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235 W. 25th Street Houston, Texas 77008
jmunoz@munozalbin.com www.munozalbin.com
OUR PROJECTS
GLOBAL DESIGN PRESENCE - 13 COUNTRIES
MASTER PLANNING
OFFICE - MIXED-USE
MULTIFAMILY - MIXED-USE & SENIOR LIVING
HOSPITALITY
OUR APPROACH
MUNOZ ALBIN ARCHITECTS
In charge of the design of the project and will generate all the basic and detailed ideas to creatively formulate an architectural solution to the program, site realities, budget, city, client, and manager expectations.
ARCHITECTURE PLANNING
ARCHITECTURE PLANNING
Assist in the understanding, interpretation, and forecast of all applicable code regulations and will contribute with experience of construction methodology used locally.
ARCHITECT OF RECORD
INTERIOR DESIGN
Project
HIGH-RISE TYPOLOGY
MID-RISE AND LOW-RISE TYPOLOGIES
UNIT DESIGN - 1 BR
UNIT DESIGN - 2 BR
master planning and projects
projects
LEVY PARK MASTER PLAN
Master Plan - Levy Park (Completed)
Residential - Avenue Grove (Completed)
Office and Retail - Kirby Grove (Completed)
Office and Retail - Kirby Grove 2 (2025)
Houston, Texas
Client Levy Park Conservancy Midway
Master Plan OJB
Munoz Albin Architects
Park Design OJB
Completion 2016
Levy Park was once hidden away in Houston’s Upper Kirby neighborhood in need of renovation. As the neighborhood’s only public green space, it was important that Levy Park become accessible and densely programmed with a focus on multi-use spaces. Munoz + Albin and OJB Landscape Architecture transformed the 5.9 acres into an urban park that leverages environmental and social sustainability practices and serves as a premiere destination for the region.
The project involved master planning the site for an urban park, an office building, and a multifamily project. Existing land parcels were swapped and re-platted to achieve the overall program, conciliating sometimes conflicting public and private interests. The Levy Park project responds very closely to the immediate context and program and includes unique planning solutions that are tied to the site, program, and the new buildings.
The project’s components – park, office building, and multifamily – completely transformed the area into a world-class urban public space. Levy Park has become a center of community activity for the area, achieved through the careful positioning of the buildings and their massing to promote sunlight, as well as the intense programming of the park and the integration of an extensive children’s area, two activity lawns, a performance pavilion, dog park, community garden (urban harvest), and promenade. A renovated streetscape provides an inviting environment and strengthens pedestrian and vehicular connectivity to the park, while the promenade, lined with trees, food trucks, game carts, and moveable furniture, circles the park and creates synergy and connections among the various spaces.
Class A office space with extensive retail use, residential space, and dining
amenities were integrated on two of the park’s corners to provide complementary amenities for park patrons. The buildings’ pedestrian access were carefully placed to enhance park activation, and both the office and multifamily buildings maintain a continuous high level of occupancy. The lower levels of the office building contain double height collaborative loft office spaces and a trading floor, with tree canopy views and a strong visual relationship to the park. The multifamily building, with interior public spaces designed by team member MaRS, has an articulated massing towards the park, affording park views to a large percentage of units. Amenity spaces were located on top of the garage podium looking at the park.
Levy Park was a close collaboration between the City of Houston, Upper Kirby Management District, and Midway Companies. The project was highly complex, and our team played a key role from project inception through delivery. The team engaged in extensive programming studies and community workshops to ensure that the community was heard and their needs were accommodated.
The park design was planned around the centrally located children’s garden, which has an ADA
accessible tree house platform that spans across legacy live oaks, which were preserved and relocated on site and create a canopy that reduces the site’s temperatures by an estimated ten degrees. Additional sustainable features include 3.3 acres of permeable surface, locally sourced materials, and a rain garden and community garden, both of which have capabilities to harvest and reuse storm water. The office building was awarded LEED Gold status.
Project quality was an ongoing process that began with a clear project definition. Our team maintained strict control of budget and quality through all phases of the project, starting at Conceptual Design through to construction.
ONE GROVE STREET
Office Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Midway
Architect of Record Kirksey
Size 223,000 SF
Completion 2015
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.
CROSS SECTION - STACKING
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.
