Acquisitions, Accolades, New Spaces from Houston to Dallas

Corgan and Deloitte & Touche get new spaces while Marin Marietta Materials and Pape-Dawson Engineers purchase some of the competition.

Deloitte & Touche USA Plans 2008 Move in Houston

Deloitte & Touche USA LLP executed a lease to occupy 300,000 sq ft in Heritage Plaza in downtown Houston in a 12-year, 10-floor lease with options to increase that space if needed. Deloitte has more than 1,400 Houston partners and staff and is the largest professional services organization in Houston. The new lease will consolidate staff from three Houston sites to one downtown location and make Deloitte the largest tenant in Heritage Plaza.

The new space will undergo a full renovation, and Deloitte staff will begin moving in 12 to 18 months. With the new lease, Heritage Plaza is now 85 percent leased. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

Goddard Investment Group, an Atlanta-based real estate investment firm with holdings in five Sunbelt markets, acquired Heritage Plaza in 2005. An extensive renovation program has been completed in the common areas of the 53-story, 1.15-million-sq-ft building. Financing was provided by AIG Global Investment Group and arranged through Live Oak Capital.

Marin Marietta Materials Southwest Purchases San Antonio Company

Martin Marietta Materials Southwest Ltd., a subsidiary of Martin Marietta Materials Inc., purchased three ready-mix operations from San Antonio-based M.C.C.I. Ready Mix Concrete Ltd. and Paladin Services Ltd. The newly acquired operations are strategically located in the expanding east and west corridors of the San Antonio metropolitan market and complement Marin Marietta Materials Southwest’s existing ready-mix infrastructure. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Corgan Announces Opening of Headquarters Building in Dallas West End

Corgan Associates Inc., the ninth largest U.S.-based architectural and interior design firm, opened the doors to its new corporate headquarters in Dallas West End at Ross and Houston Streets for the first new construction project in the
historic district in more than 10 years.

Located at 401 N. Houston St., Corgan will be the sole occupant of the three-story, 58,000-sq-ft building.

Standing 45 ft tall, Corgan’s new building is encased by a modern-yet-industrial exterior of glass, copper and dark iron-spot brick. The building is an exposed structure characterized by simple, clean expression throughout, reflective of the firm’s practice of delivering innovative design.  

Large window walls span the buildings north and south sides, maximizing daylighting potential in the studio areas and offering views of the Dallas skyline and the Trinity River project. A 1,500-sq-ft roof deck atop the structure serves as one of several employee social areas.

The heart of the T-shaped building is connected by a winding, black steel staircase, which functions as the gathering and exposition space where the entire firm can collaborate on work and celebrate client successes.

The building is constructed to be LEED certified and includes environmentally sustainable, energy-conserving features such as recycled building materials, rainwater collection and energy-management systems. Corgan designed different windows and window grids to respond to the varying light and heat throughout the day.

With strategic window placement and use of moveable sunshades, coupled with reflective roof design and materials, the building mitigates heat and conserves energy.

International Contractors Completes Plano’s Martini Park

International Contractors Inc., which is based in Elmhurst, Ill., completed the construction of Martini Park, an upscale martini bar and restaurant located within a high-end shopping center in Plano at 7200 Bishop Road.

The Shops at Legacy cater to professional adults with high-end shops, restaurants and a cinema. Martini Park is the latest venture of the Barish Group, which is based in New York and created the Light Night Club in Las Vegas and New York and the exclusive Marquee in New York.

Martini Park features a stylish lounge and offers a high-end bar and gourmet dining area. There’s also a stage area for live performances.

International Contractors was also selected to complete the interior build-out of Martini Park in Chicago. The interior build-out of Martini Park-Plano was completed within eight weeks. The 7,000-sq-ft space was designed by Jeffrey Beers International. Bruce Bronge, president of International Contractors, was the principal in charge of the projects and Richard Cassidy was the senior project manager.

Seven Texans Among 76 AIA Members Named to The College of Fellows

The 2007 Jury of Fellows from The American Institute of Architects elevated 76 AIA members to its prestigious College of Fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made significant contributions to the profession.

 They will receive their fellowship medals this month during the Investiture of Fellows Ceremony at the AIA 2007 National Convention and Design Expo in San Antonio. The program was developed to elevate those architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession.

 Out of a total AIA membership of nearly 81,000, there are fewer than 2,600 distinguished with the honor of fellowship. The elevation to fellowship is conferred on architects with at least 10 years of membership in the AIA who have made significant contributions in one or more of the following nomination categories:

• Promoted the aesthetic, scientific and practical efficiency of the profession.
• Advanced the science and art of planning and building by advancing the standards of architectural education, training and practice.
• Coordinated the building industry and the profession of architecture through leadership in the AIA and other related professional organizations.
• Advanced the living standards of people through an improved environment.
• Increased service to society.

