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\n Bisnow\/Maddy McCarty\n <\/p>\n
\n Pinnacle Structural Engineers\u2019 Adam Cryer, HOK\u2019s Roger Soto, Populous\u2019 Sebastian Torres, Perkins & Will\u2019s Marc el-Khouri, Radom Capital\u2019s Evan Peterson, Houston Airport System\u2019s Jim Szczesniak and Midway\u2019s Anna Deans\n <\/p>\n
But the city is missing an easily digestible elevator pitch to describe it to outsiders as a destination, panelists said Wednesday at Bisnow\u2019s Houston Architecture and Design Summit at Graniti Vicentia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHouston is a cultural destination,\u201d said Sebastian Torres, senior associate at design firm\u00a0Populous<\/a>. \u201cWe really have to lean into that and really understand that it’s not about one recognizable landmark, but it’s about a series of events.\u201d<\/p>\n When Perkins & Will Managing Principal Marc el-Khouri moved to Houston in 2008, he said the city was only known for three submarkets: The Galleria, Downtown and the Medical Center. It has matured over the years, with developers like Midway<\/a> creating mixed-use districts with enough critical mass to become a destination on their own.<\/p>\n Midway developed CityCentre<\/a>, a 50-acre mixed-use destination in West Houston that first opened in 2009. Now Midway\u2019s largest undertaking is East River, a mixed-use development spanning\u00a0more than 150 acres<\/a> along Buffalo Bayou. The completed Phase 1 includes a nine-hole golf course, creative office and retail space, and an apartment complex.\u00a0<\/p>\n Developments of this size require partnerships with local communities and public entities, said\u00a0Anna Deans<\/a>, Midway’s executive vice president.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a mini city. It’s one-fifth the size of Downtown,\u201d Deans said.\u00a0\u201cThose projects don’t happen without help from the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Community engagement\u00a0also brings in voices to help shape the project.<\/p>\n \u201cThe history of the area shaped the architecture. The tenancy is informed by what the locals have been asking for,\u201d she said. \u201cThe artwork is all by local artists. And because of that, it’s a very unique offering that represents the 5th Ward<\/a> and parts of the 2nd Ward<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n CityCentre and East River were designed with the same guiding principles, and the difference between their look and feel reflects the communities they are part of, Deans\u00a0said. As a city without zoning and uniformity, unique mixed-use developments are something Houston has to offer visitors.<\/p>\n \u201cM-K-T is Houston,\u201d el-Khouri said. \u201cThe POST is Houston. CityCentre is Houston. East River is Houston.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n Bisnow\/Maddy McCarty\n <\/p>\n \n Graniti Vicentia\u2019s Dwayne Clark, Friends of Columbia Tap\u2019s Kimberly Phipps-Nichol, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates\u2019 Matthew Urbanski, Lovett\u2019s Kirby Liu, DLR Group\u2019s Emily Moore and Emancipation Park Conservancy\u2019s Corey Wilson\n <\/p>\n POST, Lovett Commercial<\/a>\u2019s redevelopment of a historic post office,\u00a0offers a space where all people are welcome to visit, helping redefine Downtown Houston<\/a>. Preparing for those visitors takes serious architectural considerations, Lovett<\/a> Managing Director Kirby Liu said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHow to prepare for the people is extremely important to the longevity of your project over time and really understanding how you can harden your building against the biggest natural disasters of all: the people of Houston,\u201d Liu said.<\/p>\n Now the city is investing in Downtown Houston<\/a> to\u00a0create comfortable connections between different destinations, and developers are contributing to an enlivened street level with projects like the $50M repositioning of 910 Louisiana<\/a> and the rethinking of Houston Center<\/a>, el-Khouri said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have the trifecta of the city, the designers as well as the developers all working hand in hand, trying to coordinate that experience and curating it to a point where it becomes a coherent network of destinations and webs that connect them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n