MUNOZ ALBIN ARCHITECTS
1999 - 2024 WORKS
MUNOZ ALBIN ARCHITECTS
1999 - 2024 WORKS
Preface....................................................................
Project
Acknowledgments..................................................
PREFACE
As Munoz Albin Architects celebrates its 25th year of operation, we are taking time to reflect upon our beginnings, our growth, and our work. With over 85 projects ranging from corporate office to multifamily to master planning in 20 cities, there is much to consider. When Jorge Munoz and Enrique Albin founded the firm in 1999, they were both accomplished, seasoned architects and had a concise vision of what their firm would be. Artistic, creative, and forward-thinking, they conceived of their practice as a pure design firm that would remain unencumbered by the demands of producing construction documents. With their international experience, eye for detail, and sophisticated designs, they would cater to private developer clients with an international reach.
The firm’s origin story centers around Jorge Munoz and a seemingly prank call. One fateful day in 1999, Jorge heard an overhead page at his office asking him to return to his office to answer a call from “Mr. Hines.” Jorge laughed, sure that he was the butt of an office joke. Why would Gerald Hines, the acclaimed builder, developer, and CEO of one of the largest real estate organizations in the world, be calling him directly? But when he picked up the phone, he heard Mr. Hines’ distinctive, collected voice introducing himself as “Gerry” and he knew this was no prank. From that moment on, everything changed. Soon after that day, Jorge and Enrique founded the firm Munoz Albin Architects and decided that Houston, Texas would be the best location for future growth and prosperity.
As one of the few small design firms operating out of the South, we are a bit of an anomaly. Not many firms are willing to give up the more stable financial model of being architects of record to focus solely on design, like we have done. It takes boldness and vision to know that your architectural voice is strong enough and valuable enough to weather the economic ups and downs of the architectural world, but that is exactly what we have done. Our model may be unorthodox, but it puts us in a unique position as a firm. It allows us to work quickly, take more risks, and allows us to work anywhere in the world, as we can team up with local architects of record in any market. Our clients can therefore take advantage of local connections and knowledge, but also get the expertise of a design firm with international understanding. Most importantly, remaining a focused firm allows us to concentrate and excel at what we love the most, the design process and forging relationships with our clients and consultants.
The best architects are visionaries at heart. We become architects because we yearn to discover, create, and communicate with the world around us through design. Being a pure design firm allows us to team up with our clients to paint the big picture and create place and community through architecture. With our focus solely on design, we have become masters at making the creative process quick and efficient, leveraging our international knowledge and experience of our various architectural
specialties. Our talented designers have the best tools, systems, and software, giving us an upper hand with delivering top-notch visualizations, 3D models, and design concepts in an accelerated manner.
Enrique Albin and Jorge Munoz are visionaries who created a firm that is the culmination of their complementary strengths and an embodiment of their decadeslong friendship and partnership. The two have much in common. Both were born and raised in Latin America and both men’s fathers were architects. They both strive for excellence in all that they do, and their distinct personalities complement one another in this endeavor. One is a dreamer and the other a pragmatist. One is sociable and outgoing, and the other is reserved and introspective. And as architectural designers, their design sense is distinct. But it is the combination of the two personalities and perspectives that forms their aesthetic. They work together seamlessly, commonly finishing each other’s sentences and each other’s sketches. Almost all our clients accidentally mix their names up and they amusingly answer to either of their names.
Jorge and Enrique’s unique combined design sense was initially showcased in the office’s first large-scale commission, Diagonal Mar in Barcelona, Spain. As it turns out, that initial phone call Gerald Hines made to Jorge was to represent him in this endeavor. What resulted is an 84-acre mixed-use masterpiece located where the famous Avenida Diagonal meets the Mediterranean Sea, setting the stage for the level of projects Munoz Albin could create. Twenty years later, even in the continuously changing landscape of architecture, the firm has shown time and time again that their artistry, attention to detail, and vision produces beautiful and functional design.
Architecture is indeed continuously changing. We have undoubtedly become more dependent on computer-based imagery, interactions, 3D modeling, and idea refinement in a digital landscape. But one thing we refuse to change is the belief that all good design begins with a hand sketch. We burn through rolls of white trace paper and Paper Mate blue pens. It has become part of our doctrine and it’s the place we feel the most comfortable, sketching together at a small table. We huddle together on an almost daily basis and work through ideas quickly, working in plans and sections. Jotting down vignettes and throwing around concepts. It’s fast and dirty and our hands can barely keep up with the flowing ideas, blue pen stains on the bottom of our hands. We throw down an idea or organizational concept and quickly move into the next concept. Tearing the roll when the sketch starts to hang over the edge of the table. A pile of passable sketches collecting and forming a stack. All ideas are valid and enriching and building on the ones that find traction is part of our process. It is this process that has created all our projects. Every team member has a say, and everyone is encouraged to contribute during these sessions.
With a process so reliant on face-to-face brainstorming and collaboration, COVID hit us hard and 2020 will always be a defining point and a period of reflection for our firm. An era of endless Zoom calls, mask policies, hand sanitizer, and remote work, we were all forced to be apart, but in some ways it brought our staff together. We got to see each other’s back porches and living rooms, people’s kids and family members sheltering together. It forced us to think about each other’s health and safety and our place in society, being better and acting responsibly. It also helped us work smarter in some ways, like using mouse sketch in online conferences and marking up 3D models in a real time, which has been a compelling way to enrich our projects. But with the COVID fog lifted, we were all ecstatic to be sketching through designs together again, coming home with stained hands.
This book is our firm’s first, thus it’s a compendium of projects created by Munoz Albin Architects during its first 25 years. It serves as a snapshot of where we are as an architectural practice, it is a record of our work and tracks the evolution of our design efforts. The projects featured range in size, complexity, and use. Many of our clients are private developers as a result we specialize in multifamily, office, condo, hotel, master planning, senior living, combinations of typologies, and the interiors of these types.
This book would not be possible without that fateful telephone call 25 years ago. Our work has been deeply connected to the patronage and loyalty of Gerald Hines, his passing in 2020 left us truly saddened. He was a friend, mentor, and guiding light. He was our greatest champion. His legacy can be seen in the thousands of buildings he has built, but also in the Hines Corporation, now being headed by his family. We owe a large proportion of our work to him, his family, and his devoted disciples who emulate his immense presence.
Munoz Albin Architects
January 1, 2024
XZY
PROJECTS
BRAVA Residential Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Hines
Architect of Record
Kirksey (House + Partners)
Interior Architecture
Munoz + Albin
(A project of Eric Ragni’s while owner and principal at MARS)
Size
782,152 SF Total Area
6,804 SF Retail Area
46 floors
Residential Units: 373
Completion 2022
Brava is a 46-story luxury apartment tower that is the tallest multifamily high-rise in downtown Houston. It features panoramic views of the Central Business District, Market Square Park, Sesquicentennial Park, and Buffalo Bayou.
Rotating the building diagonally to Houston’s grid provides wider, uninterrupted views from all residential units. The massing and geometry of the tower are a response to the building’s immediate context, maximizing long-distance views, natural light, and direct views of Market Square Park.
The tower has a slender outline on both sides. One of the thin sides is defined by undulating balconies, creating a dynamic twisting shape that rises up the building.
This unique architectural feature and distinctive massing is a deliberate departure from the standard expectation of the high-rise residential building.
Vehicular access is from Preston Avenue and a generous motor court was designed in direct relationship with the lobby, creating a strong and dignified entry sequence. The parking garage contains eight levels with capacity for 517 cars. Level 10, on top of the parking podium, is dedicated to residential amenities.