TECHNOLOGY PARK MASTER PLAN
Office Buildings and Retail Mixed-Use
Confidential
Client Hines
Size
Area: 20 Acres
13 Buildings
4 Phases
Total Area: 9,550,000 SF
Retail: 295,000 SF
Completion
2021 (Study)
The Technology Park Master Plan is an ambitious development plan for a new technology hub workplace. The project will create a new sustainable urban district that capitalizes on its proximity to a lake and other adjacent tech-based commerce. This multi-phase development will benefit from its proximity to the lake with its sweeping views and natural attributes. The development will provide an exceptional lifestyle work environment, along with daily conveniences and retail opportunities contributing to a vibrant expanding community and tech sector growth.
The development will incorporate the newest thinking in tech park design. Reliability of power, robust infrastructure, data security, and mechanical systems are all part of the hidden infrastructure that will set this development apart from its predecessors. The development’s team has the added benefit and understanding of international standards and marketplace demand to better design buildings that suit a wider range of users and future tenants.
The master plan exercise culminated in a 550-page report and movie. The expansive report covers topics like site analysis, design approach, landscape strategies, development strategies, parking strategies, tower design and floor plates, traffic analysis, MEP and utility distribution, civil reports, and sustainability concepts.
LAKE
CITYCENTRE EXPANSION
Office Towers, Multifamily, and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Midway
Architect of Record
Kirksey Architects
Size
325,600 SF
Completion
Partially completed 2022
Midway, owners of the CityCentre Development, acquired the last block of the old Town and Country office and mall in 2016. The development, located north of central CityCentre, attracts top-tier corporations to its revitalized mixed-use development. We have several completed projects in the area with Midway, so when Marathon Oil approached us to recommend an amenity-rich spot to relocate their headquarters, CityCentre was one of our top suggestions. The neighborhood is an urban oasis that is sophisticated and well planned, as well as a very attractive place to work. Marathon Oil was very concerned with workforce retention and work life balance, and for this reason they selected to relocate there.
The master plan divided up the block into four parcels. One parcel was dedicated to a communal park space that could be shared between Marathon Oil’s office building and the CityCentre Six office building. Both buildings would position their lobbies off the park. This park would join the larger 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 remaining parcel is slated for another podium style office building or multifamily building in the coming years.
MARATHON OIL
Corporate Headquarters - Office Tower
Houston, Texas
Client Marathon Oil Hines
Architect of Record
Kendal Heaton Architects
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
CITYCENTRE 6
Office Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Midway
Architect of Record Kirksey
Size
325,600 SF
Retail: 12,382
Completion 2026
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
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.
MIXED USE MASTER PLAN
Office, Multifamily, Hotel, and Retail Mixed-Use
Confidential
Size 17.5 Acres
9 Buildings Office, Residential, Retail, Hotel, and Park Space
2 Million SF Rentable
Completion 2020 (Study)
This comprehensive redevelopment master plan consists of multiple phased office buildings, hotel, multifamily buildings, central retail area, and park space.
IBM
Office Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Austin, Texas
Client IBM Hines
Architect of Record Kirksey
Size
507,000 SF
Completion 2027
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 FAR OF 3 UPPER SETBACK ROADWAY CARVE OUT SUBTRACTION TO CREATE TWO DISTINCT FORMS
ARRIVAL AND GROUND FLOOR CONSIDERATIONS IMPROVED BUILDING SEPARATION AND DEFINITION 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.
GROUND LEVEL PLAN
1 IBM LOBBY
2 TENANT LOBBY
3 PARKING GARAGE MAIN ENTRY
4 CAFE
5 BIKE STORAGE
6 LOADING DOCK
7 BACK OF HOUSE
8 GROUND LEVEL PARKING
9 PARKING GARAGE SIDE ENTRY
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.
AMENITY LEVEL PLAN
1 IBM OFFICE
2 CONFERENCE
3 FITNESS
4 IBM COURTYARD
5 ADDITIONAL COURTYARD
6 PICKLEBALL COURT
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
IBM Courtyard Canopy
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS CAMPUS
Office Towers, Multifamily, Hotel, Condo, and Retail Mixed-Use
Confidential Location
Client Confidential
Size
Office Area: 400,000 SF
Hotel Keys: 250
Residential Units: 400
Retail Area: 40,000 SF
Completion
2017 (Study)
Adjacent to an existing lake and highway in a Midwestern city in the United States, this master plan accommodates a corporate campus, as well a series of mixed-use buildings to create a community of live-work-play.
The components include corporate headquarters buildings, additional speculative office buildings, hotel, conference center, fitness center, retail/venue pavilion, and multifamily buildings – all organized around a central park adjacent to the water. The hotel and conference center, along with the park, will create a sense of place and destination. The corporate buildings will face the lake and part of the public side of the project.
