More than a Library

Houston Exploration Center

The HEC is envisioned as a library with multiple goals, ones that rebrand traditional functions of a library and hybridizes them with those of a community outreach center. The goal is to allow for the creation of a learning facility where knowledge, and its acquisition, is the primary product. That product may be conveyed in the conventional transmission of knowledge through reading or in the communicating of events, both historical and contemporary, by means of presentations and outreach efforts led by local organizations.

The site design centers the library as a community node with elements of the site tying into the Rice Military/Washington Corridor neighborhood & Buffalo Bayou Park. The existing pedestrian bridge and path will be rebuilt to allow for more space and to tie into the future bike lanes proposed for Jackson Hill Street. Due to the steep slope caused by the ground behind the bridge, a small outdoor amphitheater was incorporated to prevent soil erosion onto a new community promenade as well as providing additional outdoor space for library programs. The existing B-Cycle station would be rebuilt into the intersection of the bridge path and the new promenade. As part of the project requirements, this community promenade will be incorporated as an extension of Scotland Street for pedestrian use. It will be closed off to vehicular traffic, but it will be wide enough to accommodate food trucks and deliveries. An additional offshoot promenade will be added that would allow a pedestrian connection to the parking lot on the Northeast side of the site as well as future mixed-use developments along Waugh Drive. The main entrance of the library will be located at the intersection of the two promenades. The cafe will be separate from the library on the Northwest corner of the promenade intersection so that it can operate separate from library hours. The parking lot can be accessed by the Waugh/Memorial westbound ramp or by Jackson Hill Street via an extended driveway from the DX Holdings parking lot. The Northwest corner of the site will remain as a forested area. The space between the parking lot and the main promenade will be turned into an amenity retention pond as the topography causes water to flow into an existing drain at that spot as it is the lowest point on the site.

The central atrium and public spaces around it act as a community core, linking the various levels of the H.E.C. with the outdoor promenades that branch out into the community. These spaces can accommodate civic-based organizations such as educational and civic groups, galleries and volunteer organizations that can reserve locations for pop-up exhibits and events to promote various activities and causes. Within the atrium, there is a vast system of intertwining, branching stairs connecting the various floors of the H.E.C. to promote interaction between visitors.