbara Jordan Post Office structure. Image: OMA</figcaption><p><br></p><p>“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...</p></figure>