Four Design Excellence Awards and Best in Show from IIDA’s Texas Oklahoma Chapter

The new Specialty Care Center for Renown Health combines clinical excellence with the restorative rhythms of nature. A reflection of the quality of care being received, the design emphasizes a comforting and welcoming hospitality experience while upholding standards for a modern medical environment. The warmth of layered textures, wood, and biophilic elements, the elegance of champagne and bronze metal accents, and custom curated art evoke the area’s notable river and mountainscapes to put the mind and body at ease.

The RAD Center is the first mass timber construction on campus at the University of Houston, replacing an underground dining facility that was severely damaged during Hurricane Harvey. Rising as a “lantern in the woodlands,” this groundbreaking structure serves as a model for sustainable design and construction. The Center’s transparent facade and glowing timber interior create a “third place” and vibrant heart of campus, welcoming up to 400 students into a warm, communal environment of timber, wellness, and light.

The combination of mass timber, daylighting, energy-efficient systems, and resilient materials has resulted in a 39% reduction in Global Warming Potential and 74% reduction in Energy Use Intensity compared to benchmarks, an achievement equivalent to the carbon sequestered by more than 4,000 acres of forest.