Higher Education
40
+
Years of Design Established in 1982
Architecture Driven by Community.
8
Primary Markets Transit • Civic • Non-Profit • Aviation • Education • Housing • Commercial • Operations & Maintenance
HUB DBE • MBE METRO SBE State & Municipal Certifications
TSA & AIA FIRM OF THE YEAR
RDLR is Recognized as a 2023 Outstanding Diverse Organization by HBJ.
About RDLR TRANSIT
E D U C AT I O N
CIVIC
COMMUNITY
HOUSING
AV I AT I O N
COMMERCIAL
O P E R AT I O N S & MAINTENANCE
Founded in 1982, Rey de la Reza Architects, Inc. (RDLR) is recognized throughout Texas as a community-driven architectural firm providing design excellence and outstanding project management services in the Houston area. With a 40-year history, the firm has been involved in the design of a variety of transit, commercial, educational, urban design, residential, and renovation projects and continues to provide exceptional service to public entities including: City of Houston, Fort Bend County, Houston Airport System, METRO, HCTRA, The Harris Center, numerous ISD’s, GSA, USPS and TxDOT. Our firm is certified MBE and Texas HUB. RDLR believes in community driven architecture. Capital investments should respond to user needs as well as benefit the overall community. RDLR looks beyond project limits to seek opportunities to enhance the public realm and create places for communities. We believe that good design is not contingent upon the schedule or budget but rather the result of an inclusive design process that includes stakeholders, community leaders and design and construction professionals. Successful projects reflect
cultural influences and are contextually sensitive. They are sustainable developments which are cost effective to maintain and operate. Strong design solutions are the result of a collaborative, interactive process led by the design team that involves all stakeholders including users, community residents, transit agencies and specialty consultants. We are well versed at techniques for generating ideas in various settings. Careful attention is given to achieving a balance between building, surroundings, landscape, and site-specific issues. Through an inclusive process, we involve active participants, first in the programming sessions, and later in design workshops. This results in an accelerated design process, where concrete design ideas are generated respecting the programmatic and budgetary constraints. The process creates client/user consensus at an early stage in the project. Another benefit of this process is the creation of effective communications avenues among the participants.
40+ Design Awards
30
+
Years in Education
100
+
Higher Education Projects
Higher Education Design
Design has the ability to transform the way our next generation of leaders are educated for a promising future. Tomorrow’s leaders need interpersonal and self-directed skills. We use design as the medium and technology as the means for building healthier relationships within learning communities. RDLR utilizes both indoor and outdoor spaces where informal learning can occur beyond the classroom. Our firm also recognize that schools are integral to communities. They are hubs providing before and after class learning, health care, social support, athletic and cultural and events and even serving as voting polls. Schools are where neighborhood and family ties are made. Our designs find ways to engage the community through open use of shared facilities, cultural and historical references and physical links to neighborhoods.
HIGHER EDUCATION HCCS Stafford Workforce Building HCCS SE Learning Center HCCS Facility Master Plan HCCS Felix Fraga Building HCCS IDIQ Contract – 30+ Assignments HCCS ADA Compliance - 37 Buildings HCCS Digital Literacy Projects – 9 Locations HCCS Faculty Studios – 12 Locations Lone Star College System - IDIQ Contract - 30+ Projects Lone Star College System - North Montgomery EOC St. Edwards Dormitory Study TAMU Wellborn Underpass TSU Fairchild Building Renovations TSU University Museum TSU Lanier Dormitory TSU / HISD Laboratory UHD Campus Development Plan UHD Master Plan UHD Student Life Building (w/SHW) UHD Classroom Student Services Building (w/ PGAL) UHD Welcome Center Addition & Renovation (w/ PGAL) UH Fine Art Building Renovations UH O’Quinn Law Center Entry UH Moores Dept. Renovations UHCL BAHEP Building UH Graduate College of Social Work
RDLR is an awardwinning Houston architectural firm with a history of successful education projects throughout greater Houston. RDLR focuses on creating inspired work that is realistic to implement technically, financially, and socially.
HIG H P ER F OR M A N C E LE AR NI NG E N V I R O N M E N T S
High performance academic spaces respond to a variety of learning styles and consider indoor environmental issues. Today’s academic spaces accommodate flexible furniture arrangements, lighting, and teaching technologies. Healthy indoor environments with natural light, individual climate control, and high air quality are critical to successful learning spaces. Learning also extends outside the classroom. Current and future generation students are multi-task focused, interactive and flexible. Learning is based on multiple media technologies. Social networks, virtual learning, blogs and other internet based communication tools are profoundly affecting the way students learn. As a result our designs reflect informal learning spaces with social settings that promote group interactions.
We seek opportunities to create places for informal collaborative learning.
