Houston Endowment International Design Competition 2019 Winner, Texas Architecture Contest News

Houston Endowment International Design Competition 2019

American Architectural Contest Winner + Shortlist – New Texan Built Environment, USA

Nov 8 & 7, 2019

Malcolm Reading Consultants – Houston Endowment International Design Competition Winner

Congratulations to Kevin Daly Architects and PRODUCTORA for winning the Houston Endowment Headquarters International Design Competition.

Winning design by KDA Architects:

image © KDA Architects

Leading philanthropy Houston Endowment and competition organizers Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) 7 November 2019 announced that the team led by Kevin Daly Architects (KDA) with Mexico City-based PRODUCTORA, in collaboration with TLS Landscape Architecture, has won the international competition to design the new Houston Endowment Headquarters.

Houston Endowment New Headquarters Design Competition Winner

The new Headquarters will enable Houston Endowment, one of the largest private foundations in Texas, to relocate from its current offices in the city’s business district and embed itself within the community. The initiative will give the philanthropy a more accessible, welcoming base from which to work, bringing people from public, private, non-profit and philanthropic sectors together. The foundation’s aims are to best meet the needs of the community and achieve lasting positive change for the greater Houston region.

Winning team at Kevin Daly Architects (KDA), left to right – Kevin Daly and Gretchen Stoecker of KDA; Wonne Ickx of Productora; and Pablo Alfaro of TLS Landscape Architecture:

image © Malcolm Reading Consultants

The distinguished Selection Committee (identified below) was unanimous in the choice of the winning team, which beat 120 others in the course of the two-stage competition to secure the commission for this US$20 million fast-track project, due to open in 2022.

The winning design concept envisages an airy, elegant superstructure generously shaded by a large canopy within a grove of oak trees. The proposal is strongly connected to the site and context: the landscape and history of Spotts Park. In KDA’s words, the new building, which is attuned to Houston’s demanding climate, is intended to be ‘as welcoming as the shadow beneath a tree’.

image © KDA Architects

The intricate lattice of the roof canopy — the design’s ‘fifth elevation’ — will offer a sense of shelter to both the organization and the local community, whilst practically maximizing use of daylight within the building and minimizing solar gain.

Interior spaces are conceived within public and private zones and are highly flexible, linked to the park through a series of exterior terraces, shaded by awnings. The design is intended to promote healthy working and offers welcoming engagement spaces that provide for convening and collaborating with the community.

The winning team will now work with the client and stakeholders to develop this initial design concept. Longer term, they may work with the Endowment to consult with the local community and the city authorities on improvements to Spotts Park, including the planting of new trees.

image © KDA Architects

Joseph C. Dilg, Board Member, Houston Endowment and Selection Committee Chair, said

‘We were pleased with the world-wide interest in the competition. The four finalists excelled in producing highly accomplished concept designs. The Committee was very impressed by each of the four submissions and our challenge was to identify the very best of the best.

‘We were unanimously persuaded by the KDA team’s beautiful, dynamic design that promises to be a significant addition to Houston’s wonderful architecture collection, without being monumental. And, while this design is contemporary both in its approach to work spaces and sustainability, it contains a memory too – with its slender rhythmic columns it echoes the iconic Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, named after the Endowment’s founder.’

Ann Stern, President and CEO, Houston Endowment, said:

‘We are thrilled with the design and the team – this is a hugely energizing moment for Houston Endowment. The new building will help us reach out to new audiences and better communicate the work we do everyday with our community partners. We are excited this effort is publicly underway.

‘Our community partners tell us that Houston Endowment is a grounding force in an ever-changing dynamic city. We see our move from the 64th floor in downtown Houston to this new home as a manifestation of this wonderful compliment.

‘We wanted to bring outstanding architecture to Houston to complement Houston’s notable architectural wonders, and this design successfully communicates openness and transparency while also providing a tranquil and inviting presence.

‘The winning team had a strong sense of Houston’s DNA – Kevin Daly, the team leader, studied at Rice University and is licensed in Texas. We very much look forward to working with them.’

Malcolm Reading, Competition Director, said:

‘This design is reminiscent of Houston’s architectural exemplars: the ice houses, the Menil Collection and parts of Rice University campus – where a building mediates between the outside landscape and the interior experience. The team seized the opportunity to create a building that allows users to engage with the park for much of the year.’