This site is in near proximity to the recognized birthplace of the city of Houston at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou known as Allen’s Landing. The site appears to have been part of a small marketplace in the early days and, at a later time, it became part of the Houston Chronicle facilities.
Modern day downtown Houston is a checkerboard of towers and parks. We conducted a figure ground analysis to determine where the best long distance view corridors existed within the skyline.
GROUND AT
GROUND AT 100 FT - LEVEL 10
GROUND AT 340 FT - LEVEL 30
FIGURE
FIGURE
FIGURE
Every idea or design notion starts with a sketch. The design process is a quest to discover the best answer to what best deserves to be on the site.
Working though the viable options involved an exhaustive back and forth between the layout out of the typical tower plan and its massing expression.
L-SHAPE
TOWER EXTRUSION
SLICE FOR VIEWS
SLICE FOR VIEWS
DIAGONAL FACE
DIAGONAL FACE
TOP TERRACE
PRESTON
Levels 11 to 43 comprise the typical floor levels. The elevator lobby is located on the face of the building so that it has natural light and great exterior views. Each level has 11 units per floor ranging from 580-square-foot studios to 1,890-square-foot, two-bedroom units. The inboard units have a more traditional layout, while the corner units take advantage of the building’s geometry to create rich interior spaces and spectacular open views in multiple directions.
Four units per floor have balconies and a special effort was made to make the balconies livable spaces. Protected on two or three sides from wind and having a depth of at least 8 feet, they can be furnished with a dining table and a seating area. Providing “livable balconies” is becoming an important part of future vertical multifamily buildings in the United States.
SF2,362COMMON
A fundamental objective in multifamily tower design is to maximize the views for the largest quantity of apartment units; the largest of units should also be located in the optimum most desirable location. Standing out from many of its predecessors, Brava’s elevator lobby also boasts long distance views..
MARATHON OIL
Corporate Headquarters - Office Tower
Houston, Texas
Client
Size 500,000 SF
1,400 Parking Spaces
Completion 2021
Munoz + Albin was engaged by Marathon to study possible relocation sites and master planning strategies that would best prepare them for their future growth.
We advised them on sites and helped them find a new location that best fit their progressive workplace expectations.
The master planning and programming effort resulted in a build to suit corporate headquarters building in the Energy Corridor that delivers a modern working environment where integration, engagement, digital technology, connectivity, workplace environment, and branding are carefully crafted to Marathon’s needs.
Marathon is proud of their corporate culture and truly focused on their employee’s satisfaction and retention. They wanted to build the best office place for their employees and provide a diverse setting to conduct their business. Marathon aspired to integrate into an urban environment that would promote work-life integration and give their employees convenient access to quality retail opportunities and a daily connection to nature.
UPPER TOWER LEVELS
IBM Office Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Austin, Texas
IBM will be the anchor tenant for a vertical campus class AA office building on the northside of The Domain, an area referred to as Austin’s second downtown. IBM is consolidating and relocating its Austin operations into this next generation office space. The highly amenitized, state-of-the-art building is conveniently located off the main expressway, Loop 1 MoPac. The building is owned and operated by Hines. IBM occupies 60% of the overall building, and the remaining office space is available for lease. IBM, which has 250,000 workers worldwide, does not break out local employment numbers. However, the Austin Chamber of Commerce estimates the company has about 6,000 local employees. With the opening of the new campus, IBM will leave its long-term offices in a nearby area.
Munoz + Albin was engaged by Hines and IBM to create a clear vision into what the future of the office space should look like. The building design needed to be a distinguished, elevated experience for their workforce. Hines and IBM, both global organizations, share symmetry in their perspectives of what the office represents going forward and this project delivers an environment that all parties will be proud of well into the future.
“This new location offers an opportunity to create a modern new experience for Austin-based IBM employees,” said Joanne Wright, IBM Senior Vice President, Transformation & Operations. “Our vision is to create an environment where employees can gather to collaborate and innovate with colleagues and our clients.”
BUILDABLE FULL LOT
ROADWAY CARVE OUT
ARRIVAL AND GROUND FLOOR CONSIDERATIONS
FAR OF 3
SUBTRACTION TO CREATE TWO DISTINCT FORMS
IMPROVED BUILDING SEPARATION AND DEFINITION
UPPER SETBACK
AMENITY ON GARAGE PODIUM
GARDENS AND BALCONY
Leading the building industry, the building will place a heavy emphasis on ESG. It is being designed for LEED Gold certification and will seek WELL Platinum, Wired Score Platinum, and Austin Energy Green Build distinctions.
“New York-headquartered IBM was an early pioneer of Austin’s tech sector, with operations here since 1967, and the move is a sign that the company will continue to invest in Central Texas. It’s just creating a modern environment to help improve productivity and get our people excited about coming back to collaborate,” according to Dexter Henderson, senior local executive for IBM Austin
The site is an irregular triangular shape with one side abutting the feeder for the expressway. The result of this is a V-shaped plan with two conjoined office blocks or towers at 14 stories high resting on a podium of shared parking. Each tower has independent cores, restrooms, elevator banks, and lobbies. The entirety of the West Tower is devoted to IBM, with their dedicated lobby off the main vehicular entrance. The East Tower is a mix of partially leasable open office or full IBM floors that are conjoined to the West Tower.
The ‘front’ of the building is the southwest facing side of the building. This is the preferred location for the main entrance, lobbies, landscaped garden, retail component, and open space because the adjoining road is the main northern vehicular access to the Domain area. Additionally, the southern exposure has the added benefit of natural light and open views. The open side of the V-shaped office above cradles a vertical garden and upper amenity deck on the 9th level. Catering to the needs of the modern workforce, tenants will experience the main landscaped deck, outdoor sports amenities, and a high-end fitness and conference center. Many of the upper floors of both towers have private balconies that open toward this amenity and direction.
The broadest brushstroke of the building’s design is centered around the split allocation of office space and semi separation between the two office towers. Paradoxically, it wants to be simultaneously connected but separated. The two main masses gradually pull away from one another with a curving connection at the intersection point, giving the impression that it is a borrowed element or two limbs.
Each of the two office building volumes are divided into two separate masses, inward facing and outward facing. The outward volumes have smooth glazing with less detail because the perception of these outward facing facades is mainly from fast moving freeway traffic or from a narrow street to the east. On the façade facing the freeway the design can be broken into two distinct cladding applications, a glass volume and a masonry podium. The glass volume drapes over the masonry box towards the main entrance at the prominent corner.
In contrast, the glass envelope surrounding the courtyard has a more textured solution, with fins attached to its curtainwall. The courtyard side of both
buildings directly interacts with its users, as office workers come in direct contact with it on the 9th floor amenity and have interior workspace views to it. These inward facing facades have colored fins along its surface and terraces along its façade to give them a level of visual acuity.
On the south east corner of the building above the lobby of the East Tower there are a playful layering of terraces and overhangs. Its staggered look and collision of forms peal away it the edge, it’s both interlocking and gear like. The interior form with its intricate patterning is allowed to leak out of its internal confine and disrupt the edge, a curve form gives way to a sharp corner and back again.
Another distinctive part of the design and concept of the building was the incorporation of a vertical garden that spills down from the upper amenity to the ground level. The vertical garden dresses up the exposed garage façade bookended between the office towers. The solid forms are derived from a microprocessor esthetic, a giant magnification of a circuit. We explored the pairing of digital esthetics and natural flora as an intentional juxtaposition of concepts.
