USA cellular: (1) 713-252-7474 235 W. 25th Street Houston, Texas 77008
jmunoz@munozalbin.com www.munozalbin.com
MASTER PLANNING & PLACE MAKING
MULTIFAMILY
MULTIFAMILY - CONDOMINIUM & MIXED-USE HIGH-RISE
OFFICE - MIXED-USE
RETAIL - MIXED-USE
MULTIFAMILY
MULTIFAMILY SPEC CORPORATE
HOSPITALITY - MIXED-USE
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
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.
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.
SF1,126A5
SF2,045B4
SF749A2 SF576A1 SF324
SF1,360B1
SF2,362COMMON
SF1,018A4
SF843A3
SF1,776B3
SF1,619B2
SF1,017A4
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
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.
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.
Hotel and Restaurant Pavilion Mixed-Use
College Station, Texas
Client Midway
Valencia Hotels
Architect of Record Kirksey
Interior Architecture Munoz Albin
(A project of Erick 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.
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.
Multiple Residential Buildings, Retail, Hotels, and Condominiums
ILLA
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
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.
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.
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.
Office Tower, Multifamily Tower, Hotel, and Retail Mixed-Use
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Client Hines
Architect of Record Henry J Lyons
Size
300,679 SF (27,934 m2)
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.
AMENITY LEVEL PLAN
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2
3
5
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.
REQUIREMENTS
SEPARATION
Client Midway
Architect of Record
EDI
Interior Architecture
Munoz Albin
(A project of Erick 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
Office and Retail Mixed-Use
Houston, Texas
Client Hanover
Local Partners
Size
117,000 SF
6 Levels of Office and Retail
Completion 2021 (Study)
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.
Client McNair
Cockrell Interests
Architect of Record
Preston
Size
305,414 SF Total Area
Residential Units: 373
Completion
2025
Houston is defined by the Interstate 610 loop, a freeway ring-road the first ring that defines the city’s inner limits. The Timbergrove neighborhood is within ‘the loop’ and can be subdivided into single family homes and light industrial zones with large parcels of available land. Due to its proximity to Greater Heights neighborhood, a popular community known for its Victorian houses, lush urban tree canopy, parks, and restaurants, Timbergrove has experienced an influx of growth and redevelopment. Some of these large lots are now being repurposed as multifamily uses as the City of Houston fills in its core area. The project’s site and immediate area is known for its industrial uses and is a quilt work of large 1-story tall steel sheds.
While residential Timbergrove does not change easily the other half has experienced rapid growth as industry is replaced with townhomes and multifamily blocks. One block away from the site of this new project, prairie style ranch homes of the 1950’s, an architectural language embraced by early housing developers in Houston, line the neatly arranged streets with old growth trees. They are defined by their low-slung hip roofs, known for being angular and sharp.
The development will feature “significant outdoor green space” and “an amenityrich housing option,” according to a March 29 press release from Drew Steffen, senior vice president of real estate with McNair Interests.
Finding some inspiration from the local architectural vernacular the building design seizes on the sharpness and angularity of these nearby homes. The multifamily block is a much larger scale and doesn’t lend itself to a direct representation of low-slung roofs.
Client Hines
Size
155,000 SF
4 Levels of Residential and Retail
Residential Units: 90
Completion
2021 (Study)
The Cherry Creek neighborhood in central Denver is known for its walkability and urban planning and is a success story for zoning regulations and community planning. Its density and growth are highly regulated and controlled by local authority, community participation, and partnerships. The zoning restrictions overlayed on this site required a compact building, not exceeding four stories. This project would add to the soft edge of this zone. A low-rise, luxury, multifamily building was studied on this site with retail provisions at the ground floor.
The massing and design were inspired by fluid forms that can be found in Cherry Creek, a nearby water feature that cuts through the city of Denver. Instead of fronting the entire building on the main street, half of the length steps back with a landscaped terrace. This also served to add a bend in the apartment level corridor to limit the long run perception. To encourage outdoor living, the private patios are oversized and grand enough to accommodate a large seating group in most cases. The high contrast coloration of the forms intentionally accentuates the undulating balcony banding, with a manganese black brick wall and floor to ceiling glass in the recesses.
A portion of the amenities were located on the roof for the local and mountain views and include a heated pool and lush landscaped verandas.
Corporate Headquarters - Office Tower, Retail Mixed-Use
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.
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.
1 INDOOR AMENITY
2 UNITS
3 OUTDOOR AMENITY AND POOL
4 UPPER AREA OF TOWNHOMES
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.