Kevin Daly Architects is an award-winning Los Angeles-based practice that interweaves technological innovation with new approaches to sustainability and urbanism to produce environmentally and socially responsive architecture. Recent projects include the UCLA Ostin Music Building, the Backyard BI(h)OME and the Berkeley Global Campus.

KDA leads a collaborative team alongside PRODUCTORA, including TLS Landscape Architecture, Arup, Transsolar, and Houston-based Kirksey Architecture.

image © KDA Architects

Kevin Daly, Principal, Kevin Daly Architects, said:

‘We are really honored to be chosen for this project. Houston Endowment is fundamentally about helping to define and build toward Houston’s future. We were challenged to capture that mission in the design of this project through resilience and energy conservation.

‘The living canopy of Houston was a huge influence on the team: the tradition of buildings that balance the being “a part of” and “apart from’ the living landscape of the city was inspiring. We wanted to establish a continuity between the park setting and the vocabulary of the building.

‘With our collaborators at PRODUCTORA in Mexico City, we wanted to focus on fundamental building elements: the loggia, veranda, the canopy and the screen. These work together in a climate like Houston’s to create openness and accessibility while balancing the effects of the environment.’

The full Selection Committee was chaired by Joseph C. Dilg, Board Member, Houston Endowment and included Jesse H. Jones II, Chair, Houston Endowment Board; Guy Hagstette, Vice President of Parks and Civic Projects, Kinder Foundation; Ann Stern, President and CEO, Houston Endowment; Tom Forney, President and CEO, Forney Construction; Alex Washburn, Principal, DRAW Brooklyn; Meejin Yoon, Dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Cornell University and Principal, Höweler and Yoon Architecture; and Malcolm Reading, Competition Director.

The three other shortlisted teams were led by US practices, Deborah Berke Partners, Olson Kundig and Schaum/Shieh Architects. The Selection Committee praised all the finalists for their hard work and commitment and awarded Olson Kundig an honorable mention.

The first stage of the competition, which launched in June 2019, attracted submissions from 121 teams comprising 354 individual firms from 22 countries. Collaborations between established and emerging talent and strong partnerships between architects and landscape architects were encouraged.

Four finalist teams were shortlisted in August 2019. They were asked to submit concept designs for the new 40,000 sq ft Headquarters building, which will be the organization’s new public face and will provide dedicated space for its team and community partners, including healthy workspaces, accessible and inspiring meeting spaces, and flexible and innovative engagement facilities. The Selection Committee interviewed the teams in late October.

An honorarium of US$50,000 will now be paid to each shortlisted team for their design work. A digital gallery of all four finalist schemes is expected to be published towards the end of the year on the competition website.

Houston Endowment would also like to express their gratitude to their supporting advisors, including the Technical Review Panel and local Architectural Advisory Group, comprising Michelle Addington, Dean of Architecture, University of Texas; Sheryl Kolasinski, Chief Operating Officer, The Houston Zoo; Michael Kubo, Assistant Professor of Architectural History, Theory, and Criticism, University of Houston; and Maria Nicanor, Executive Director, Rice Design Alliance, Rice School of Architecture.

Established in 1937, Houston Endowment is a leader in Houston’s philanthropic sphere. The foundation works to support under-resourced communities in the greater Houston area, and in 2018 provided funding of c. US$75 million to over 200 organizations in the education, healthcare, immigration, environmental and arts fields.

About Kevin Daly Architects

Kevin Daly Architects with PRODUCTORA, TLS Landscape Architecture, Arup and Transsolar (and Houston-based Kirksey Architecture)

Aug 6, 2019

Houston Endowment New Headquarters Design Competition Shortlist

Houston Endowment New Headquarters Design Competition Site in Spotts Park:

Photos © MRC / Urban Tripod

Malcolm Reading Consultants Houston Endowment International Design Competition Shortlist

• Four teams chosen to create concept designs for a new headquarters for US philanthropic organization

• Competition attracts Expressions of Interest from 121 teams comprising 354 individual firms
Houston Endowment (HE), a philanthropic organization based in Houston, Texas, U.S., and design competition organizers Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) today (6 August 2019) announced the shortlist for the Houston Endowment Headquarters International Design Competition.

The first stage of the competition, which launched in June 2019, attracted 121 team submissions comprising 354 individual firms.

