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Format: 2025-03
Format: 2025-03
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Architect Magazine: The COTE Top Ten Issue

December 2018

In their latest issue, Architect Magazine featured the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Toolkit and the Georgia Tech Krone Engineered Biosystems Building, a 2018 COTE Top Ten Award winner. The issue breaks down the Toolkit, an online resource to help firms achieve sustainability goals for their projects based on the criteria for the COTE Top Ten Awards. Corey Squire, our Sustainability Manager, was part of a group of subject matter experts from across the country who unveiled the Toolkit at this year's AIA National Conference. 

 

"This tool is about making sustainability accessible from a time perspective. It gets you the answers you need in one place— quickly, easily and in digestible chunks," Corey told Architect Magazine. "There are also going to be a few recommendations that we call out, as 'if you can only do one thing,' these are the highest impact, lowest cost, lowest barrier to entry things where if you don't have the time, budget or knowledge to really improve your problem, you can still incorporate these ideas and they'll have a really big impact on your project."

 

Click here to read more about the Top Ten Toolkit in Architect Magazine.

 

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LFers Visit Hawthorne Academy to Plant Pollinator Garden for #300for300

December 2018

As part of the Texas Butterfly Ranch's initiative to plant 300 pollinator habitats in honor of San Antonio's 300th birthday, LFers visited local Hawthorne Academy to help students work on their pollinator garden. Click here to learn more about the Texas Butterfly Ranch #300for300 initiative. 

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Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion Awarded Stephen R. Kellert Biophilic Design Award

December 2018

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) honored the late scholar and Yale University social ecologist Stephen R. Kellert’s legacy with the second annual Biophilic Design Award at the 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. This year, the award was presented to two outstanding projects: The Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion by Lake|Flato Architects and the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre by Perkins+Will.  

 

"The Jury was unanimously transfixed and agreed that the Josey Pavilion also deserved the highest award. The Josey Pavilion is indicative that biophilic design does not require curved forms, interior plants, or filigree to emulate nature. Like a walk on the prairie, the low slung building is connected to place and climate through its form, materiality, and response to environmental forces. Its Sinker Pine, rusted steel and concrete structure links the senses to the natural world, with no Red List materials. As a flower might open up to the sun, the building opens up to the prairie to bring in natural light and breezes and reducing energy demand, helping to fulfill the Dixon Foundation’s mission to promote healthy watersheds through sustainable land management.

 

The Pavillion’s form is derived from a tree; sheltering against the hot sun, protecting against harsh winds, using the sun’s warmth, and opening up to allow cooling breezes to flow through the space on warm days, connecting one’s senses to the prairie. The building collects rainwater and processes wastewater through constructed wetlands, returning clean water to the aquifer, while delivering 150% of used energy through photovoltaics. Like the prairie horizon on which it sits, its design hugs the earth, and its biophilic beauty lifts the soul." - 2018 Biophilic Design Award Jury

 

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Greenbuild 2018: International Conference & Expo

November 2018

Join us at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo! 

 

Thursday, November 15: 

 

3 - 4 p.m. | E04 | 183A:  Building Energy Literacy: The 2030 Commitment's Transformation of Firm Culture 

 

Panelists: Heather Holdridge (Sustainability Director at Lake|Flato), Gwen Fuertes (Associate at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects), Rand Ekman (Chief Sustainability Officer at HKS) & Nathan Kipnis (Principal at Kipnis Architecture + Planning)

 

Abstract: This session will provide case studies of four firms of various sizes and geographic regions, and demonstrate how the AIA 2030 Commitment has made an impact on the culture and practice of their organizations. Firms participating in the AIA 2030 Commitment track their progress towards Architecture 2030’s goals for every project in design, each year. We will also discuss next steps for these organizations as they continue to push for more efficient buildings. The short case studies will present the opportunities and challenges that each firm has experienced while integrating the 2030 Commitment and trying to shift firm culture to make energy performance part of the dialog of the design process. Examples include the firmwide establishment of holistic sustainability tracking and goal setting from the project level to firm operations, instituting the practice of tracking actual energy performance, internal recognition of successful teams, firm organization to support sustainability goals, and the use of tools to support the firms progress such as the AIA’s online performance tracking tool the DDx. The short panel presentations will provide a comparative look at a diversity of firms’ experience that will set the stage for dialog with the audience on transformation of firm culture.