UPPER PARKING LEVELS
Entrepreneur Incubator, Artificial Intelligence Lab, Learning Center, and Multifamily Mixed-Use
Client Confidential
Architect of Record Kirksey
Size
300,900 SF Total Area
Completion 2023 (Study)
This unique project is composed of two separate uses that are interwoven into one building, one half of the building is an ordinary multifamily for rent and the second half is a tech incubator learning center. They share a main pedestrian entrance with a landscaped courtyard and a structured parking garage. The business and technology incubators are for startups and early-stage ventures, the project occupies the middle ground between private ventures and academia at a state level university for higher education. The site selected for this project is a corner lot the faces a major vehicular axis points for a college campus, as such this main corner of the site is an ideal location and focal point for a main pedestrian entry. The main path leads to the Center’s main entrance that’s located under a flashy projecting architectural cantilevered element that houses the main classroom with theater seating on the second level. The Incubator features a makerspace, exhibition area, assembly and dining hall with exhibition kitchens, leasable offices, café, market, meeting areas, exhibition areas, and an abundance of open collaborative spaces that are both in the interior and on exterior terraces. Cascading from the upper floors is a series of decorative stairs that link the program together through a light filled atrium.
The residential portion of the project has its own courtyard amenity, lobby, and pool area. At 4 levels the units partially wrap the garage. A curvilinear mass sweeps across the site and joins up with the Incubator, the units terminate at a bridging feature and paseo near the main entrance of the Incubator.
In a later iteration the residential program was substituted with an artificial intelligence lab space. An additional floor was added to the entire project to boost the demand for more lab area. The courtyard was elongated to tie the entire project together with a pedestrian garden and landscaped path.
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Client Confidential
Size
Confidential
Completion 2024 (Study)
Due to the sensitivity of our clients’ needs, we have redacted this project’s narrative and imagery of any meaningful identifying features or descriptions.
This project originated from the need to increase the number of conference rooms and create a new ballroom for our corporate office client. The expansion had to be seamlessly integrated with their existing office tower, ensuring no disruptions to current structures or functions. The solution involved a three-story glass building, connected by a pedestrian bridge, serving as an extension. To minimize its footprint and connect at the most functional elevation for the office tenant, the conferencing area was placed on level 2, and the ballroom on level 3. The ground level, with a reduced footprint, is recessed inward, creating the effect of the upper two levels floating. The ballroom required a large, column-free space, and because it is used sparingly throughout the year, the client opted to convert it into a basketball court, allowing for dual functionality and an expansion of their fitness offerings.
As a highly visible building, situated in the foreground to their existing operations, the design matured into a floating glass jewel box. After a rigorous study of options that ranged in sculptural form, cost, and architectural expression we settled on the design being dominantly depicted in the rendered imagery. Most notably the design can be broken down into 3 primary features, a curved sawtooth floating roof, exposed structural array of Y-shape steel columns and GLU-LAM beams, and the glass box. This esthetic speaks to the engineer, it is clean and precise, mathematically driven.
The glass box is clad in a VS1 glazing system with an innovative vertical structural mullion, allowing for long spans and height. The mullions will be an integral part of the design acting as fins and providing some beneficial solar shading. The interior
of the glazing system is free of mullions and caps, flipping the traditional curtainwall inside-out.
The exposed structure of the building is celebrated and displayed as a key feature of the building design. The Y-shaped columns, when viewed as a system, create the effect of the roof floating and extending far beyond the perimeter of the glass box, imparting a sense of lightness. The overhanging roof is dramatic, and the exposed GLU-LAM beams accentuate this esthetic. The roof sails outward to provide well needed shade and solar protection for the building. A total of 18 cast steel Y-shape structural columns line the outer perimeter of the building, 9 on each side of the glass box. These Y-shape columns catch a total of 10 Premium Grade GLU-LAM arched beams that span across the width of the building. The sculptural nature of the Y-shape columns necessitates the use of cast steel connections and members, in order to achieve the highest degree of precision and intended look. The crosssectional shape of the columns tapers towards its end points and to each intersection to give a sense of precision and visual acuity.
The roof design and form deviates from the repetitiveness and is sculpted cap or shell, the north facing skylights are curvilinear and gill like, splashing filtered natural light in the ballroom below. The overall shape can best be described as a barrel vault, with a series of 4 clerestory windows favoring the northern side of the building. The roofing material is a zinc flat lock tile system in a classic light grey finish. This roofing system has a scale-like appearance with rhombus tiles that interlock.
A new bridge will link the Pavilion to the existing tower, the air-conditioned bridge connects its office users to the building in a controlled secure manner. Ironically, the main entrance to the project is at this upper level, while the ground-level entrance
serves as a secondary access point and is seldom used. Crossing the bridge leads to the elevator lobby and pre-function space. Adjacent is double-height interior atrium space that connects levels 2 and 3 at the south side of the building. A monumental stair connects the two levels and runs along the glass. The core is clad in stone veneer and is free standing, the core becomes exposed at the ground level due to the heavy recesses and contraction of the plan at that level.
