Texas Society of Architects selects 15 Design Award winners for 2024

The Texas Society of Architects has selected 15 projects in the Lone Star state as winners of the 2024 Design Award. 

The annual contest judged this year by Gordon Gill, Roberto de Leon, and Celia Esther Arredondo Zambrano drew 251 entries of “incredible caliber.” The winners will be featured in the September/October 2024 issue of Texas Architect magazine and honored later at the TxA 85th Annual Conference & Design Expo, which will occur October 3­–5 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. 

Here are the TxA 2024 Design Award-winning projects:

River Bend Residence, New Braunfels, by Lake|Flato Architects (cover photo)

Description: "Overlooking the Guadalupe River, River Bend is a home designed to sit lightly upon the land, minimizing disruption to the site and existing trees. Envisioned as a home that embraces the outdoors, the residence is composed of four structures housing the separate functions. While one structure houses the kitchen, dining, and living areas, a second houses the primary suite, creating a private escape. A third structure functions as an art studio, and the final structure serves as a carport, which was designed to be adapted into future additional living space. Corten siding was used on the exterior for its robust qualities and minimal maintenance. The two primary structures are located on a relatively steep slope and are primarily supported by piers to minimize excavation, reducing the impact on the site. Only the back third of the buildings on the sloping portion of the site sit on grade, and these areas were carefully located to minimize tree removal in construction. Only six trees were removed to build all four structures, minimizing the impact on the abundant wildlife habitat. The three conditioned buildings are located above the surrounding canopy in order to provide greater access to the prevailing wind patterns and enhance natural ventilation. Skylights provide balanced daylight, allowing for a lower amount of glazing on the exterior walls."

Austin ISD Sánchez Elementary School, Austin, by McKinney York Architects

Description: "This renovation project of an urban school is located in a rapidly gentrifying Latino neighborhood adjacent to downtown Austin. Neighborhood pride and community spirit embodied by the school arose as critical themes during extensive dialogues between the design team and local representatives. The concept of linkage evolved from these discussions which inspired the reorganization of the building’s circulation. A spine connects new exterior canopies at existing entry points to major interior gathering spaces, binding important episodes and places together into the student’s daily experience. Connection of the building’s first and second floors was achieved by repurposing an underused internal courtyard into a learning stair — now a vibrant gathering space at the heart of the school. The space created by the learning stair extends the seating of the dining area to allow community events while providing a direct link to the upper grade-level learning areas and library."

Bahamas Cottage, Harbour Island, Bahamas, by Max Levy Architect

Description: "Located on a bluff sixty feet above the harbor, the site is covered in dense tropical growth. The design attempts to bring the island’s profuse color and sunlight into the life of the house. Four 'light chimneys' are spaced along the house’s roof ridge. These forms, glazed on one side, each face a different compass direction. Inside, they fan out into painted lightwells: yellow for the east-facing light chimney, green for south, pink for west, and blue for north. Over the course of the day these lightwells brighten and dim in unison with the sun’s journey and the passage of clouds. Exterior walls are reinforced concrete block plastered gray, with an interior lining of wood siding painted white. The cavity between these two shells allows all the windows, doors, and insect screens to be retracted into the walls. Manually operated accoya sunscreens roll on exterior brass tracks. The floor is cut coral stone throughout. In addition to the one-bedroom house, two outbuildings include a guest room and a cart storage building."

Block 185, Austin, by Pelli Clarke & Partners + STG Design

Description: "Home to Google’s new Austin headquarters, Block 185 is a defining landmark for Austin and the city skyline. The design team aimed to craft a building that addressed the clients’ goals: attract top talent to Austin and establish a distinctive landmark on the skyline and street level for Austin’s downtown core. Key design drivers included creating spaces that foster a healthy, flexible, and collaborative work environment. The building features outdoor terraces, optimal views, access to daylight, tall floor-to-floor spaces, and versatile work areas. The ground floor, vibrant with eclectic dining and retail, connects seamlessly to the popular Second Street shopping and entertainment district. With more than 20 percent dedicated to amenity spaces, the design prioritizes the tenant experience."

The Branch School, Hightower Middle School, Houston, by Kirksey Architecture

Description: "The new two-story, 29,000-sq ft net-zero building is designed to meet LEED Silver certifications. Sustainability is a driving concept in the school design that helps it respond to climates and allows the building to be used as a teaching tool. Classrooms, studios, and maker spaces give students various areas to experience project-based learning and collaboration opportunities. The project site is developed to facilitate learning both inside and outside and includes outdoor learning spaces, a walking trail, a garden, a weather station pavilion, and a teaching courtyard."

