Houston, Texas, USA
Led by Kevin Daly Architects (KDA) with Mexico City-based PRODUCTORA, in collaboration with TLS Landscape Architecture, has won the international competition to design the new Houston Endowment Headquarters.
The $20 million, 40,000 square-foot office will be the new center of Houston philanthropy.
The design concept envisages an airy, elegant superstructure generously shaded by a large canopy within a grove of oak trees. The proposal is strongly connected to the site and context: the landscape and history of Spotts Park.
In KDA’s words, the new building, which is attuned to Houston’s demanding climate, is intended to be “as welcoming as the shadow beneath a tree.”
The intricate lattice of the roof canopy — the design’s ‘fifth elevation’ — will offer a sense of shelter to both the organization and the local community, whilst practically maximizing the use of daylight within the building and minimizing solar gain.
Interior spaces are conceived within public and private zones and are highly flexible, linked to the park through a series of exterior terraces, shaded by awnings. The design is intended to promote healthy working and offers welcoming engagement spaces that provide for convening and collaborating with the community.
This design is reminiscent of Houston’s architectural exemplars: the ice houses, the Menil Collection and parts of Rice University campus — where a building mediates between the outside landscape and the interior experience. The team seized the opportunity to create a building that allows users to engage with the park for much of the year.
About winning the competition, Kevin Daly, principal of Kevin Daly Architects said: “We are really honored to be chosen for this project. Houston Endowment is fundamentally about helping to define and build toward Houston’s future. We were challenged to capture that mission in the design of this project through resilience and energy conservation.”
“The living canopy of Houston was a huge influence on the team: the tradition of buildings that balance being “a part of” and “apart from” the living landscape of the city was inspiring. We wanted to establish a continuity between the park setting and the vocabulary of the building.”
‘With our collaborators at PRODUCTORA in Mexico City, we wanted to focus on fundamental building elements: the loggia, veranda, the canopy and the screen. These work together in a climate like Houston’s to create openness and accessibility while balancing the effects of the environment.”
Architects: Kevin Daly Architects and PRODUCTORA
Associate Architects: Kirksey Architecture
Landscape Architects: TLS Landscape Architecture
Client: Houston Endowment
