A mixed-use building provides the user with a multitude of unique programmatic interaction. Being a somewhat interiorized project, these interactions become the heart of the overall design. How a user interfaces with the various programmatic elements, based on their purpose within the building, is determined by strategic overlapping, shifting, and stacking of the programmatic parts.

The idea behind this scheme is to take the already abnormal experience of skating on a sheet of ice in Houston and display it through all levels of program. Experience drives the positioning of parts within this approach. A large circulation corridor at the north side physically connects programs as well as providing a marketplace, spectator seating, and interior streetscape. As programmatic elements are stacked, a relationship is always established back to the ice creating a unique interior environment. These elements are then wrapped with a skin providing continuity of exterior finish and aperture. The skin provides covered exterior space and maintains the aesthetic of an object within a field.