Chertecho Tree Tower, Fredericksburg, by Dietert Design Studio

Description: "The Chertecho Tree Tower was designed to survive in the wild. The clients requested a small cabin that took advantage of the views across the Pedernales River Valley. This small, three-story dwelling allows guests to experience the forest at three distinct levels: the under-story, the canopy, and the sky view. Initially, skeptical of a rooftop deck providing thermal comfort due to the extreme heat of Central Texas, the clients were inspired to pursue the project when the architect showed a sketch of a thin tower among the trees with an origami-like roof. With shading, protection and rainwater collection while providing a comfortable perch, this quad-gable roof is a simple form draping over the tower to shade throughout the year, while still allowing extraordinary, 360-degree views across the landscape."

Ghost Hangar, Utopia, by John Grable Architects

Description: "This 32,000 sq ft structure was designed to house a living collection of vintage WWII era aircraft. The remote site and program presented a unique design challenge — how to transport and erect a 120 ft clear span structure while minimizing the impact on the landscape. The Quonset hut, developed during WWII, provided a form silhouette minimized the building’s impact on the landscape and horizon, while also providing ample space for the fully operational aircraft stored within. The precedent structural system was converted to a rigid steel frame in order to achieve longer spans while drawing on the historic building profile. The spring line-to-saddlebag connections provides the necessary vertical clearance, as well as visual fragmentation of the longest facades."

Hotel 1928, Waco, by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture

Description: "The Karem Shrine Temple in downtown Waco has been transformed into Hotel 1928, reviving the landmark building after a two-decade long dormancy and restoring its legacy as a gathering place for Wacoans. Hotel 1928 offers a contemporary hospitality experience that reflects the client’s lifestyle brand, thoughtfully integrated within its unique circa 1928 Moorish Revival-style architecture. The program comprises 33 guest rooms, three restaurants, a ballroom venue, and a rooftop terrace within the existing 59,143 sq ft structure. As Karem Shrine Temple is a contributing property in the Waco Downtown Historic District, the renovation was coordinated with the Texas Historic Commission and NPS. To preserve character-defining features, the design team employed creative approaches to meet program requirements while respecting original layouts and finishes."

Shenandoah House, Lexington, Virginia, by SCHAUM/SHIEH Architects

Description: "Shenandoah House, a home and writer’s retreat, unfolds over a slope of the Allegheny Mountains in Virginia. The open, expansive views and surrounding rolling hills, paired with the challenges presented by a steep site, inform the overall design: a long, airy plan sitting atop the ridge. The three-bedroom home organizes spaces along a single corridor aligned with the contour of the hilltop site. Rooms extend out from this central spine, some embedding into the hillside and others facing the views to the horizon. The plan creates garden pockets between each space on both sides of the home. The design takes the typical logic of a pitched roof and grounds it in the undulating nature of the site by rounding the peaks and rotating the roof structures, creating the image of an irregular rolling roofline. The roof emphasizes slopes of the surrounding Allegheny Mountains. The windows that frame either end of the 120-foot-long hall create a telescope effect, focusing at one end on the dense forest and the other on the surrounding meadow. The windows and doors frame the site and the gardens that slide between rooms, while also creating a physical connection to the landscape."

SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, Inglewood, California, by HKS

Description: "Located at the former Hollywood Park racetrack, SoFi Stadium is the centerpiece of a new 298-acre mixed-use development. Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman and SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park developer, Stan Kroenke challenged the designers to create a memorable piece of architecture and unparalleled destination worthy of the world’s entertainment capital. The open-air venue is the first indoor-outdoor stadium constructed and the NFL’s largest at 3.1 million sq ft. Situated under one canopy, three state-of-the-art venues can simultaneously host different events and will reimagine the fan experience. The architecture is informed by extensive research to create an authentic Southern California expression and experience. The sweeping coastline and the beauty and strength of the Pacific Ocean contribute to the clean, yet dramatic curves of the stadium’s architecture that reflects the region’s indoor-outdoor lifestyle. The stadium’s translucent roof, seating bowl, concourses, and landscape were sculpted and designed to create the feel of an outdoor venue while providing the flexibility of a traditional domed stadium."

Sudor Sauna Studio, Houston, by CONTENT Architecture

Description: "The design augments the embodied experience of visitors by providing subtle transitions that gradually separate them from their everyday lives. These transitions include spatial elements, gradations in light, and soothing materials. The design focuses on sensual and experiential qualities that enables visitors to feel more in-touch with their own body. The space provides private rooms where visitors can sweat within a personal sauna, reset in cold-plunge pools, and cleanse within the showers. Visitors check in at an entry lobby, before proceeding to a ring of circulation that offers access to the private spaces beyond. As visitors move through the space, they experience a deliberate separation from the world outside."