IBM Courtyard Canopy
CORSO COMO MIXED-USE
Residential and Retail Mixed-Use
Milan, Italy
Client Hines
Architect of Record
Tekne
Size
256,450 SF (23,825 m)
50 Luxury Units
Retail on Ground Level
3 Levels of Underground Parking
Completion 2013
This three-building, mixed-use development was designed on a sloping pedestrian street, transitioning from the historical district of Corso Como to the Porta Nuova District and creating a new urban landscape. It is the response to a unique urban site that defines a new concept of living. One challenge was the requirement for vibration separation for all buildings above ground due to existing underground train tunnels. The composition was carefully modulated to seamlessly integrate the new buildings with the surrounding cityscape, while maintaining a modern and autonomous identity.
ILLA DEL LLAC ILLA DEL MAR
ILLA DEL BOSC
DIAGONAL MAR
Multiple Residential Buildings, Retail, Hotels, and Condominiums
Barcelona, Spain
Client Hines
Size
84 Acre Site
Completion
2008
In an 84-acre industrial zone on the Mediterranean Sea in Barcelona, Spain, Hines developed a large-scale, mixed-use project consisting of 1,400 condominium units with retail, a regional shopping mall, three Class A office buildings, three hotels, and a limited rental property. At the center of the development is a 42-acre park with three lakes. This project promoted the development of the entire neighborhood.
Projects Competed by Munoz+Albin at Diagonal Mar:
ILLA DEL LLAC, 2002
Double Tower & Podium
321 Condominium Units
430,000 GSF
ILLA DEL BOSC, 2004
Double Tower & Podium, Retail, Mixed-Use
233 Units
333,300 GSF
HOTEL PRINCESS, 2004
Double Tower & Podium, Retail, Mixed-Use
366 Rooms
202,300 GSF
ILLA DEL MAR, 2007
Double Tower & Podium
262 Condominium Units
650,000 GSF
EDIFICIO BILBAO, 2008
Double Tower & Podium
42 Condominium Units
64,217 GSF
ILLA DEL MAR
Condominium
Barcelona, Spain
Client ESPAIS
Hines
Architect of Record
Martinez y Sisternas
Size
Condominium Units: 262
Two Towers With a Connector
650,000 SF
Completion
2007
Illa del Mar, Island of the Sea, is the last phase of a mixed-use, 24-building master plan in Barcelona known as Diagonal Mar. The building is set in a 42-acre park with beach access to the Mediterranean Sea. The master plan is a ‘tower in the park’ vertical living typology that has the same population density as central Barcelona per acre. The park space is called Diagonal Mar and is a city-owned park for public use. The park is a unifying element that is natural and ecologically sustainable for the entire development and balances and restores some of the original natural resources and wetlands to the area. The park is surrounded by five residential condo buildings, primarily composed of two vertical buildings connected by podiums. Each of these buildings provides a mixed-use amenity package for the residents with the ground levels dedicated to retail use. The project offers two levels of underground parking, as well as amenities that include a heated swimming pool, paddle tennis court, playground, fitness area, and community rooms. The taller tower has been designed with six residential units per typical floor, which the smaller tower has four units per floor. Both offer larger two-story penthouse units with hot tubs and terrace gardens with enlarged living rooms.
The original master plan was modified to maximize and enhance the sea views and green vistas. In the planning stage of this building, it became clear that concentrating the density of three buildings in Illa del Mar would produce the best results. Therefore, the master plan was adapted and morphed into a larger program for the Illa del Mar building. As the master plan developed over a six-year interval, the five phases of residential building design experienced an evolution in their architectural expression, from marginally conservative to contemporary. The client wanted the final phase, Illa del Mar, to depart from its predecessors and be the contemporary
masthead of the entire development.
Located at the premium edge of the master plan with unobstructed sea views, the presence of the ocean and the beach provided unlimited inspiration. The shapes of the towers were inspired by the geometric abstractions of the wind being caught by a sail. Sharp at the edges contrasting with curves, a frozen moment in motion, captured movement. The sculpted shapes are achieved with manipulation of the balcony depths, and the balconies wrap around the entire tower on all sides. They are ‘livable’, which means they are intended for nearly year-round use and can be an extension of the living areas or used as exterior living spaces. They are protected from the wind by hanging brise soleil. The balconies are spatially defined by glass railings that are mounted vertically in front of the cantilevered slab. This design allows the balcony railing to drop below the slab level, which provides wind and sun protection to the terraces below. The exterior perception of the building volume is continuous rather than a series of horizontal bands. The tilted effect of the massing is accomplished with the undulating cantilevered balconies, the deepest at 11-feet. The depth of the balconies varies to create the large gestures and movement on the façade.
The two towers work together through their large-scale, multi-faceted folding shapes. As one tower’s volume recedes as it climbs upward, the second tower does this in reverse, expanding at its middle point and then receding toward the bottom. The towers are conjoined through the podium base, which is also wrapped and sculpted, and the intended overall result is a continuous shape that is unfolding. The connector building between the two towers floats, lifted off the ground, with openings and see-through views. The plasticity and playful environment of Diagonal Mar Park, designed by Enric Miralles, dialogues with Illa del Mar with similar sensations of movement and airiness.
The building has a double skin. There is an internal envelope of glass and structure where the building places its structural support in line with the outer walls of the units. The longer dimension of the columns is placed parallel to this façade using the width of the column as part of the building enclosure, reducing the quantity of façade material. This internal envelope has a decorative pattern of two-toned frit dots on the laminated glass that reflect light and represent the behavior of light reflecting and passing through water. A photograph of a wave was pixelated and abstracted to
TYPICAL TOWER LEVEL PLAN
create a grid of color applied to the internal volume.
The project has an integrated sustainability approach for energy efficiency, both passive and active. Passive measures include the use of natural ventilation, and the building’s orientation takes advantage of local prevailing winds. The deep terraces provide shade to the dwelling units and greatly reduce air conditioning loads. Additionally, the fritted glass in the brise soleil contributes to reduction of solar gain within the units. Active systems such as PV panels on the roof support
residential hot water needs, heating the pool, and provide electricity for common area lighting. Rainwater is collected on the roofs and then filtered and stored in tanks for use in irrigation and the emergency fire repression system.
ILLA DEL LLAC
Double Tower & Low-Rise Condominium
Barcelona, Spain
Client Habitat
Hines
Architect of Record
BST
KM+P (Designed while employed by KM+P)
Size
Condominium Units: 321
Two Towers, a Mid-Rise & a Lowrise
432,000 SF (40,000 m2)
Completion 2002
Illa Del Llac is a mixed-use retail and residential complex consisting of two towers, one mid-rise and a loft low-rise building. It is the first phase of the Diagonal Mar Master Plan, located next to the Mediterranean Sea and at the end of Avenida Diagonal, one of the main thoroughfares in Barcelona. Diagonal Mar occupies a former industrial site and comprises several “residential islands” as well as a large commercial mall, hotels and convention facilities among other uses. The project is anchored by a large 40 acre public central park designed by Enric Miralles.
Illa del Llac is comprised of four buildings: two 22 stories twin towers, a 10 story mid-rise building and a 3 story loft building. The two towers and the loft building are aligned on its south façade, creating a clear edge definition for the central park and lake. The alignment of the towers allow for units with ocean views as well as city and mountain views.
The buildings define an interior courtyard where the buildings’ amenities are located: pool, decks and gardens, picket ball courts, etc. At the time when Illa del llac was designed, high-rise ametinized residential buildings were a rarity in Barcelona, so these buildings were highly innovative in this particular market.