MCNAIR PLAZA MASTER PLAN
Office Tower, Multifamily, Hotel, Condo, and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Patrinely
Size
Residential Units: 320
Condominium Units: 80
Hotel Keys: 250
Office Area: 400,000 SF
Retail Area: 19,500 SF
Parking: 2400 Cars
Completion 2016 (Study)
The design team was challenged with creating a master plan that incorporates a unique urban space that sensibly connects retail, office, hotel, and multifamily components with civic/community exhibition space. The master plan also includes a central plaza to serve as a major civic and community exhibition space and park area. The site of the McNair Plaza Master Plan is the gateway to the Uptown Galleria area of Houston, where there is a significant leap in the quality of the urban space and feeling of the neighborhood as you travel north on Post Oak Boulevard.
Our master plan design was selected through a design competition against other leading architectural firms. We created a vision with the public in mind and an eye toward the future. At the heart of our project is a bold and dynamic public plaza, which is as important as the architectural design of the buildings. All of the lobbies for the various building and retail spaces are directly connected to the plaza, which is the lifeblood of the whole development. This design endeavors to become an iconic destination filled with people and vivacity – the central unifying area from which future buildings will rise.
CORPORATE CAMPUS ENERGY CORRIDOR MASTER PLAN
Office Buildings, Multifamily, and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client CORE
Size
13.6 Acres
1,000,000 SF
Completion 2013 (Study)
The CORE Master Plan is the response to an office program need of 1 million square feet on a privileged 13.6-acre site. Located at the heart of Houston’s Energy corridor, the site is next to the Addicks Howell Preserve containing 13,000 acres of protected green areas with parks, trails, and a golf course. Our response was to place four office buildings, corresponding parking areas, and a multifamily project on a site that would best capture the connection to neighboring green space while providing a corporate environment that is up to date.
It offers an environment that promotes interaction and collaboration through strategies of integrating the exterior with the interior. The plan provides for an exterior environment that is designed for people rather than cars. The office lobbies are open and connected to the exterior where wooded arbors, protected walkways, and fine arts displays connect the buildings and the park paths.
MCNAIR HEIGHTS MASTER PLAN
Multifamily, Grocer, Office Buildings, Townhouses, Hotel, and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client McNair Interests
Size Area: 18 Acres
11 Lots
6 Phases
Retail: 60,000 SF
Completion 2021 (Study)
The McNair Heights Master Plan is an ambitious development plan for a new hub in Houston, Texas. This comprehensive redevelopment master plan consists of multiple phased multifamily buildings, office buildings, hotel, central retail area, and park space.
The industrial site between Hempstead Highway and W 11th St in The Heights is the context where a new mixed-use program is proposed. The site is well-positioned to offer an extensive retail program consisting of a grocery store and food & beverage offerings around a designed town center, surrounded by residential and boutique office space projects.
Our design proposes the reutilization of some of the existing warehouses and the creation of a connection linkage between Hempstead and The Heights. Three primary warehouses would be adapted in place for a grocery store, a three-story creative office space, and a project entry statement. The town center will be positioned in the geographic center of the development with a strong visual axis into a public plaza from the access road.
The remaining land would be used for the construction of four different multifamily projects, offering, in some cases, a mixed-use environment in the proximity of the plaza. Otherwise, each multifamily component will be designed to fit a particular residential market to capture a broader sector of the neighborhood demographic. The smallest typology in the project consists of a series of townhouses that will be developed and sold at the projects onset.
POST OAK II MIXED-USE PLAZA
Office Buildings, Multifamily, Fitness, Grocer, and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client
Midway
Size
Hotel Keys: 312
Office 1: 217,800 SF
Office 2: 610,000 SF
Retail / Office Podium: 64,300 SF
Fitness:128,600 SF
Grocer: 50,200 SF
Retail: 15,900 SF
Residential 1 Units: 285
Residential 2 Units: 300
Completion 2012 (Study)
Located at the intersection of San Felipe and Post Oak Boulevard, this master planning effort sought to define the corner of this central business district as a destination point to live, work, and play.
Included in the program are retail, two office towers, a fitness center, premium grocer, two multifamily buildings, and a condominium tower.
