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. 

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. 

While noticeably similar to the 36-year-old Menil Collection just outside the city, the headquarters building also offers a connection to its site along Houston’s main Buffalo Bayou waterway and extends itself to the public with a series of exterior terraces that work to reduce solar gain.

A network of flexible zones throughout the building provides workspaces and community programming areas for the foundation. The inclusion of the canopy combines with internal openings to create a considerable amount of ventilation that’s useful in the humid, subtropical climate of the city. Finally, a permanent collection of art from a coterie of local Houstonians garnishes the interior in a nod to regional creative activity. 

The design team also reportedly achieved their goals of reaching net-zero emissions for the project. Through the combination of a geothermal well system, rooftop photovoltaic panels, and a highly-efficient envelope, the building consumes an estimated 33% less carbon than traditional office constructions. Final cost for the project is reported to be $21 million.

“We followed a rigorous process to get to this point selecting a location that is easily accessible to convene our partners and establishing a design competition to find the right partners who would bring beautiful architecture to our city while prioritizing sustainability,” the Endowment's CEO, Ann B. Stern, said in a press announcement today. “kdA and PRODUCTORA understood our vision, and the design process guided us to the form that fits our future.”