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

  • St. John Fisher University

    Classroom Revitalization – Basil Hall Room 216

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. St. John Fisher University's Basil Hall Room 216 Classroom Revitalization has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of Spaces.

  • 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.

  • Minnesota District Starts Construction on Early Childhood Learning Center

    Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools in Sauk Rapids, Minn., recently announced that construction has begun on a new early childhood learning center and a new outdoor activities complex, according to a news release.

  • Barbara Vick Western Branch

    Barbara Vick Western Branch

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Barbara Vick Western Branch has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.