The four finalist teams are (in alphabetical order by team lead):

• Deborah Berke Partners with DAVID RUBIN Land Collective and Atelier Ten
• Kevin Daly Architects with TLS Landscape Architecture, Productora and Transsolar
• Olson Kundig with Surfacedesign, Inc
• Schaum/Shieh Architects with HKS and Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture

Collaborations between established and emerging talent and strong partnerships between architects and landscape architects were encouraged. Stage one criteria included a demonstration of qualifications: details of the proposed team; examples of relevant experience; and an initial approach to the project. The finalists were selected by a Shortlisting Panel, which included the client, senior client representatives and advisors, and MRC.

Top row, left to right: team led by Deborah Berke Partners; team led by Kevin Daly Architects.
Bottom row, left to right: team led by Olson Kundig; team led by Schaum/Shieh Architects.

Images are courtesy of the respective teams.

The initiative, on a site adjoining Spotts Park near downtown Houston, will embed Houston Endowment in the community and strengthen its work bringing people together from public, private, non-profit and philanthropic sectors to achieve lasting, positive change for low-income and under-served sections of the local population, and to enhance the vibrancy of the greater Houston region.

Ann Stern, President and CEO, Houston Endowment, said:
“We were thrilled with the response to our competition. We want to thank all the applicants for the effort put into their submissions; it was a privilege to see so much talent and vision. We look forward to selecting a winner later this year to help us bring more great architecture to Houston and give us a headquarters that better supports the foundation in pursuit of our mission.”

Malcolm Reading, Competition Director, said:
“We had an outstanding response to our call for interest and the project’s special combination of workplace, community engagement, landscape and placemaking drew out many innovative, talented teams.

“However, the final four demonstrated in their submissions the strongest mix of skills, know-how and understanding of the ambitions of the project outcomes.

“It has been a special pleasure working in Houston; the client is determined that design excellence will bring multiple benefits to the organization’s work and reach. The city’s pedigree in outstanding modern buildings is a tough benchmark, but we expect these teams to come up with something inspirational.”

The headquarters, 40,000 square feet in size, will be the organization’s new public face and will provide dedicated space for its team and community partners, including healthy workspaces, accessible and inspiring meeting spaces, and flexible and innovative engagement facilities.

The finalist teams will attend a site visit in Houston and receive a detailed briefing in mid-August. All teams will be required to include an architect registered in the state of Texas as part of their team at Stage Two.

They will have 10 weeks to create a concept design before the Selection Committee meets to interview them. The Selection Committee includes Jesse H. Jones II, chair, Houston Endowment Board; Guy Hagstette, vice president of parks and civic projects, Kinder Foundation; Joseph C.
Dilg, board member, Houston Endowment; Ann Stern, president and CEO, Houston Endowment; Tom Forney, president and CEO, Forney Construction; and Malcolm Reading, competition director. Two further additional members will be announced on the competition website in the coming weeks.

It is intended that the project, which has a construction value of US$20 million (excluding FF&E), will connect strongly with the wider landscape and park.

The funding for the project has been secured, along with the site, and the project has a fast-track timetable – the finished building is due to open in May 2022.

An honorarium of US$50,000 will be paid to each shortlisted team for their design work when the competition concludes with the selection of the winner.

The winner announcement is expected in November 2019.

For further updates on the competition, please visit the competition website at: competitions.malcolmreading.com/houstonendowment.

Houston Endowment New Headquarters Design Competition Shortlisted Architects

About the Shortlisted Teams

• Deborah Berke Partners with DAVID RUBIN Land Collective and Atelier Ten

Team led by Deborah Berke Partners

Deborah Berke:

Ameet Hiremath:

Renee Vanegas:

photo courtesy of Deborah Berke Partners

Deborah Berke Partners is an award-winning, New York City-based architecture firm, founded in 1982 by Deborah Berke, the Dean of the Yale School of Architecture. Known for its modern, true-to-place design, Deborah Berke Partners’ most significant projects include the Cummins Indy Distribution Headquarters in Indianapolis, the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia, the 122 Community Arts Center in New York City, The Women’s Building in New York City, and the New Residential Colleges at Princeton University. In 2017, the firm was honored with the National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

David Rubin:

photo courtesy of DAVID RUBIN Land Collective

DAVID RUBIN Land Collective is a landscape architecture and urban design studio committed to practicing with an emphasis on socially-purposeful design strategies. Their notable projects include the new urban park at the Cummins Indy Distribution Headquarters in Indianapolis, Franklin Park in Washington D.C., and Envision Columbus: Downtown Strategic Development Plan in Columbus, Indiana.
dberke.com

• Kevin Daly Architects with TLS Landscape Architecture, Productora and Transsolar