 

Credits: 1 GBCI Credit Hour, 1 AIA | HSW

 

Friday, November 16: 

 

 8 - 9 a.m. | G04 | 183A:  Toward a New Consilience: Art + Science = Sustainable Design

 

Panelists: Bob Harris (Partner and Leader of Eco-Conservation Studio at Lake|Flato), Lance Hosey (Design Director at Gensler), Andrea Love (Principal/Director of Building Science at Payette) & James Timberlake (Partner at KieranTimberlake)

 

Abstract: In 'Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge,' E.O. Wilson wrote that “until the fundamental divide between art and science is closed, the relation between man and the living world will remain problematic.” Two decades later, the design industry largely has ignored this call to action. The art of architecture and the science of building still are perceived as separate topics. Standards of “good design” and “green design” have yet to come together, for what makes buildings look good rarely relates to what makes them work well. Performance lives in the technical manual, not on the napkin sketch. Yet, research shows that up to 90% of the eventual impact of a building is determined with the earliest design decisions—location, size, shape, function, etc. Design trumps technology. Furthermore, a growing wealth of research is revealing how people respond to form, space, color, pattern, and texture—the designers’ toolkit. The design industry is on the verge of revolutionizing itself around new revelations about the impact of our work. In this lively presentation, four LEED Fellows will share how they are shaping their practices around these principles to spearhead a new age of consilient design.

 

Credits: 1 GBCI Credit Hour

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TxA 79th Annual Conference & Design Expo

November 2018

Join us at the TxA 79th Annual Conference and Design Expo Nov. 8 - 10 at the Fort Worth Convention Center! 

 

Thursday, November 8: 

3 - 4 p.m.: LFer Justin Garrison, AIA joins Dean J. Almy III, Christine Freundl & Mary Anne Ocampo for a session titled "Constructing a Community-Based Approach to Urban Design in Austin." 

As Austin embarks on a new land use code to accomodate rapid growth, an investigation of planning processes and missing middle housing questions the role of current community-based approaches to urban design. With a panel collaboration between MIT, AIA Austin Urban Design Committee, City of Austin, and residents, this session will share innovative ideas, integrated strategies, and collaboration techniques that reimagine an urban design framework for 'complete communities' in Austin. LU 1 | HSW 1 | SD 1

 

3 - 4 p.m.: LFer Tenna Florian, AIA joins Stuart Allen, Wayne Ambrose, Andrew Kudless and Charles Naeve, Hon. AIA for "Confluence Park: Building a Parametric Design." 

Confluence Park in San Antonio has transformed a former industrial site into a unique urban setting with recreational space and an environmental learning center. The topic of water in the environment is exhibited and explored throughout the park, which serves as a catchment structure and delivery device for rainfall. The pavilion is constructed from a series of organic "petal" shapes mathematically defined by a series of parametric equations. This panel will discuss the methodology and challenges of constructing the pavilion. LU1

 

Friday, November 9: 

1 - 2:30 p.m.: LFer Sam Rusek, Assoc. AIA will join Bradley Bell, Dan Noble and Jim Manskey for a panel titled "High Performance by Design: People/Profit/Planet." 

Learn from leading practitioners and universities on how to balance "Triple Bottom Line" performance (social, environmental, economic) in design today. What do complex stakeholders expect of design practitioners? And, what should design practices expect from design schools? Hear insights and interactive discussion from the world of academia (UT Arlington), global (HKS) and sustainable (Lake|Flato) design firms, and landscape architecture (the moderator, of TBG Partners). LU 1.5 | HSW 1.5

 

7 - 10 p.m.: Formal Over Function, Omni Fort Worth (1300 Houston Street) in the Texas Ballroom on second floor.

Ted Flato, FAIA and David Lake, FAIA will be presented with the 2018 O'Neil Ford Medal for Design Achievement. 