Texas A&M University Southside Rec Center, College Station, by SmithGroup

Description: "The facility enhances the ecosystem of student wellness by creating an active hub at the edge of campus and making recreation accessible to students living in the adjacent 11 residential halls. The design reinforces the connection to student life through a grand entry plaza anchoring the major pedestrian path from student housing. Large glass openings showcase the energetic recreation program along the primary façade. The main canopy extends south working with the existing live oaks to provide shade for fitness spaces and a sidewalk that pulls the campus into the activity of the courts, lobby, strength and conditioning high bay, and a dramatic outdoor fitness terrace. The clear parti consists of two high bay spaces (multi-purpose courts to the north and strength and conditioning space to the south) that flank the central support bar of the main lobby, bouldering wall, and locker rooms under the floating movement of the 'white box' containing group fitness, offices, and cardio mezzanines. The Southside Rec Center has seen approximately 50% increase in daily visits from an average of 8,500 visits/week in fall 2022 to 12,800 visits/week in fall 2023."

Uchiko, Houston, by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

Description: "Inspired by the central hearth of Japanese farmhouses, Uchiko presents an intimacy, which feels old and new at the same time. Quality and artistry are introduced with hand-crafted natural, worn materials. A strong timber-latticed entry moment creates warmth and procession. The rough material is manipulated in a refined manner to create an unexpected arrival experience. Custom-designed, eroded cast concrete light shades welcome guests at the front entry and carry dappled light through the two main dining areas. Wall coverings, created from original works by artist Camille Warmington, bring color to the space with rich shades of blue. Muralists Alfredo and Vera Montenegro took inspiration from the Warmington piece to draw the color up through the ceiling, which was carved away to expose the double-height space at the entry and mezzanine. Reclaimed walnut floors are layered with white oak and cedar furnishings and brick and clay tiling. Molded Venetian plaster and precise curves create a softness in the space. Brass and bronze features add luxurious detailing alongside leather upholstered, custom banquettes inspired by the work of Brazilian modernist Jose Zanine Caldas."

2121 South Lamar, Austin, by Chioco Design

Description: "2121 South Lamar is a complete renovation of a 1980’s era two-story office building. The client wanted to bring new life into the building with a challenge to reconfigure how the space was divided to accommodate future tenants. The existing building had limited natural light and low ceilings on the ground floor, and the renovation brought in more natural light. To match the tallest gable and simplify the overall form, the roof was partially raised allowing for loftier interior spaces. The building’s exterior is clad in thermally modified ash wood and brings warmth to the restrained materials palette of blackened steel wall panels and perforated steel guardrail. The thick battens give order to the façades by providing a system for organizing fenestration. The new second floor balcony takes advantage of the three large heritage Live Oak trees and offers a serene setting for the tenants. The main entry to the second floor is light-filled and integrates oak floors and stairs with white oak paneling that takes its cues from the exterior board and batten installation. At the top of the stairs sits an office lobby with built-in upholstered seating and small amenities bar. The wood slats provide filtered natural light to this tranquil waiting area."

Chroma, Fort Worth, by Ibañez Shaw Architecture

Description: "Chroma takes advantage of a prominent location in the city engaging the urban fabric and inviting the community to a singular experience on the interior. At Chroma, the optical sales area is not internal, it extends from the mass of the building as a glass box. The entry is marked by a progression of white steel angle frames placed along an elevated walk; a gradual immersion into the experience as one approaches the building. The geometry of the steel elements continues in the glass curtainwall and reveals itself on the interior as the structure of the display shafts. Free-flowing display fixtures offer a dynamic exploration of a curated eyeglass frame collection set among views of the adjacent cultural district and downtown beyond. At night, the display shafts are lit with colors of the brand, and the illuminated structures are presented to the community like a sculpture encased in glass. The experience of the space is projected as a bold brand to the exterior. The building was completed for $1.8M, including all display fixtures and fixed furnishings. This was achieved using tilt-wall concrete building system typically used for warehouses. The concrete panels are used structurally with primarily glue-laminated beams free-spanning between panels. The vertical shelf displays were made with bent steel plate and round glass shelves sourced from mass produced glass trivets. Simple steel fabrications and solid surfaces were used for the counters and desks. Window openings were kept to a minimum on the west and south sides of the building, which houses the optometry testing and exam rooms, spaces which require restricted daylight."