Discovery Green returns 12 acres of mostly paved lots to a natural green space in the heart of downtown Houston. A core of outdoor activity near the convention center, ballpark and arena, the park also provides a central focus for new development. Larry Speck led the design of the park’s architecture, creating a model of sustainability. Two restaurants and a park administration building feature deep porches and roofs that pitch to the north, providing shade and balanced daylight and drawing warm air up and out. Optimal solar orientation, green roofs, photovoltaic arrays and the use of local and renewable materials further contribute to the project’s Gold LEED certification. Hargreaves Associates Landscape Architects designed Discovery Green led the park design in association with PageSoutherlandPage. Other architectural elements include an underground garage for 600 vehicles, a bandstand, a children’s performance space and various shade structures.

The expansion of the Christ Church Cathedral campus solidifies the congregation’s vision as the “church for downtown” while responding to its neighborhood. Four diverse program elements are carefully arranged on a full city block adjacent to the historic sanctuary. Central offices for the the Bishop and Diocese occupy an elegant, glass, two-story building enclosed in wood trellises. A quarter-block park creates a significant open space on prominent Texas Avenue. A 350-car parking facility integrates into a downtown area poorly served by garages. And, perhaps most fundamentally, the project establishes a home for the Cathedral’s expanding outreach programs, including critically needed facilities for the homeless. The new campus creates strong street spaces and well defined zones for a complex range of activities. Local materials, extensive sun shading and daylighting contribute to a strong sustainability program. Larry Speck led the project’s design within the Leo A Daly/LAN + PageSoutherlandPage Joint Venture.

In the Austin Convention Center’s 400,000-square-foot expansion, reception halls, meeting rooms, pre-function spaces and circulation towers are expressed as individual elements joined by entries, porches and terraces. The design creates an appropriate scale along pedestrian-oriented street, with larger volumes of the exhibition halls and ballrooms tucked behind. The various concourses culminate in an elegant corner pavilion that is the new “front door” for the facility. Its impeccably detailed curtain wall integrates an innovative approach to structure with careful attention to sun control and natural ventilation. The pavilion’s tour de force is a large glass screen wall with photovoltaic panels on the west face, the product of a collaboration between lead designer Larry Speck and sculptor Jamie Carpenter.

Local materials and iconography, a sense of openness, and a relaxed, informal character embrace Austin’s unique culture and heritage at the Barbara Jordan Passenger Terminal. The crescent-shaped terminal organization is simple and direct, providing easy orientation and minimal walking distance from curbside to gate. The plan maximizes visibility for concessions by creating a large central marketplace with a live music stage. From this central space, the building opens to the apron, planes, runways as well as the countryside and big Texas skies beyond, joining this city’s love of the outdoors with a connection to flight. Larry Speck served as lead designer for the 660,000 square foot terminal; the project was a joint venture between PageSoutherlandPage, Gensler, and several other firms.

The Austin Convention Center integrates harmoniously into the fabric of the city. Building circulation and smaller-scaled programmatic elements surround the large exhibition spaces, enlivening the streetscape. Lobbies, meeting rooms and pre-function spaces are designed individually with scale, proportion, color, material and character representative of the city and region. Green design figures prominently in the 410,000 square foot complex, through the use of local materials, extensive daylighting, careful zoning of energy consumption, a thermal storage system, a large solar panel array and highly efficient multiple switching fixtures. Larry Speck was lead designer for a joint venture including PageSoutherlandPage and other firms.

Umlauf Sculpture Garden features the work of American sculptor Charles Umlauf in a naturally landscaped garden at the edge of Zilker Park.  Larry Speck designed the museum and visitors center, which contribute to a beloved, public gathering space in the heart of Austin.  The building expression is quiet and understated.  A long, thin, stone structure houses visitor support functions, creating a dramatic gateway that buffers the gardens from the street and parking area.  A larger open-frame volume contains indoor and outdoor gallery spaces; its generous porch opens to a terrace and to the broad expanse of gardens.  All the spaces are well-lit by exposures to north light.  A concise material palette includes native limestone walls, a naturally finished wood frame, brick floor pavers and a galvanized metal gabled roof.