The architecture of the towers set the tone for the mid-rise and the low-rise components. A series of curved balcony railing components create a frame that is detached from the main core tower with four corner balconies with views of the sea and city. The core tower is expressed on a rhythmically punched window façade to the north and south facades of the building. The attitude of the massing and architecture, as well as its roof structure, is an attempt to respond directly to the presence and direction of the city of Barcelona that sites perpendicular to its facade.
ILLA DEL BOSC
Double Tower & Podium Condominium
Barcelona, Spain
Client ESPAIS
Hines
Architect of Record
TD&A
Size
Condominium Units: 233
Two Towers
Two Midrise
333,300 SF (30,975 m2)
Completion 2004
Illa Del Bosc is a mixed-use retail and residential complex consisting of two 18 story towers and two low-rise buildings built on top of two levels of underground parking. It is part of Diagonal Mar and the group of buildings is on the south and middle of the Diagonal Mar Park.
The project had a limited construction budget compared to the other phases of Diagonal Mar. As a result, the envelope of the building is comprised of an economically punched window scheme with precast wing walls flanking each side of the towers. The rear of the towers, furthest from the sea, are pushed out volumetrically giving the units on the back of the towers a primary sea view.
The tower responds to market conditions by offering smaller units on the lower five levels. The units increase in size in ascending order, culminating in two large double story penthouses at the top of the building. Two low-rise buildings connect the two towers on a diagonal creating a central courtyard with pool and other amenities. The building’s amenities enjoy a direct view and immediate relationship of the Diagonal Mar Park.
EDIFICIO BILBAO
Condominium Tower
Barcelona, Spain
Client ESPAIS
Local Architect
MSA+A
Size
Condominium Units: 42
64,217 SF (5,966 m2)
Completion 2008
Edificio Bilbao is a mixed-use project with retail, residential units, and underground parking. The building is prominently situated on Barcelona’s seaside park, Parc del Poblenou. It has unhindered views of the Mediterranean Sea and occupies the corner of its block and is fronted at ground level with a palm tree lined pedestrian corridor. The architecture responds to the strong corner condition with a fenestrated rectangular box that protrudes from the tower. The box is contrasted by its adjacent texture of framed balconies and horizontal banding of colored glass balcony rails.
A wafer thin horizontal blade like shading device crowns the tower creating an a visual separation between the building and the roof. This architectural feature provides a sense of scale and monumentality by completing the tower and reducing the heft and bulk of the tower with lightness.
LA COLOMBE D’OR
Residential Tower and Hotel Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Hines
Architect of Record
Kirksey (House + Partners)
Size
683,865 SF
Residential Units: 263
Hotel Keys: 18
Completion 2021
Designed in the center of Montrose, a cultural district in Houston, this 35-level tower includes 283 residential units and 18 boutique hotel rooms on a 1.2-acre site.
The massing resolution of the architecture incorporates a podium parking component which is hidden behind a portion of the vertical tower that is visible all the way down to street level. The architectural expression is a mixture of more traditional and ordered proportions at the base, with a contemporary language on the tower, maintaining an elegant and timeless identity in both.
The Residences at La Colombe d’Or is a unique apartment project in Houston, as it is part of a boutique hotel that will bring a high level of service to its residents. The new high-rise building is part of a larger development that includes the current La Colombe d’Or historical mansion, as well as a pocket park at the northwest corner of the site. The base of the building responds to the existing mansion using a traditional architectural expression including fenestration, limestone, and highly articulated detailing, all tied together with a conscientious landscape design. Contrasting with this traditional approach, the apartment portion of the project emerges as a vertical statement of modern architecture, composed of a vertical box volume with a series of floating planes encompassing it. The swimming pool and outdoor amenity deck on the 10th floor and on the east side have views of downtown, while the tower offers unique and large livable balconies with panoramic downtown views.
One of the design challenges on La Colombe d’Or tower was to create a transition solution between the current hotel mansion and the tower. The tower base responds to the presence of the historic hotel adjacent to it by breaking the scale of the podium very intentionally.
The access points to the project and the permeability of the ground floor of the tower are ample and designed in character with the boutique hotel. Intimate outdoor dining spaces, as well as transitional spaces, have been created to achieve attractive livable open spaces surrounding the building.
HAROLD ST
1
THE VICTOR
Residential Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Dallas, Texas
Client Hines
Architect of Record Kirksey (House + Partners)
Interior Architecture
Munoz + Albin
(A project of Eric Ragni’s while owner and principal at MARS)
Size
864,075 SF
Residential Units: 347
Retail: 9,500 SF
Completion 2021
The Victor is a 39-story, luxury, high-rise residential tower in the Victory District of Dallas. The project consists of retail space, lobby, leasing offices, structured parking, amenity deck, and 362 units. Its units range from 743 square feet to penthouse apartments at 2,498 square feet with views to downtown Dallas.
The ground level perimeter that faces outward is pedestrian-focused, thoughtfully landscaped, and welcoming. Retail opportunities on the east side of the podium provide continuity and a direct connection to Victory Park, and slightly elevated patios make for a protected area perfect for restaurant or café opportunities. A pocket park greets the public on the west side and is in direct sight of the tower’s lobby. The motor court and main entrance are centered in the width of the block, making for a prominent entrance statement that is visually stimulating and active.
The overall project was conceived with three different volumes, each with its own character, identity, and function:
• The exposed concrete tower structure anchors the tower vertically to the ground with its mass and visual continuity. The two side walls are cast-inplace concrete that are 39 floors tall. They support the structural dead loads of the tower and act as shear walls. These giant planes are punctured with unit windows and become an arcade of columns on the ground level and parking levels. This arcade at the ground level is defined by columns on one side and low iron glass that’s highly transparent on the opposite side at the public facing lobby and building entrance. These walls and columns come in direct contact with the sidewalk and public realm, allowing for a very vertical interaction and impression.
• The second dominant massing feature is the glass volume. It appears to float in space as the mass looks detached and hovers over amenity and podium. The glass volume projects outward with the use of structural cantilevers. Each of its sides are open to balconies that are deep, protected, and ‘livable’, being deeper than market standards. Additionally, there is a break in the volume at the top levels where the ‘sky lobby’ is located on level 36.
The third volume is a horizontal bar that is clad in limestone, a podium base element. It balances the
building’s soaring height with its urban presence. The form creates an anchoring appearance and houses the elevated parking garage. Its creamcolored limestone cladding obscures the garage from public view. The mass also creates shaded patios in front of the retail spaces at the ground floor facing Victory Park and the W Hotel. Located on top of the limestone mass is the building’s amenity garden and pool. The motor court and main entrance are centered on Olive Street, making for a prominent entrance statement that is visually clear. The motor court will be treated as an outdoor room clad in natural stone, as well as back-lit glass. Within the podium mass there is a back-lit secondary volume that compresses the scale at the corner and acts as an urban lantern at the intersection of Olive Street and Victory Park Lane.
An important consideration for the project as a whole was to establish a relationship with the community from an urban scale and a pedestrian scale point of view. The activation of the street edges is proposed with retail and inviting patio opportunities on Victory Park Lane, as well as on Olive Street. Specially manufactured clear glass walls allow a seamless connection of the lobby spaces with the street. In the same manner, long solid walls were avoided and a landscaped urban pocket park enhances the corner on Victory Avenue.