Walter P. Moore Innovation Cited by Popular Science

Popular Science has recognized Walter P. Moore, a national engineering and consulting firm, for innovation in structural engineering for the University of Phoenix Stadium (Cardinals Stadium) in Glendale, Ariz. 

The new 63,400-seat, $455 million stadium features two of the largest moving parts in sports history: the country’s first completely retractable grass field and the first inclined retractable roof. The 2.2-acre field, which spends most of the year outdoors in a giant steel tray, can be wheeled in on tracks in just over an hour. And the two, 550-ton retractable roof panels feed power back into the electrical grid as they slide open.   

Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New” awards are presented to 100 new breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in one of 10 categories.  This award was presented in the engineering category.

Pape-Dawson Engineers Acquire Overby Descamps Engineers

Pape-Dawson Engineers Inc. of San Antonio acquired Overby Descamps Engineers Inc., a civil engineering firm in San Antonio. The two firms share corporate philosophies and personal values, as well as technical expertise in land development, hydraulics and hydrology, environmental services and surveying. 

Hensel Phelps Relocates Houston Offices

Hensel Phelps relocated its Houston office from downtown to 10041 Regal Row near the Beltway and 290.  

Six Texas Sites Among Top 150 Favorite American Structures

An AIA and Harris Interactive poll of 1,800 Americans naming their 150 favorite structures across the nation based on nominations from AIA member architects yielded America’s Favorite Architecture.

The poll is part of a year-long celebration of The American Institute of Architects 150th anniversary, including 156 Blueprint for America community-service projects at the local level.

The list of sites included seven Texas landmarks:

• No. 92 on the list is the Texas State Capitol (1924), Austin, Elijah E. Myers;
• No. 118, American Airlines Center (2001), Dallas, David M. Schwarz/Architectural Services; HKS;
• No. 132, Pennzoil Place (1976), Houston, Philip Johnson, Johnson/Burgee;
•  No. 134, Reliant Astrodome (1964), Houston, Hermon Lloyd & W. B. Morgan, Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson;
•  No. 139, Williams Tower (Transco Tower) (1979), Houston, Philip Johnson, Johnson/Burgee;
  
•  and No. 150, Battle Hall, University of Texas (1911) Austin, Cass Gilbert.

Mixed-Use Project Slated for North Fort Worth

Transwestern and Las Vegas–based Diversified Asset Planning will break ground by the end of this year on a 388-acre mixed-use project at North Tarrant Parkway and I-35 West, according to Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center.

The Presidio will include 1.4 million sq ft of retail space, 1.5 million sq ft of multifamily housing and 500,000 sq ft of office and hotel space. Hodges & Associates PLLC is the architect and Halff Associates Inc. is the project's engineer. Both are Dallas-based companies.

SpawGlass Among “60 Best Companies to Work for in Texas”

SpawGlass was named one of the 60 Best Companies to Work for in Texas in a statewide competition that honors companies rated by their employees. SpawGlass was ranked 30th among businesses statewide. 

The goal of Best Companies to Work for in Texas is to raise the bar among the state’s employers and create excellence and employee satisfaction in the workplace that will attract talented people for years to come. The competition is part of a multiyear initiative to motivate Texas companies to focus, measure and move their workplace environments towards excellence.

DeMoss Co. Celebrates 25th Anniversary

On March 4, the DeMoss Co. of Fort Worth celebrated its 25th anniversary. The company was formed when Jim DeMoss acquired the equipment and facilities of Universal Sheet Metal and Insulation Co., a division of Cento Industries.

The DeMoss Co., a general contractor and construction manager, specializes in projects for religious organizations, not-for-profit organizations and commercial facilities. Since 1994, it has received four awards from the American Institute for Architects.

Houston’s One Shell Plaza Receives Architecture Award

Houston’s One Shell Plaza was selected for the American Institute of Architects’ 2007 25-year award.

The test of time is used to single out the executed projects that receive this award. They must have been completed 25 to 35 years ago and must be projects (in the United States or abroad) designed by an architect licensed in the United States.

One Shell Plaza opened in 1971. Its architectural team consistedof Morris Architects and Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Architects LLP, who designed the South’s tallest office building at 714 feet and the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world from 1971 to 1975.

The building was the tallest building in Texas from 1971 to 1980. Facing City Hall Park at 910 Louisiana, the 53-story office building was designed to serve as the corporate headquarters of the Shell Oil Co.

The building was the first major installation in the United States of metallic coating technology that used energy-conserving, double-paned glazing units with heat-absorbing glass.

The complete building exterior, both walls and plaza, as well as all interior public spaces, are clad with 27 tons of Roman travertine from Tivoli, Italy. The gross floor area is 1.6 million sq ft with below-grade parking for 385 cars.