Team led by Kevin Daly Architects

Kevin Daly:

photo courtesy of Kevin Daly Architects

Tom Leader:

photo courtesy of TLS Landscape Architecture

Wonne Ickx, Productora:

photo courtesy of Productora

Thomas Auer, Transsolar:

photo courtesy of Transsolar

Kevin Daly Architects (KDA), recognized for their environmentally and socially responsive educational, residential, and institutional projects, brings together landscape architect TLS Landscape Architecture (TLS), Mexico City-based Productora, and climate responsive building design expert Thomas Auer of Transsolar for this endeavor. The team’s collective expertise in the design of community centers, civic parks, socially significant urban structures, and environmentally responsive buildings provides a solid foundation for the development of contemporary urban design solutions.

Recent projects by KDA include the UCLA Ostin Basketball Center, Broadway Affordable Housing and, with TLS, Housing Northwest Arkansas. Productora is known for the design of the Teopanzolco Cultural Center in Cuernavaca and the Teotitlan del Valle Community Center in Oaxaca. TLS recently completed the Railroad Park in Birmingham, Alabama and the first phase of the Boulder Civic Area.
kevindalyarchitects.com

• Olson Kundig with Surfacedesign, Inc

Team led by Olson Kundig

Tom Kundig:

photo courtesy of Olson Kundig

Kirsten Murray:

photo courtesy of Olson Kundig

Roderick Wyllie, Surface Design:

photo courtesy of Surface Design

James Lord, Surface Design:

photo courtesy of Surface Design

Now in its sixth decade of practice, Olson Kundig is a collaborative global design practice whose work includes cultural and museum projects, exhibition design, commercial and mixed-use design, private and multi-family residential, hospitality projects, places of worship, interior design, product design and landscape design for clients around the world. The firm’s design approach is grounded in the belief that buildings can act as bridges between culture, nature and people, and that inspiring surroundings can positively affect every aspect of our daily lives.

Olson Kundig is led by five owners — Jim Olson, Tom Kundig, Kirsten R. Murray, Alan Maskin and Kevin M. Kudo-King — who have been honored with some of the nation’s highest design awards, including a National Design Award in Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and an Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
olsonkundig.com

• Schaum/Shieh Architects with HKS and Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture

Team led by Schaum/Shieh Architects

Troy Schaum, Schaum/Shieh Architects:

photo courtesy of Schaum/Shieh Architects

Rosalyne Shieh, Schaum/Shieh Architects:

photo courtesy of Schaum/Shieh Architects

Andrea Cochran, Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture:

photo courtesy of Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture

Doug Childers, HKS:

photo courtesy of HKS

Houston-based architects Schaum/Shieh and HKS and San Francisco-based Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture (ACLA) are internationally recognized practices with a commitment to understanding the needs of our community as collections of citizens and unique ecologies.

Schaum/Shieh is known for its award-winning work for the Judd Foundation, Chinati Foundation, White Oak Music Hall and Transart House, named by Architect’s Newspaper as the best building of 2018. Schaum/Shieh, the recipient of several AIA Honor Awards, was also a winner of the 2016 New Practices New York from the AIA, and named one of the 2019 Emerging Voices by the Architectural League.

HKS’s work includes notable projects for MD Anderson Cancer Center, Hines, Rice University and IAH Airport, among others. ACLA projects, most importantly their affordable housing work, have been recognized internationally and honored with awards from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and a National American Society of Landscape Architects Design Medal.
schaumshieh.com

Previously on e-architect:

June 13, 2019

Houston Endowment New Headquarters Design Competition News

Malcolm Reading Consultants Houston Endowment International Design Competition

HOUSTON ENDOWMENT HEADQUARTERS INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION LAUNCHES

Competition welcomes international, emerging and diverse teams
New, circa 40,000 sq ft, building will embed leading philanthropic organization in the community, providing a perpetual philanthropic organization with a permanent home as well as extra facilities, reach and presence
No design required at first stage − architect-led teams asked to submit details of team, experience, and approach

Four or more finalist teams to receive US$50,000 honorarium for concept designs at stage two
Deadline for first stage responses is: 10:00 CDT / 16:00 GMT +1 Monday 15 July 2019

Houston Endowment (HE), a leading philanthropic organization based in Houston, Texas, U.S., and design competition organizers, Malcolm Reading Consultants, today (13 June 2019) launched the global search for an outstanding design team of architects and landscape architects for the philanthropy’s new headquarters.

