Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Houston Building Wins 2014 PCI Design Award

  • 11/07/14

CHICAGO — The University of Houston Health and Biomedical Sciences Building 1 was named “Best Higher Education Building” by The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) in the Institute’s 2014 PCI Design Awards.

The award celebrates the distinctive beveled façade of the clinical, research, and teaching facility for this Carnegie Tier 1 research institution and the smart design thinking behind it. Catching the sun as it plays across the building’s surface, the undulating precast concrete façade system is an innovative, high-value design solution that responds to challenges dictated by topography, program, and budget.  

The design response uses simple rectangular concrete panels that are triangularly faceted, creating peaks and valleys in the façade’s surface. Shadow and light dance across the windowless expanses in a series of patterns that shift with the passing of time and seasons.

Shepley Bulfinch of Boston was the design architect for the project, in association with Bailey Architects of Houston. They two firms are now partnering on the University of Houston’s Health and Biomedical Sciences Building 2 project, which is scheduled to break ground in 2015.

Now in their 52nd year, the PCI Design Awards recognize excellence in the design, fabrication, and construction of precast structures and systems.

Featured

  • Philadelphia Middle School Facility Earns LEED Gold Certification

    The Alternative Middle Years (AMY) at James Martin Middle School in Philadelphia, Penn., recently received a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to a news release. The School District of Pennsylvania partnered with KSS Architects on the project.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • Johns Hopkins Starts Construction on New Residence Hall, Dining Facility

    The Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., recently began construction on a new residence hall and dining facility, according to university news. The work involves demolishing the existing Alumni Memorial Residence Hall I, which was built in 1923, to make room for the new facility.

  • Building Beyond Simulation: Creating Immersive Ecosystems for Healthcare Education

    Health sciences education is one of the fastest-growing facility types in colleges and universities. The demand for medical, nursing, and allied health professionals is driving the creation and renovation of medical simulation training facilities that provide students with real-world experience through advanced simulation-based learning.