 

Saturday, November 10: 

8 - 9 a.m.:Lewis McNeel will join the Design Awards Panel for a presentation featuring the following 2018 TxA Design Award winners: 

- TreeHouse: Lake|Flato Architects with Looney Ricks Kiss

- Joy House: Kinneymorrow Architecture

- West Lynn Studio: Baldridge Architects 

- White Oak Music Hall: SCHAUM/SHIEH

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Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation Opens

November 2018

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's recently completed Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation has opened, completing the second phase of the Museum's multi-year campus redevelopment plan. The 39,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility brings the Museum's distinguished conservation teams together on the main campus for the first time in one of the largest, continuous spaces for conservation of any public museum. Composed of light-filled studios, the Center sits atop an existing museum building, redefining the campus's eastern edge to create a pivotal portal into the campus while complementing the museum's evolving architectural lineage.

 

“The light in these studios, which Lake|Flato took a lot of trouble over, is beautiful,” MFAH Director of Conservation David Bomford said. “You get all this north light filtering in from a high level, and where you need it, you’ve got south light which can be blocked out or controlled. I just love it. It’s a great building.”

 

Four studio bays are cantilevered from the building's North and West façades to celebrate the building's function and allow a glimpse of the work going on inside. The building leverages an innovative structural strategy, utilizing both mass timber and steel structure. It is the first installation of Dowell Laminated Timber (DLT) panels in North America, and was prefabricated, panelized and lifted into place, resulting in quicker on-site construction. 

 

“The new Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation—one of just a handful of purpose-built museum conservation buildings anywhere—dramatically elevates our conservation facilities to the distinguished level of our extraordinary art conservators and scientists. The completion of the center also brings us one step closer to our goal of unifying the Museum’s facilities into one contiguous, 14-acre main campus in 2020,” Gary Tinterow, Director of MFAH, said. 

 

Read more about the Conservation Center in the Houston Chronicle, Forbes and ARCHITECT Magazine. 

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Marine Education Center at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Recognized by AIA Mississippi

November 2018

The Marine Education Center at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, a collaboration with unabridged Architecture, was recognized by AIA Mississippi with an Honor Award and Sambo Mockbee Award, and a Sustainability Award from the Mississippi chapter of USGBC. 

 

“We saw this building project as an opportunity to be a teaching example of how sustainable design can lead to new development that has a minimal impact on our coastal and marine environment,” said MEC Director Chris Snyder. “This level of recognition by the AIA validates our team’s success in achieving that goal.”

 

The Center was designed to replace the University of Southern Mississippi's original Center, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Designed to be naturally wind and flood resilient, the new Marine Education Center exemplifies sustainable coastal builidng techniques in harmony with the land. A very special thank you to Landscape Architect StudioOutside and Datum Engineers, and to the University of Southern Mississippi for allowing us to be a part of this project! 

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SCUP Southern Conference

October 2018

We are proud to be a sponsor of this year's SCUP Southern Conference in Austin, Texas. Attendees are invited to an optional tour of the Austin Central Library on October 30 from 2 - 4 p.m. Following the tour, please join us at our Happy Hour event at Boiler Nine from 4 - 5 p.m. For more information on the tours, click here. 

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ASLA 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo

October 2018

Lake|Flato is proud to sponsor the ASLA 2018 Annual Meeting and Expo, which will take place in Philadelphia on October 19 - 22. Visit us in Booth #2053! 

 

Associate Partner Matt Wallace, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Affiliate ASLA, will lead an education session with Principal at Studio Outside Tary Arterburn, FASLA and Coastal Ecologist Larry Lewis, LEED AP. "Listening to the Land: Reflecting on Resilient Design from Ground Zero," will reflect on resilient design strategies put to the ultimate test on three recently completed projects by Lake|Flato and Studio Outside in Texas, Mississippi and Florida. Please join Matt, Tary and Larry on October 19 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. For more conference details, click here. 

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Lake|Flato Awarded Irving J. Gill Progressive Architect Award

October 2018

The Tilt-Up Concrete Association awarded Lake|Flato the 2018 Irving J. Gill Progressive Architecture Award, which recognizes an individual or firm whose pursuance of design excellence or application of the tilt-up method to new building types and new markets has propelled the industry to new heights. Our recently completed Confluence Park, a collaboration with Matsys, was also recognized with the 2018 Tilt-Up Achievement Award. Greg Papay, Brandi Rickels and Sunnie Diaz accepted the awards at this year's Tilt-Up Conference and Expo in Dallas, during which Greg also presented case studies on firm projects that have used tilt-up construction, including Francis Parker School, the San Antonio Children's Doseum and Confluence Park.