TYPICAL TOWER LEVEL PLAN
HOTEL GEORGE
Hotel and Restaurant Pavilion Mixed-Use
College Station, Texas
Client Midway Valencia Hotels
Architect of Record Kirksey
Interior Architecture Munoz + Albin
(A project of Eric Ragni’s while owner and principal at MARS)
Size
120,000 SF
Hotel Keys: 160
Completion
2017
This boutique hotel at College Station is located at the center of a large development of buildings oriented around a center plaza designed for gatherings and social events. The design is an interpretation of the Texas vernacular town fabric and cultural identity of College Station. The hotel is oriented to capture the views of the town center plaza and is also internally looking to its own poolside amenities and restaurant pavilion.
Heavy timber, local limestone, and recycled Chicago brick are some of the exterior cladding materials.
AVENUE GROVE
Residential Mid Rise
Houston, Texas
Client Midway
Architect of Record
Kirksey (House+Partners)
Interior Architecture
Munoz + Albin
(A project of Eric Ragni’s while owner and principal at MARS)
Size
484,771 GSF
Residential Units: 270
Completion
2016
Avenue Grove is the mid-rise luxury residential building that is one block of the Kirby Grove development and master plan. This project is the residential component of a mixed-use, master-planned development anchored by a newly redeveloped 6-acre public park, Levy Park.
The 8-story multifamily apartment building includes 270 rental units starting at 620 square feet, plus 15 two-story ground floor entry “brownstones” averaging 1,800 square feet each. The multifamily project resides at the southwestern perimeter of Levy Park and has direct access and view corridors to the park. The building’s proximity to Levy Park informed its design and was a primary driver for the building’s form.
The generous amenity deck terrace that sits atop the parking garage weaves internally between the fingers so that landscape reaches deep into each pocket. These internal units have immediate views to deck-level landscape and longdistance views to the park, giving the impression that the park below reaches up to the deck as a continuation of the park space. The amenity’s vanishing edge pool and sunning patios have panoramic views to Levy Park two stories below. Some of the building amenities include a gym, pool, outdoor grilling, canopied outdoor spaces, and beverage bar, all of which benefit from unobstructed views to the park below.
This building acts as the southern boundary or margin of Levy Park. Its relationship to the park makes it distinctive because they enrich each other. The building shelters the park with its soft edge and low velocity perimeter road. Its height and mass block freeway noise and acoustic infiltration from the south. The dynamic open green spaces and robust calendar of district-centered events at the park create a welcome gathering place for families, residents, and visitors.
ONE GROVE STREET
Office Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client
Kirby Grove is a LEED Gold Certified, Class A, 16-story mixed-use office building that is a part of the Kirby Grove Development. The master plan also includes a multifamily project and a central park.
The building program includes ground floor retail, office space, and structured parking. The lower levels of the building contain double-height collaborative loft office space and a trading floor. The building is oriented on the northern perimeter of Levy Park, with its main office lobby facing the park and the base flanked with restaurants and pedestrian friendly landscape features, patios, and sidewalks that provide around the clock amenities.
A single pass-through vehicular motor court arrival area allows cars to enter from Richmond Avenue and from the Levy Park side. The building was designed to take full advantage of views to the park.
PENTHOUSE
TYPICAL OFFICE LEVEL
TRADING FLOOR
GARAGE
CROSS SECTION - STACKING
CHERRYWOOD TOWN CENTER
Residential, Student Housing, and Retail Mixed-Use
Dublin, Ireland
Client Hines
Architect of Record
Henry J Lyons
Size
300,679 SF (27,934 m)
Residential Units: 301
Completion 2022
Cherrywood Center is a large development expanding the southern boundary of Dublin, Ireland. Centered around a metro rail link expansion, the development connects with neighboring downtown Dublin. The development was divided into several sections – one of which we were assigned to master plan and design a multifamily project to include leasing, amenities, underground parking, and retail.
Within this section, we were awarded a space of nearly two blocks for additional architectural design services. With mountain and ocean views, the two buildings designed on our two-block section will serve as the anchor point for the entire development consisting of seven buildings total.
VIEWS TO THE OCEAN
VIEWS TO THE HILLS
STUDENT HOUSING
LYRIC CENTRE MARKET
GARAGE
Parking Garage and Food Hall Market Mixed-Use
Theater District, Houston, Texas
Client
US Property Management
Architect of Record Kirksey
Size
Ground Floor Market
Space: 31,000 SF
Parking Spaces: 800
Completion 2019
Lyric Market will offer a variety of culinary experiences on multiple levels: anchor and ancillary restaurants, tapas bar, wine and cocktail bars, bakery, coffee bar, sushi bar, ice cream shop, and more. Tables spill out onto the plaza anchored by the 36-foottall “Virtuoso” sculpture by David Adickes, currently in place at Lyric Centre. The terrace café on the second level accommodates up to 400 for private events, while the two levels below are a private speakeasy-inspired concept.
The marketplace is topped by seven levels of podium parking garage with nearly 800 spaces. The garage is clad in LED-lit panels that turn the structure’s exterior into a light show in the evenings.
The Lyric Centre Garage is the winner of the 2021 AIA Design Award for architecture less than 50,000 feet.
SMITH STREET
GROUND LEVEL - FOOD HALL
PRESTON STREET
UPPER PARKING LEVELS
LOUISIANA STREET
SMITH STREET
LOUISIANA STREET
PRESTON STREET
LAKEHOUSE CONDOMINIUM
Condominium, Townhomes, and Retail Mixed-Use
Denver, Colorado
Client NAVA Real Estate Development Architect of Record RNL
Size
Total Area: 386,134 SF
Retail: 9,500 SF
Parking Podium: 192,242 SF
Tower Units and Townhomes: 211
Completion 2019
The site for this mixed-use condominium building is located in front of Sloane Lake with long distance mountain and downtown views. The project includes a large amenity package and roof top urban garden and was designed with wellness guidelines in mind. The ground level includes space for retail.
AMENITY LEVEL PLAN
1 INDOOR AMENITY
2 UNITS
3 OUTDOOR AMENITY AND POOL
4 UPPER AREA OF TOWNHOMES
THE SOUTHMORE APARTMENTS
Residential Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Hines
Architect of Record
Wallace Garcia Wilson
Interior Architecture
Munoz + Albin
(A project of Eric Ragni’s while owner and principal at MARS)
Size
Total Area: 550,000 SF
Residential Units: 233
Completion 2017
The Southmore is a 24-story, luxury, high-rise residential tower in the Museum District of Houston. The project consists of retail space, lobby, leasing offices, structured parking, amenity deck, and 233 units. Its units range from 850 square feet to penthouse apartments at 3,000 square feet, and most have unobstructed long-distance views. The building greets the surrounding neighborhood at its base with park spaces and lush landscaping that respects the character of its context. METRO’s light rail Museum District Station is conveniently located a few blocks away.
At the onset of The Southmore’s design there was a clear desire to pay tribute to one of Houston’s newest and most important cultural intuition located across the street, the Asia Society. The Southmore responds directly to the Asia Society’s composition with key architectural features emulating some of the composition and character of its neighbor. For example, the floating limestone plane that is a key feature of The Southmore’s design on its eastern façade is homage to its remarkable neighbor.
A primary design objective was to accentuate the tower massing while minimizing the inherent weight of the podium garage. This was achieved by careful layering of architectural devices such as interlocking masses that provide depth, framed features that pull and wrap elements, deep cuts to dissect a mass’s reading, and dominant vertical planes that project and hover from the normal building façade. All of these features culminate to make a building that is visually appropriate to its distinctive neighborhood where art and culture meet a residential area.
