Texas Woman's University Builds

Location and Design Make New Campus Jewel of Med Center

by Jennifer Brenner Andrade

Comprising an entire city block, the 10-story, Texas Woman’s University, Institute of Health Sciences, Houston, anchors the southern entry to the Texas Medical Center. (Photo G. Lyon Photography and Kirksey.)

Location, location, location.

The administrators of Texas Woman's University couldn't help but list location as one of the top reasons to build on a primo piece of real estate in Houston's famed Texas Medical Center. Even if TWU were not planning to insert students into its 202,000-sq.-ft. Institute of Health Sciences campus, which is situated on an entire city block along Main and Fannin streets in the Medical Center, the marketing value alone of its marquee location might have warranted constructing an edifice.

Set to complete in July, the nearly $29 million project will include a laboratory; research and lecture facilities for nursing, physical therapy and occupational therapy students; and the administrative and common spaces necessary for a complete campus.

The 10-story, L-shaped building was designed by Houston-based Kirksey. Another local firm, Vaughn Construction Co., handled the project management and construction. Broaddus & Associates of Austin handled program management for the owner.

Wes Good, Kirksey's principal in charge, said the designers had the task of creating a campus-like setting within a high-rise building.

"We had a small footprint," Good said. He added that in certain places, there are only 8 in. separating the building from a neighboring parking garage.

Vaughn project manager Mark Cantu said the job required him to put a lot of extra effort into every aspect of the construction. "It required extra time coordinating the drawings, organizing and working closely with the subs," he said. All deliveries, for example, had to be timed just right because there was little space to store materials and equipment.

Jim Slack, president of Houston's Slack & Co., the subcontractor who handled the utilities, said space was so tight that often his workers would have to store the pipe for the job in their company's yard and bring it to the jobsite. He added that the company had to bus its workers in as there was not enough parking to accommodate them.

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Slack credited Vaughn with the success of such a tedious project, adding that Vaughn sees the relationship between the contractor and the subcontractor as a collaboration to keep the project on track.

In addition to the tight site, building the utilities infrastructure wasn't easy. Vaughn and Slack worked closely with the city of Houston to connect new pipes to an older utilities system with lines that in some cases were crossed or abandoned. This process was further complicated by a change in the city's permitting process, Slack said. While Slack supports the changes to the process as positive, making the change did add another layer of coordination to the work.

To create a building that was urban and sophisticated, Kirksey focused on making the best use of Houston's abundant sunlight. Rays of light pour into the building through a large expanse of glass on the east side, lighting classrooms, labs and offices. The south face responds to the sun with more textural and protective glass to reduce glare.

Good said the interiors have a large number of finishes including fabric, vinyl, limestone and granite on various walls. "TWU was insistent about having a variety of finishes in the building," Good said.

Jason Tramonte, LEED project designer for Kirksy, said the building has nearly 6,000-sq. ft. of wood paneling. It is decorated with artwork produced by TWU alumni and the grand lobby is lit up with more than 100 small, iridescent light fixtures.

Good said the overall tone of the building is professional and sophisticated with an element of fun. A two-story arcade adorns Fannin Street, and student lounges that are placed in the flow of traffic every two floors provide interaction space. In order to create efficient flow for students between classes, Tramonte said he focused the most heavily used spaces on the first four floors.

Students will be able to commute to the institute via the light rail, which runs alongside the building. A portion of the site has been set aside for the future construction of an 11-level garage by Methodist Hospital.

The building's L-shaped layout wraps around an inwardly placed garage. The approach allows the school a presence on Main, Fannin and Old Main streets, while screening the garage from view.

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