Four teams shortlisted for Houston Endowment Headquarters competition

Leading philanthropic organization Houston Endowment is looking to build a physical presence with a new headquarters near downtown Houston, Texas. Following the first stage of the Houston Endowment Headquarters Design Competition launched this past June, four teams have been shortlisted as finalists out of 121 teams who submitted Expressions of Interest. Stage one criteria included: details of the proposed team; examples of relevant experience; and an initial approach to the project. 

Selected by the competition's Shortlisting Panel (including the client), the four finalist teams are, in alphabetical order by team lead: 

• Deborah Berke Partners with DAVID RUBIN Land Collective and Atelier Ten 
• Kevin Daly Architects with TLS Landscape Architecture, Productora and Transsolar 
• Olson Kundig with Surfacedesign, Inc 
• Schaum/Shieh Architects with HKS and Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture

In Stage two, the finalists will visit the project site in Houston and receive a detailed briefing in mid-August. They will have 10 weeks to create their concept designs before the Selection Committee will interview them. The winning team is expected to be announced this November.

Embedded within the local community, the approximately $20 million, 40,000 square-foot headquarters will house the organization's staff and community partners, and will provide healthy workspaces, accessible meeting spaces, and flexible engagement facilities. The project is currently scheduled to open in May 2022.