AMENITY LEVEL PLAN
TYPICAL TOWER LEVEL PLAN
CIRRUS LOGIC CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
Corporate Headquarters - Office Tower, Retail Mixed-Use
Austin, Texas
Client Cirrus Logic
Cypress Real Estate Advisors
Architect of Record
House and Partners
Size Office: 136,000 GSF
Parking Spaces: 315
Completion
2012
On a 1.33-acre site adjoining Shoal Creek, the objective of this project was to develop a new corporate headquarters for Cirrus Logic with office and laboratory space, as well as a parking garage. The setting of the building allows for close weaving and interaction of the Shoal Creek natural trail system with the active urban scene of 6th Street, creating a new means of creek access to the area residents. The building mass is articulated with a direct connection from West Avenue to the creek. Shoal Creek is further activated with a public restaurant and terrace overlooking the creek.
The Cirrus Logic Headquarters is a build to suit corporate office building. The building shape responds to the internal programmatic requirements, as well as massing, envelope, and height constraints (capitol view corridor restrictions) required by the city of Austin. Integration of the Shoal Creek trail system to the city was a fundamental requirement of both the community and the city. This became an important design parameter that strongly influenced the design of the building.
The building is clad with zinc panels, yielding horizontal bands that simulate the siding of the residential buildings in the surrounding neighborhood. Irregular windows are placed in a random pattern that spans two stories. This effect allows for street perception of a 4-story building rather than the actual 6 stories, helping to blend in with the style of the neighborhood.
The building did not pursue LEED status, but sustainability standards comply with Austin Energy Green Building standards including the use of transparent, highperformance glass to integrate the internal activity with the outside.
WATERMARK HEIGHTS
SENIOR LIVING
Senior Living Community
Houston, Texas
Client Hines
Watermark
Architect of Record
Kirksey (House + Partners)
Size
7 levels
IL / AL / MC Programs
368,420 SF
Total Units: 223
Completion
2021
Watermark Heights Senior Living offers 223 independent living, assisted living, and memory care units in the Heights area of Houston, Texas. A joint venture partnership between Hines and Tucson-based Watermark Retirement Communities, this 7-story facility has the feel of a boutique hotel rather than traditional senior housing.
The design of the building emphasizes spaces to allow residents to participate in experiences, take classes based on their personal interests, and more. Residents have access to multiple dining options with skyline views and services such as personal training and massages.
TANGLEWOOD
Residential Tower
Houston, Texas
Client McNair
Architect of Record Kirksey
Interior Architecture Munoz + Albin
Size
636,808 SF Total Area
Residential Units: 241
Completion
2025
Situated at the intersection of North Wynden Drive and South Post Oak Lane, Tanglewood is an 18-story luxury apartment tower that boasts spacious units. Aiming to emulate the large single-family homes in the Tanglewood neighborhood and elevating its suburban inspiration to embrace striking Houston vistas, the units offer expansive views of the sprawling Tanglewood prairie toward the west, the vibrant Galleria to the south, downtown views of the bustling city to the east, and the tranquil expanse of green toward the north.
The building’s strategic massing carves out a serene courtyard facing the east, opposite South Post Oak Lane. Its plan outlines the most efficient double loaded corridor in the building’s typical plan due to the slightly tapered geometry of the site. The north and west façades are broken up into a series of masses that are projected outward to provide a rhythm of verticality, easing the tension of what would have otherwise been a confining and bulky façade. These masses float above the ground level, engaging the pedestrian scale while simultaneously lightening the building’s presence on the main street.
These lofty masses clad in light beige brick are contrasted by planes of dark brick walls in between, culminating to a fully glazed corner unit at the main intersection and standing as the architectural highlight of the building. This celebratory “lantern” terminates at the penthouse level with an exalted canopy that sails above the three canopies on the west, giving comfortable shade to the grand penthouse balconies. The third canopy toward the south stretches along the sky amenity deck from the Sunset Lounge facing the west, all the way to the east with the unique intention of partially covering the swimming pool to enhance the experience of the hot Texas summers.
Vehicular access is from the intersection at the southern corner of the site on South Post Oak Lane, where the private drive will be shared with the property on the south. A generous amount of parking is dedicated to valet service from the ample motor-court on the ground level, where residents and visitors are dropped off directly at the front door of the lobby.
Residents have direct access to the garage through a gated speed ramp that conveniently bypasses the motor-court. The parking garage contains four levels with
capacity for 359 cars, with six smaller private garages on each level. The residential levels, from the podium on level 5 and up to level 17, have the novel addition of private air-conditioned storage, a welcome amenity for residents looking to downsize.
NORTH WYNDEN DR.
CITYCENTRE FIVE
Office Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Midway
Architect of Record Kirksey
Size
223,000 SF (20,717 m)²
Completion 2015
CityCentre Five is a 16-story, mixed-use building with a full-service restaurant on the ground and an integrated podium-type parking garage designed on a 1.13-acre site. This simple scheme divides the building into two distinct volumes: a masonry volume facing the south and a glass volume facing the north featuring a full-height trellis that serves as an identifying piece.
The scale and material application respond to the orientation of the building. The building takes full advantage of the entire site, making it part of the urban grid. In order to activate the street, a scheme with street facing functions was designed.
GROUND LEVEL PLAN
LOWER LEVEL PLAN
TOWER LEVEL PLAN
NORTHBANK MIXED-USE
Office Tower, Multifamily Tower, Hotel, and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Confidential
Architect of Record
Kirksey
Office and Pavilion
Designer
Duda Paine Architects
Size
Residential Units: 300
Office Space: 350,000 SF
Hotel Keys: 160
Parking Garage: 1,570
Completion
2017 (Study)
Bound within a tight 4.46-acre site, this master plan’s intention is to create a highly active urban environment and a people’s place by capitalizing on the strength of the project’s location next to a newly designed park. The design includes a free standing “jewel box” restaurant pavilion as the centerpiece of the open space design. Three large building components – an office, hotel, and residential tower – share common spaces, amenities, and parking, further reinforcing the sense of place and community created by the project.
To squeeze the diverse set of uses on this site, a shared central parking structure occupies the center of the project. It employs a helixing strategy so that office parking is not co-mingled with multifamily uses and is able to maintain a strict sense of separation with alternating parking decks.
RESIDENCIAL ALCALA DE HENARES
Master Plan and Residential Tower
Madrid, Spain
Client MIYUKI
Size
Total Masterplan Units: 470
Tower: 142,310 SF (13,221 m)
Residential Units: 118
Completion 2007 (Study)
This master plan in Madrid includes private and public gardens, as well as six residential buildings totaling 470 units. Hidden from view are two levels of subterranean parking located below the development. The northern boundary of the site follows the sinuous bank of the Henares River, as the master plan accentuates the undulation and wraps the perimeter of the site in a ribbon of structures. In doing so, the master plan also creates an internal space where an artificial lake and park are planned.
The Alcala Tower is a luxury residential project and is the central piece of the master plan. The tower was designed to be the flagship property on the site. The primary views allow for clear views of the historic town of Alcala de Henares, as well as the campus of the University of Alcala de Henares. As an anchoring building in the master plan, it proposed a dramatic layering of glass waves in tower form. The curved glass appears to ripple and contrast with the more solid vertical mass on the back side. The two cladding types work together to accentuate a pulling apart and movement in the massing. At the top of the tower, the glass undulations step back to the balcony terraces and a floating curvilinear glass fin. The tower terminates into the sky with a dramatic skeletal brow-like shading device.
CITYCENTRE 3 AND 4
Office Building and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Midway
Architect of Record
Kirksey
Size
CC 3: 122,594 SF
CC 4: 123,373 SF
Total : 245,967 SF
Completion
2014
The design for CityCentre Three and Four comprises two Class A, low-rise office buildings separated by a central plaza with retail and restaurant components located on the ground level.
