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

  • concentric silhouettes of a human head

    How Physical Space Shapes the Mind: Designing for Better Learning Outcomes

    Research in environmental psychology and neuroscience increasingly suggests that the way a room is designed can influence memory, focus, or even a student's sense of belonging.

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

Digital Edition