An accessible, cutting-edge facility that enhances and serves the greater Houston community

Sustainable and cost-effective structural solutions

The new Houston Endowment Headquarters leverages the benefits of steel framing and mass timber with a cost-effective and flexible structural design. Situated near downtown Houston, the building is covered by a louvered canopy supporting an extensive photovoltaic array. The lightness of the canopy structure — and the engineering challenge of designing it — is one of the defining characteristics of the project.

First envisioned as a cast concrete structure, the original schematic design for Houston Endowment Headquarters was reconsidered by the team to address significant structural costs and a protracted construction schedule. In addition, problematic soil and site conditions, which include foundations from a previous building, did not provide the appropriate bearing for a heavy all-concrete structure. To address these obstacles, Arup supported the architect in evaluating numerous alternative systems, ultimately recommending the headquarters be constructed using a hybrid steel and cross-laminated timber (CLT) approach. The result is an airy architectural design, making the new Houston Endowment Headquarters a welcoming space for community engagement and a vibrant hub for philanthropic work.

CLT — a mass timber product consisting of layers of lumber glued together in alternate directions — offers exceptional strength while also enabling a reduced carbon footprint as a renewable resource. On the other hand, steel framing provides both stability and flexibility for meeting the architectural goals of the project. The intricate latticed canopy maximizes daylight in the building, while minimizing cooling requirements and energy consumption. Together, steel and mass timber achieve a highly efficient and visually appealing new headquarters.

Though mass timber is often assumed to be more expensive, Arup’s proposed scheme cut the structural cost in half while still realizing the project’s ambitious sustainability goals. The hybrid materials escalated the schedule of construction, with a quicker approach utilizing smaller mobile cranes to create a lighter building than would not have been possible with concrete construction. Building on previous experience with mass timber construction and extensive knowledge of building codes, Arup’s contributions achieved considerable cost-savings and carbon reductions for this project.

A new vision for Houston

Arup has been actively contributing to the development of Texas since the 1980s. Most notably, Arup provided engineering and design services for Houston’s enduring Menil Collection Main Building years before the establishment of the local office. As the Houston office’s first ground-up construction project, the new Houston Endowment Headquarters is a significant contribution in Arup’s continuing development of the fourth-largest city in the United States. The unique hybrid steel-CLT approach is groundbreaking for the Houston construction market, as one of the first hybrid and steel buildings in the state. 

As the headquarters for a philanthropic foundation which supports diverse groups across Houston, the Houston Endowment moved their office from the business district to its new site to better embed the organization within the community. At the new location, the Houston Endowment Headquarters includes an extensive mix of enclosed and open office spaces, multi-use public event spaces, and flexible conference rooms that house Houston Endowment employees and host the foundation’s charitable partners. The site also features a vehicular entry and surface parking lot, extensive landscaping, and hardscape features as part of the greater masterplan to revitalize Spotts Park.

This project features a high caliber of architecture and thoughtful structural design, making the new Houston Endowment Headquarters a model for the future development of the City of Houston.