The design challenge was to design two buildings on a site that was master planned for one building of equal size. The solution consists of three overlapped volumes of limestone, brick, and glass with overhangs that start from second and third levels. The space houses a notable university’s off-site MBA program and additional business tenants.
MORNINGSTAR AT RIVER OAKS SENIOR
LIVING
Senior Living Community
Houston, Texas
Client MorningStar
Hines
Architect of Record
Kirksey (House + Partners)
Size
6 Levels
AL / MC Programs
112 Units
106,022 SF
Completion 2021
The MorningStar at River Oaks Senior Living facility is designed to create a special residential destination for seniors in the Upper Kirby and River Oaks communities, some of Houston’s most affluent neighborhoods. A joint venture partnership between Hines and Denver-based MorningStar Senior Living, this 6-story facility provides 112 assisted living and memory care units ranging from 400 to 850 square feet.
Upon arrival, visitors and guests are welcomed to a covered motor court that is directly connected to the project lobby and garden courtyard. A double-height space that is flanked by two stone walls acts as a funnel shape that reaches outward towards the side street. This architectural feature provides shelter and clearly delineates the entrance announcing a main pedestrian and vehicular arrival point. The building’s primary facades front Revere Street and Richmond Avenue. Due to Richmond’s velocity and traffic, the entrance was strategically located on Revere. The building is composed of three distinct components, two of which are distinct brick masonry masses. The lighter beige-colored rectangular mass faces west with framed out glass end pieces on its ends. The brick work is raked horizontally with recessed patterning to visually tie the windows together. This mass hovers over the motor court and the sculpted glass at the ground level. This design feature, paired with courtyard design and location, allows for natural light to be pulled into the center of the building. In contrast, the red brick masses act as a grounding element and firmly plant the building to the site.
This 6-story community has the feel of a boutique hotel with the comforts and convenience of a high-end residential building. It offers a rich variety of lifestyle options for older adults. The design of the building emphasizes spaces to allow residents to participate in a multitude of experiences, like taking classes based on their personal interests, dining options, communal activities, salons, and day trip recreational programs. Amenities include a terrace and lounge with views of downtown, an interior courtyard, fitness and therapy area, beauty salon, and five-star dining opportunities.
The building’s design is specifically tailored to its residents. Designed to foster independence, the interior and public spaces provide autonomy; are legible; physically support mobility; and provide operationally driven criteria and standards for toileting, bathing, sleeping, dressing, and personal care. Safety is a primary concern for the residents, and furniture and fittings allow for freedom of moment, stability, comfort, and injury prevention.
LEVY PARK SPEC OFFICE TOWER
Office Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client
Midway
Size
461,000 SF
Retail: 17,680
Completion
2020 Study
Levy Park’s newest Class A, 15-story, mixed-use office building is the latest installment to Levy Park’s perimeter. It is planned as a multi-tenant building with a large portion of its area dedicated to one anchor tenant.
The architecture of the tower is defined by the shifting and stacking of glass and perforated screened masses. A distinctive pair of shifting glass boxes with deep inset landscaped recesses sit atop two screened boxes. The recesses, ledges, and intermediate roof areas are adorned with landscaping and gardens. Making for an alternating effect of buildings and horizontal bands of greenery, the elevated landscape is an effort to bring the park to the building.
Occupying the remaining corner lot at the perimeter of Levy Park, the tower space attracts top-tier tenants to its mixed-use development. The amenity-rich neighborhood and immediate access to Levy Park makes this project exceptional in the Houston area. There simply aren’t many public parks like Levy Park. It is an urban oasis that is bustling and well planned with mature oak trees, a performance area, pavilions, food offerings, trails, wetlands, and a playground.
The bulk of the office space contains 45-foot leasing depths in the form of the tower at the highest floors. The building’s lobby is positioned off the park, extending the pedestrian-focused master plan westward. A large majority of the ground floor is dedicated to retail. The retail fronts and patios spill out onto the landscaped area at the edge of the park. The main entrance at the corner of the building also opens toward the park.
If and when completed it will provide yet another directly connected pedestrian focused building design to the Levy Park masterplan.
ONE GROVE STREET OFFICE
LEVY PARK
MORNINGSTAR AT CHERRY CREEK SENIOR LIVING
Senior Living Community
Denver, Colorado
Client MorningStar
Hines
Architect of Record
HCM
Size
5 Levels
AL / MC Programs
118 Units
144,207 SF
Completion
Currently in Permitting 2025
MorningStar at Cherry Creek Senior Living is projected to break ground in the affluent neighborhood of Cherry Creek in 2024. A joint venture partnership between Hines and Denver-based MorningStar Senior Living, this 6-story facility will provide 118 assisted living and memory care units ranging from 400 to 850 square feet.
The building’s design exhibits a hospitality-like setting that will reflect a vibrant community and offer both residents and their guests the feeling of being somewhere specifically Denver and urban. Amenities include a roof terrace and lounge with views of downtown, an interior courtyard, fitness and therapy areas, a beauty salon, and five-star dining opportunities.
BUILDABLE COURTYARD
GLASS INTERSTITIAL
MASSES FLANKING
MASSING REDUCTION
FLANKING COURTYARD
COMPOSITION HAS BALANCE
GROUND FLOOR TRANSPARENCY
LIGHT COLORED MASSES AT HIGHLY VISIBLE AREAS
ASSEMBLY IS TIED TOGETHER WITH CENTRAL FIGURE
AIRE Residential Tower
Dallas, Texas
Client Hines
Mitsui
Architect of Record
House Robertson Architects
Size
549,320 SF
Residential Units: 480
Completion
2025
AIRE is a 23-story high-rise and 8-story mid-rise multifamily residential project in the Victory Park District of Dallas. Due to the popularity and success of The Victor, Hines and Mitsui have partnered together to develop another multifamily project in the Victory Park area. This highly visible project straddles Interstate 35 East and is a short walk from American Airlines Center and the Victory Station that serves DART light rail, DART buses, and the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line. It will be an important addition to the already vibrant area, filling in one of the last remaining lots in the District.
The new project is generally divided into two building typologies, tower and mid-rise, that share a common parking garage podium. An intriguing aspect of the project is that the two typologies target two demographic groups. The premium units are in the tower, with an incremental upgrade to these unit’s finishes, acoustics, and construction performance. The tower and podium garage are constructed from concrete, while the mid-rise portion utilizes a more economical structural system based on heavy gage metal studs. The tower has remarkable Dallas skyline views and unrestricted views to the Trinity River Park open space corridor. The lower midrise has urban corridor views, unobstructed views westward, courtyard views, or views to Victory Park. The diversity of building types allows for the project to serve a greater swathe of the multifamily market and share a greater amount of amenities.
Common spaces like the amenities, leasing, lobbies, and loading are shared. Amenities are divided into two groupings or areas. The lower amenity at the 3rd floor consists of an outdoor terrace and internal courtyard, fitness, spa, bocce ball, and outdoor seating. The upper amenity on the 9th floor has downtown views, a pool with
southern exposure, sun shelf, lounge, outdoor grilles, golf simulator, pool side cabanas, club room, and a private dining area.
The ground level perimeter that faces outward is pedestrian-focused, thoughtfully landscaped, and welcoming. The is one retail opportunity on the south side corner slated as a bar or eatery. The motor court and main entrance are centered in the width of the block, making for a prominent entrance statement that is visually energizing and active. There is one main lobby for the entire project located in the northern street-facing region under the tower. It provides access to both high- and mid-rise elevator cores.
