Asia Society Texas Center

  • Location
    Houston, TX
  • Completion Date
    October, 2011
  • Size
    2.3 acres
  • Team
    Design Architect: Taniguchi and Associates
    Architect of Record: Kendall/Heaton Associates
    Interior Designer: GBA Architecture
    Civil Engineer: Walter P. Moore
    Structural Engineer: Ingenium
    MEP Engineer: CHPA Consulting Engineers
    Lighting Designer: Fisher Marantz Stone
    Water Feature Designer: Waterscape Consulting
    Signage + Wayfinding Designer: Minor Design
    Acoustics + A/V Design: Shen Milsom & Wilke
  • Awards
    • 2014: AIA Houston Design Award for Architecture Less Than 50,000 SF
  • Photography
    Jeff Fantich, Paul Hester, Timothy Hursley, Asia Society Texas Center
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About

The spare architectural language of the Asia Society center is met by a similar landscape that adheres to a thoughtfully executed minimalist ethic. The front yard includes a simple plane of ground cover and heritage oaks that frame views to the main entry and serves as a venue for special events. At the rear of the building, an allee of bald cypress trees form a vertical hedge that hold the view of the second level Green Garden.

Three distinctive gardens are located on the second level of the building. The Water Garden Terrace features a water skin that reflects shadows from two heritage oaks and the Houston skyline. Misters produce fog that rises over the edge of the Water Garden, obscuring the ground plane. The Stone Garden is a contemporary simple plane of gravel and black timber bamboo that serves as a backdrop to rotating pieces of sculpture and event displays. The Sculpture Garden is accessed from the central meeting room lined with a continuous unobstructed wall of glass. A generous terrace is framed by a sloped carpet of ground cover, with stone sculptures carefully placed in the composition.

Native plants blend with Asian inspired flora to offer visitors a transition into the space and add to the authenticity associated with the mission of the center.

The quiet and contemplative ensemble of building and gardens provide a serene backdrop in which business, policy, education, outreach, art, music, dance, theater and cultural programming can take place.

Asia Society Texas Center in the Lab

Asia Society Texas Center

Asia Society Texas Center

  • PLANTING
  • WATER
  • CARBON, ENERGY + AIR
  • CARBON, ENERGY + AIR

0

new trees planted on site

0%

of surfaces on the building block that are permeable

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savings per month in electricity charges due to 117 geothermal wells installed

0lbs

of carbon sequestration from new trees

PLANTING

0

new trees planted on site

WATER

0%

of surfaces on the building block that are permeable

CARBON, ENERGY + AIR

0

savings per month in electricity charges due to 117 geothermal wells installed

CARBON, ENERGY + AIR

0lbs

of carbon sequestration from new trees