Promote Positive Change
The Graduate College of Social Work at University of Houston is an epicenter of conversations reimagining social, racial, economic, and political justice, both locally and globally. Due to the growing program, RDLR Architects designed a terraced Lobby Pavilion addition to the existing 4-story building and designed recirculation of the first floor to accommodate the new entry.
UH GRADUATE COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK Houston, Texas
CLIENT
The University of Houston
Real World Training
The College of the Mainland Public Safety Careers Program has outgrown its current facility and requires a new site to house the ongoing growth and success of the curriculum. The College houses four programs: Fire Protection Technology, Emergency Medical Services, Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice. These programs often utilize an untraditional, hands-on approach to learning and require specialized equipment and training spaces.
COLLEGE OF THE MAINLAND PUBLIC SAFETY CAREERS BUILDING Webster, Texas
CLIENT
College of the Mainland
C A M P US D E S I G N
Define Campus Edges: consider signage, vegetation, ring roads, and entry elements to define your campus. RDLR seeks opportunities to establish hierarchy, campus definition and enrichment to create a Sense of Place. Promote Neighborhoods: consider linking academic and student life clusters with pedestrian connectors. Provide activity nodes within the
RDLR integrates master planning, architectural design and interior design to deliver a seamless solution. Our experience as architects and educators has helped us develop the following guiding principles in the design of educational campuses and buildings.
connectors to promote student life and activity. Design Places Not Spaces: Buildings are tools to create and define exterior spaces, courtyards, greens, quadrangles. Exterior elements create the campus. Use Appropriate Scale: Design buildings that are appropriately sized with their surroundings. Use Appropriate Style and Materials: New facilities should build on existing campus vocabulary. Encourage Walkable Environments: Carefully consider vehicular traffic patterns and parking to avoid conflicts with pedestrians and isolation within the campus. Make Campus Safety Integral to Design: Create defendable spaces that are observed by the public; integrate to campus emergency response systems. Consider emergency response during construction phase. Consider the 24/7 Campus: Today’s students work and socialize around the clock. The 24-hour environment requires buildings to be more flexible, multi-functional and have access to technology and amenities. Promote Sustainable Design: Universities have a unique opportunity to teach through their actions. By implementing sustainable design strategies in their capital improvements institutions educate the public on responsible development while responding to long term fiscal concerns.
Student Service Consolidation
The 91,000 sf Learning Hub consolidates a number of students services and support functions, including College administration, student registration, admissions, financial aid, student life and activities, multipurpose meeting facilities, workforce seminar rooms, and the college library.
HCC SOUTHEAST LEARNING HUB Houston, Texas
CLIENT Houston Community College
Digital Learning Experience
COVID-19 led to unprecedented disruptions for HCCS students. Though on-line learning became the norm, many students lacked the technology and/or knowledge of digital learning. To meet the needs of these students, HCCS is investing in the design and construction of (9) new Digital Literacy Centers and (12) new Faculty Studios throughout the HCCS campuses. These new resource centers will provide students with technology, staff support, tutoring and opportunities for small group learning.
HCC DIGITAL DIVIDE CENTERS & FACULTY STUDIOS Houston, Texas
CLIENT
Houston Community College
AC A D EMI C H U B S
Educational facilities function as more than learning environments. Academic campuses increasingly act as social communities, research engines and economic drivers. These facilities must serve as vibrant hubs to support their community whether in workforce training or research. We understand these challenges. Whether developing a master plan or programming to the latest technology, a design process is used that encourages the involvement of team members to envision the most successful environments and strive for them. Our multidisciplinary team will assist with your challenges through in depth programming, site appropriate design, inviting and comfortable interiors, integration of stateof-the-art technology and development of environmentally responsible designs.
Support Workforce Training
The design reflects the industrial nature of this technical training in form and materiality. Significant design considerations include collaborative learning spaces and generous amounts of natural lighting to aid student performance.
HCC STAFFORD WORKFORCE BUILDING Houston, Texas
CLIENT Houston Community College System
TRA NS F O R M AT I O N THR O UG H RENO VATI ON S
RDLR has extensive experience i n renovation projects with numerous renovations to buildings for schools, colleges and universities. Often, renovations and repairs present the most challenging technical problems and require creative problem solving. RDLR’S approach to repairs is one of search and resolve. RDLR has a substantial track record of successful renovation and alteration projects. We approach building renovations as an opportunity to take advantage of design elements within the existing structure that are often hidden or under-utilized.
Campus Transformation
Lone Star College (LSC) purchased a 25-year-old corporate campus (Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett Packard) in fall of 2009 to serve as the LSC-University Park (LSC-UP) Campus. Through on-call contracts, RDLR has been assisting the new campus steadily transform from business to educational use while updating inefficient building systems as budgets allow.
LONE STAR COLLEGE SYSTEM Houston, Texas
CLIENT
Lone Star College System - University Park
800 Sampson Street #104 Houston, Texas 77003 | tel 713.868.3121 | www.rdlr.com