The acoustic mitigation of the noise generated from the basketball court posed a highly technical and rigorous design challenge. To dappen the impact noise to the conference rooms below on the second level, a double slab condition is being proposed on the third floor.
Client Hines
Rays
Architect of Record
House Robertson Architects
Interior Architecture
Munoz + Albin
Size
654,500 SF
Residential Units: 330
Retail: 41,500 SF
Completion 2024 Study
The Historic Gas Plant District in St Petersburg is an 86-acre mixed-use development that is centered around the Rays Ballpark. Block D is part of the initial phase of this grand project. The master plan is a balanced mix of retail, residential, hotel and conference space, office space, recreation, open space, and entertainment. The master plan’s primary ambition is to layer these uses together to create a dynamic neighborhood, where the various functions play off each other. Street activation and public realm design is a key focus, the pedestrian centric experience at the ground level required careful consideration and reflection.
The block that we studied is large enough to include a 2-tower configuration. The large lot has ample ground floor space for retail, many levels of podium parking, and deck level amenities. After considering cost and market forces we elected to develop an option that has one tower paired with a mid-rise L-shape building. We were able to meet the 330-unit program, parking requirements, service requirements, and retail needs. Placing the tower at the corner of the block closest to the center of the master plan was a natural choice, its location provided the best views and solar exposure for its units. The bustle of the main lobby at the corner brings vitality and life to this side of the block. Adjacent to the lobby retail continues down the block.
The design of our building was influenced by the geometries and octagonal shapes seen in the tiered ballpark design. The tower steps back with garden terraces and the faces are angled in various directions for a dramatic stacking effect that is both layered and offset. The midrise section and podium follow this visual effect for a cohesive and unifying esthetic.
Client DART Interests
Interior Architecture
Munoz + Albin
Size
Residential Units
Luxury: 173
Market: 382
Hotel: 120 keys
Coworking: 30,000 SF
Retail: 10,000 SF
Completion 2024 Study
Geographically Salt Lake City in located in the high plains of Utah near the large brine lake that the city gets its name. The city is in close proximity to the Wasche mountains, forming a crescent around the city, making for a breathtaking backdrop and skiing destination that is easy and convenient for its inhabitants. The city has experienced a lot of growth in the post pandemic years because it’s a great place to live and work yet feels comfortable and charming. The project aims to ride this surge in Salt Lake City’s popularity and combines many use types into a combination tower project. The program includes a 120-key hotel, 388 unit market rate multifamily, 168 unit luxury multifamily, co-working office space, retail, conferencing, and parking garage. The site is a corner lot and occupies a quadrant of SLC’s jumbo sized city blocks. Two office towers in nearby properties made the site a challenge to contend with because they obscured critical views of the mountains in multiple directions. After a comprehensive study of massing options and building placement exercises, we proposed T-shaped configuration, allocating the luxury units to the highest point in the bar tower. As it provided us with the best positioning of critical program elements at the ground level and amenities like pools and decks in the upper levels. Our proposal places the various program elements in a natural way and prioritizes view corridors accordingly.
The public realm and arrival experience at the ground level was a crucial focus for us. The lobbies of the hotel and the multifamily merge together and flow towards outdoor patios and interplay with street activity. Retail flows out of this arrangement to continue the movement and intensity down the block. The finishes, furniture, window treatments, lighting, architectural detailing are tactile and welcoming. By overlapping uses and keeping spaces open to each other there is a sense of
transparency that makes the tight floor area feel larger.
All vehicular arrival is located mid-block in an open air thoroughfare, its proximity to the lobbies is practical and consolidated. Even though this pass-through road is dedicated to the car where valets and offloading occurs we tried to maintain a visual appeal by softening up the space with landscape, perforated metals, and decorative lighting.
Client Confidential
Architect of Record
House Robertson Architects
Size
Residential Units: 768
Retail: 107,900 SF
Completion
2027 Estimated
This project is the first phase of a large master plan. The entitlement process and rezoning effort has taken years to achieve, both complicated and a numbers driven endeavor. Political forces at the State and City level are actively involved and meeting all the stakeholders’ needs is paramount. Tracking the areas, parking counts, retail quantities, and unit counts has been a central focus of our efforts. Just as important as the design of the buildings, these figures need to be constantly compared against projections and the entitled amounts. We leveraged BIM modeling to semi-automate the information resulting in a rapid way, allowing for bi-weekly confirmations.
Our part in this project is the initial 3-building phase comprised of two multifamily blocks (B1 & B2) and one Below Market Rate, BMR (B5) block. The three blocks work together to for an L-shape coveting a future park space in its center.
Each block is intentionally distinctive with its architectural esthetic, as if each building was built by different architects. We hope this approach will make it feel like the buildings were part of a natural urban growth pattern and not an ‘instant city’.
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235 W. 25th Street Houston, Texas 77008
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