KATY FREEWAY MIXED-USE
Office Buildings and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Sepmarke Size 9 Buildings
Completion 2014 (Study)
This master plan project proposes four mixed-use buildings in and around a center plaza that is designed as a destination point with retail, food, and beverage offerings. Adjacent to a high-volume freeway, the project creates a place away from the road and orients the buildings to allow for maximum highway exposure.
With limited zoning height, the building components will offer Class A type office space that captures the views of a green creek on the south side. Two restaurant pavilions will complete the activation of the center, along with pedestrian and bike trails connected to the residential neighborhoods around it.
The building orientation and scale of the envelope treatment is sensitive to the scale and texture of the neighborhood.
DIAGONAL MAR
Multiple Residential Buildings, Retail, Hotels, and Condominiums
Barcelona, Spain
ILLA DEL
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 LLAC
BOSC
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
1 ELEVATOR LOBBY
2 UNITS
3 CORRIDOR
4 SELLABLE BALCONIES
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.
BRAVA
Residential Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Hines
Architect of Record Kirksey (House + Partners)
Interior Architecture Munoz Albin (A project of Erick 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.
FIGURE GROUND AT GROUND FLOOR
FIGURE GROUND AT 100 FT - LEVEL 10
FIGURE GROUND AT 340 FT - LEVEL 30
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
SLICE FOR VIEWS
SLICE FOR VIEWS
DIAGONAL FACE
DIAGONAL FACE
TOP TERRACE
SF1,126A5
SF2,045B4
SF749A2 SF576A1 SF324
SF1,360B1
SF2,362COMMON
SF1,018A4
SF843A3
SF1,776B3
SF1,619B2
SF1,017A4
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 Erick 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.
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
was to create a transition solution between the
and the
The tower base responds to the presence of the historic hotel adjacent to it by breaking the scale of the podium very intentionally.
La Colombe d’Or tower
current hotel mansion
tower.
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.
THE ACTUAL NEW YORK CONDOMINIUM TOWER
Condominium Tower
New York, New York
Client ACTUAL US
Architect of Record Adamson
Size 118,000 SF
Condominium Units: 76
Completion 2012 (study)
The Actual Condominium Tower is a very slender 56-story tower on a 49-foot-wide site. The site is a through block parcel that is located midblock between Madison and Park Avenues and connects 29th Street and 30th Street. The development of the site relied upon the purchasing of air rights of its neighboring properties, and it had to comply with New York City’s zoning restrictions. The slenderness and height of the tower required a structural dynamic stabilizer at the top of the tower. The project proposed a two-story amenity space in the middle of the tower with an additional amenity space above the penthouse.
Working within the confines of the adjacent buildings was challenging, along with the core and other structural components consuming a large amount of usable space. The units had to work around these constraints while offering the optimal views expected in a New York City condominium marketplace.
HOTEL PRINCESS
Hotel Tower and Retail Mixed-Use
Barcelona, Spain
Client ESPAIS Hines
Architect of Record
TD&A
Size
Hotel Keys: 366
Levels: 32
202,300 SF (18,800 m2)
Completion 2004
The Hotel Princess in Barcelona, Spain is a full-service hotel built on a 0.12-acre triangular site that is formed by the most prestigious boulevard in the city, Avenida Diagonal. The towers were placed on the triangular site to capture the best views of the Mediterranean Sea and the City of Barcelona. The program did not require parking since the building is located next door to the Diagonal Mar shopping center, which offers plenty of parking for both facilities. With two levels of underground service areas, the hotel was conceived with four levels of public areas and two towers of 26 and 24 levels.
One tower has a double-loaded corridor in a rectangular shape with one of its edges cut at an angle, creating a space for a fire stair. The panoramic elevators and the room service areas were placed on the opposite side of this stair. The second tower was conceived as an independent triangular tower to address the nature of its site and context. This tower is connected to the core by a glass-enclosed corridor that appears to float between the two volumes. This element allows for light to penetrate through in the mornings and become an illuminated urban lamp in the evenings.
The positions and geometry of the two towers produce a very inviting public space in the middle with a triangular infinity pool that celebrates its form, both of which are visible to most guests as they experience the glass bridge or look out of their room’s window.
The building is environmentally responsible due to passive and active elements in its design. The rooms with west and east orientation are protected with a fritted glass brise soleil and a portion of the hotel’s energy comes from the solar panels that cover its roof.
BARCELONA
MILAN HOUSTON
DUBLIN HOUSTON
BARCELONA DALLAS BARCELONA
HOUSTON HOUSTON
AUSTIN
BARCELONA
CALGARY
HOUSTON
HOUSTON