Heeding the District’s objective to build a beautiful urban corridor and contributing to the urban fabric of the area, extra care and effort was given to the design of all District-facing facades. The project avoids large, unbroken, exposed expanses of parking deck and is purposefully outwardly looking with its units.
One of the greatest challenges in the design of the building was working around the existing subterranean detention vault under the western perimeter of the site. Columns could not pierce the giant concrete vault and,
as a result, the structural system had to span over it. The tower could not be economically built over this impediment, but lighter objects like multifamily units and parking structures could be. Therefore, the tower placement on the site avoids the vault’s influence.
Another challenge or encumbrance that came with the site was a Victory Park District parking requirement. This obligation has an allocation of 250 cars to be provided to the District. The garage had to be divided into two primary user groups: parking for the residents and parking for the District. Security and access were a major influence on where we located each different type. Most of the resident parking will be located under the tower for their convenience, having immediate access to the main lobby and walking directly on their floors in the mid-rise section.
LAMAR
DART RAILWAY
GROUND LEVEL PLAN
1 MULTIFAMILY TOWER
2 ROOF OF MID-RISE MULTIFAMILY
3 LOWER EMENITY
4 UPPER AMENITY
5 ELEVATOR LOBBY
VICTORY BLOCK-M
CITYCENTRE 6
Office Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client
CityCentre Six, a Class A, 19-story, mixed-use office building, is the latest installment to the CityCentre District. It will be a multi-tenant building with a large portion of its area dedicated to one anchor tenant.
CityCentre continues to attract top-tier corporations to its revitalized mixed-use development. The amenity rich neighborhood is an urban oasis that is sophisticated and well planned. Keeping with this effort, part of CityCentre Six’s development plan, in conjunction with Marathon Oil’s headquarters building, was to build a public park. Both buildings would position their lobbies off of the park, growing the pedestrianfocused master plan of CityCentre northward.
Almost the entire ground floor under the CityCentre Six tower is dedicated to retail. The retail fronts and patios spill out onto the landscaped plaza under cover of a protected colonnade. The main entrance is at the center point of the building and its entrance sequence flows through two sets of colossal V-shaped columns. Two office level terraces also open toward the plaza.
The bulk of the office space contains 45-foot leasing depths in the form of the tower at the highest floors. This glassy bent mass rests on an efficient three-bay parking podium. The office core slices through the parking levels. A lower level of the building has a double-height collaborative loft office space facing the park.
The design of the building’s massing responds to its neighbor by carving away at its lower levels to create a visual eddy on the north side of the tower and parking garage. The design team felt that keeping that open and free of obstruction was a courteous gesture to Marathon Oil’s parking elevator lobbies that open into this
PODIUM EROSION & DIVISION OF TOWER MASSES
leasing depth tower
MEET PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS & SEPARATION
FOLDING OF TOWER SURFACE AND MASSING
EXPRESS
VERTICALITY OF TOWER
corner. The tower design reaches out at the opposite southern building corner to draw people in and drop the glazing to the ground. The protruding parking podium is treated as sculptural element and is clad in perforated metal to disguise its use from the public.
THE LAURA,EAST RIVER
Multifamily and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Midway
Architect of Record
EDI
Interior Architecture
Munoz + Albin
(A project of Eric Ragni’s while owner and principal at MARS)
Size
602,034 SF
Residential Units: 359
Completion 2023
Rising from the banks of the Buffalo Bayou waterway, The Laura is the first multifamily community that is part of the ambitious East River Redevelopment Project. The comprehensive mixed-use master plan starts its eastward march with the Laura. As such, the project sets the architectural identity, creative direction, and tenor of the master plan’s future phases and development.
East Downtown (EaDo) is booming. It is home to some of the city’s finest restaurants, bars, nightlife, social scene, and art scene, and its density has steadily increased for more than a decade. Large multifamily projects are replacing townhome cluster developments in the surrounding area as its density and prominence grow. Located on the periphery of EaDo, the project is an eastward extension of this neighborhood. EaDo’s previous historical uses involved mainly shipping and warehousing, mercantile production, and it was briefly home to Houston’s “Chinatown” before it was relocated to Bellaire. The neighborhood’s older buildings feel gritty, authentic, utilitarian, and many have been repurposed while keeping their charm and older world feel.
Instead of ignoring the context of aging industrial buildings, the design team chose to embrace the look and feel of EaDo and respond to its context. The Laura’s material selection of red brick, window placement and design, secondary accents, architectural detailing, massing configuration, bridging components, and balcony design help inform its character.
The mission statement from the onset was to design and build something “authentic”, which is not an easy task considering any new construction on a large swath of vacated land would be ironically new and therefore opposed to that goal. The design
team felt that the architectural design needed to be guided by principles that would normally apply to older brick buildings. For example, window placement is regular and lined up, rational, and restrained –almost mathematical. The color pallet for accent materials and secondary facades is restrained, shedlike, simple, and purposeful. We avoided synthetic materials, monumental statements, glitzy finishes, and architectural forms that break from the tradition or these expectations.
The overall building massing is both efficient and egalitarian. The design team wanted to maximize the number of units with views to courtyards or outward views to bayou and downtown. The placement of the building on the site gives preference to long distance views.
The Laura will have 359 units that are arranged in three distinctive masses or blocks: a garage and its wrap (west), C-shape (center), and Bar-shape (east). The entire building is served by one parking garage, and every effort was made to conceal the garage from the public by wrapping it with apartment units.
Located at the entry point of the development and the closest connection to the Jenson Bridge and EaDo neighborhood, it draws the public inward with tree-lined streets, a carefully crafted ground level, and individual raised patios inspired by the brownstone stoops of Brooklyn. The project also benefits by sitting at the trailhead for the Buffalo Bayou trail system; bikers and pedestrians enjoy direct access to the bayou from the western side. Tenants will enjoy a lobby that acts as a social hub with a warehouse aesthetic, fitness center, and dog park. The main garden, amenity area, and open courtyard all face southward to take advantage of views to downtown, the southern solar exposure, and the waterway. Some of the outdoor ground floor amenity offerings include a pool, grilling stations, outdoor yoga space, a lawn for games and passive recreation, and cabanas.
The central C-shaped mass cradles at its center the arrival motor court and garden. Leasing and the building’s amenities will be located on the ground floor here, and these spaces will have views to the main outdoor courtyard and pool. Located at the center of the project, it is intended to be the hub of activity.
Interior design will speak to the warehouse esthetic with many types of common spaces for a “We-work” inspired social work environment and collaborative zone.
The Bar-shaped mass on the east is connected by a foot bridge and will have local views to the main town square and park space on the east side of the multifamily building. The building will have ground floor retail that is directly adjacent to the new center.
HEAVY TIMBER OFFICE
BUILDING AT AUTRY PARK DEVELOPMENT
Office and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
The Autry Park Development is an urban village on Buffalo Bayou that stretches southward to fill in the master plan that includes new and exciting shopping and dining opportunities, as well as a central park. The plan also includes two office buildings on the southeastern perimeter. The first is a boutique mid-rise office building with retail planned for its ground floor. The structure of this office building is an innovative use of cross-laminated timber for the floor and ceiling decks used in conjunction with a steel frame. It will be the first publicly proposed cross-laminated timber office project in the City of Houston. The design showcases the heavy timber as a primary design element, exposing the highly visible wood in the soffits.
Many local office buildings have highly reflective dark glass. We deviated from this precedent with highly transparent glass and wood fins. The vertical wood planks that adorn the curtainwall also act as passive shading and light filtering devices.
