HOUSTON – The renovated entrance to one of the Houston’s most popular parks was awarded LEED Gold certification in March.
Hermann Park Lake Plaza, considered the gateway to Houston’s 445-acre, 96-year-old Hermann Park, opened with a new sustainable look in May 2009. Designers targeted both environmentally friendly features and innovative recreational attractions with the eight-acre, $11 million project.
New features of the plaza include landscaped grounds with native plantings, scenic promenades and five newly construction buildings, including a paddle boat pavilion with a boathouse, a mini-train depot, a public restroom, a café and terrace, and a volunteer and maintenance building.
The Plaza’s green attributes include shed roofs designed to allow greater airflow through breezeways to cool pedestrians and renewable glulam wood used in building construction. The Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Greenway collects rainwater from the Plaza and naturally filters out pollutants as it travels to Houston’s Buffalo Bayou. The Greenway also works as a detention basin, holding water during heavy rainfalls to reduce flooding in the bayou.
“Each building was constructed with glued laminated timber columns and graceful curved glulam roof framing that is exposed on the interior and exterior,” says Scott Adams, an architect with San Antonio-based Overland Partners Architects, which led the design of the new Plaza. “The natural aesthetics of the timber were appropriate for a park location, yet also convey a warm, natural appearance and present a seamless integration of nature and building.”
In addition to sustainable features, designers incorporated local art into the plaza. Area artist Jess Lott, known for using found objects in his pieces, was commissioned to do a public art project for the Plaza.
Project team members included Vaughn Construction of Houston, engineering firm Walter P. Moore and Associates of Houston, landscaping firm White Oak Studio of Houston, the Hermann Park Conservancy, and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
Approximately 30 projects in the Houston area have achieved LEED Gold certification. A total of about 1,280 Houston area projects, ranging from municipal buildings to health care facilities and schools, have been registered to achieve some level of LEED certification.
