THE “H” AT WHITE OAK

Fall 2021

THE “H” AT WHITE OAK is a community center hybridized with affordable housing poject located in the White Oak neighborhood in the Heights, Houston. The “H” in the project title not only represents the form the project takes on the site, but also the 3 “H” elements the project hopes to highlight for the site and its local inhabitants: history, housing, and horticulture.

The open, arid space within the community center portion of the project provides the community a space to gather and hold events, while the more closed off areas act as small libraries and reading rooms where historical records of the community can be kept and accessed. These spaces work together to help the community celebrate and keep in touch with their historical backgrounds in their neighborhood undergoing a process of gentrification that threatens to take it away from them.

Located towards the back of the site away from the widely-public main road, the affordable housing units offer local residents a place to dwell if they are displaced by the ongoing by gentrification. The bridge connects the housing to the community center to allow the residents to use it as a shared space. The bridge also symbolizes and emphasizes the importance of equitable housing the way to acheiving a thriving community.

Finally, the community garden on site is open to the entire community in hopes that it would mitigate effects of being a food desert. The garden also serves to help the community learn about sustainability while also giving them a purpose in their community and a reason to collaborate with one another.