The initiative, on a site adjoining Spotts Park near downtown Houston, will embed Houston Endowment in the community, and strengthen its work bringing people together from public, private, non-profit and philanthropic sectors to achieve lasting positive change for low-income and under-served sections of the local population.

The center, circa 40,000 square feet, will be the organization’s new public face and will provide dedicated space for its team and community partners, including healthy workspaces, accessible and inspiring meeting spaces, and flexible and innovative engagement facilities. It is intended that the project, which has a construction value of US$20 million (excluding FF&E), will connect strongly with the wider landscape and Park.

Houston Endowment New Headquarters Design Competition Buffalo Bayou:

Full details of how to enter the competition are available on the dedicated competition website at competitions.malcolmreading.com/houstonendowment/

Ann Stern, President and CEO, Houston Endowment, said:

“Through this competition, we are looking for a design team to create a new headquarters for us that reflects the way we work today. We need a visible presence that communicates our work as a thought leader and a committed, vital force within the city and region, and that is welcoming and accessible to our community partners. Equally, we need an outstanding workplace that encourages our own team to work collaboratively and effectively.

“In addition, over the past 20 years, Houston Endowment has made a significant contribution to the ‘greening’ of Houston, and this is a theme deeply woven into the project.

“This is an exciting moment for us, enabling us to establish a presence and identity at ground level in the city. It will also allow us to continue in the tradition of our founder Jesse H. Jones, who earned the nickname ‘Mr. Houston’ – in part for his contributions to building and developing our city.”

Houston Skyline:

Competition Director, Malcolm Reading, said:

“Houston is considered one of the most diverse US cities and has a fantastic ‘can-do’, pragmatic culture that brings people of all different backgrounds and outlooks together.

“We are open-minded about the architectural team we are seeking but committed to high-quality design. We would like to encourage emerging talent as well as listen to established; we welcome diversity and international designers.

“The foundation’s site near downtown Houston, adjoining a local park, needs confident architecture and placemaking that can lift the neighborhood, create a new focus and draw people in.

“Some of the most distinguished architecture in Houston − universities, museums, arts venues, and libraries − was directly funded by Houston Endowment’s founders, Jesse and Mary Gibbs Jones, and this initiative continues their work.”

Houston Endowment was established by Jesse and Mary Gibbs Jones in 1937. Jesse Jones was a successful Houston entrepreneur, real estate developer, politician and civic leader who served at the national level in several senior roles under Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt. He married Mary Gibbs, a travel and culture enthusiast educated at Methodist College in Waco, Texas – notable at a time when few women went to college. Mary Gibbs Jones was a community and cultural activist who brought opera to Houston radio, served on the general council of New York’s Metropolitan Opera and helped First Lady Mamie Eisenhower support military widows.

Houston Endowment does not actively fundraise; its funding is financed by an endowment, currently valued at US$1.8 billion.

In 2018, Houston Endowment provided funding to more than 200 organizations which totaled approximately US$75 million. These organizations included Houston in Action, Arts Connect and the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative. The foundation also helped Harris County acquire the historically and architecturally significant Riverside General Hospital, saving it from bankruptcy for future revival as a healthcare facility.

The foundation also continued to work in 2018 with organizations such as Good Reason Houston, the Houston Flood Museum, the Harris County Youth Collective, the Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium and LINK Houston (an equity-focused transportation advocacy group) – several of which it helped to create. In 2019 and 2020, HE expects to continue its significant focus on education and civic engagement.

Competition format

No design is required at the first stage – rather designers will need to study the Search Statement (available to download from the competition website) and submit their approach to the project, experience and relevant design skills through a digital form on the website.

At the second stage at least four teams will be shortlisted, and these will receive an honorarium of US$50,000 for their design work when the competition concludes with the selection of the winner.

All teams will be required to include an architect registered in the state of Texas as part of their team at Stage Two.

Full details of the competition Selection Committee, which will interview the teams and select a winner, will be announced later in the process.

The deadline for first stage responses is: 10:00 CDT / 16:00 GMT +1 Monday 15 July 2019.

The competition’s second stage will start in early August; the winner announcement is expected in November.

Previously on e-architect:

May 17, 2019

Houston Endowment International Design Competition

new headquarters for Houston Endowment

About Houston Endowment

The foundation provides approximately $70 million in funding each year in order to enhance civic assets, strengthen systems that support residents, promote post-secondary success, and build a stronger region.

About Malcolm Reading Consultants

malcolmreading.com