News and Media

Houston Chronicle

The Houston Area Safety Council has broken ground on a safety training campus in Pasadena. Designed by Kirksey Architecture and to be completed in 2013 by Tellepsen Builders, the initial phase will include multiple buildings as part of a 67,000-square-foot campus, including a 220-seat auditorium, a computer lab with 725 workstations and parking for 800 vehicles.

Texas Architect

Kirksey's Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA project is featured on the cover of the July/August issue of Texas Architect and appears in the "Healthcare and Wellness" section.

Houston Chronicle

Demand for office space in west Houston has developers scrambling to put buildings on the ground. They’re betting on continued strength in the energy sector, which has been driving the office market in this part of town. Most of the following buildings are proposed, but a few are already under construction.

Houston Chronicle

Granite Properties is planning a 200,000-square-foot office building just outside The Woodlands in anticipation of growing demand for office space…Granite's site is on Vision Park Boulevard just off I-45. Architecture firm Kirksey designed the eight-story building...

Houston Chronicle

The deck near the Memorial Park Tennis Center has provided more than a spot to do post-run push-ups for the past 20 years or so..."Memorial Park is one of the greatest urban parks in the country. So many runners use it, I thought it might be good to redesign the deck and get some shade and make it look a little better, to what it should be, given its stature in the community," said Inaba, an executive vice president at Kirksey Architecture.

Houston Business Journal

The real estate arm of a large European conglomerate has selected Houston’s Energy Corridor as the site for its first U.S. office development. The Netherlands-based Stena Realty Group plans to break ground in six to nine months on the first of two Class A office buildings [designed by Kirksey Architecture].

Interiors & Sources

Although designers and architects typically don’t select the art for public projects, they do have a say. Here’s how to ensure the artwork chosen for your next project complements your final design. Kirksey's Brian Malarkey and Gary Machicek provided information for this article.

ARCHITECT

The new 115,000-sf Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA replaces the former 1941 facility (after feasibility studies concluded replacement was the best solution) and serves the needs of a revitalizing downtown. The design incorporates elements from the original structure and graphically tells the history of the YMCA and the Tellepsen family, for whom the building is named. Expected to achieve LEED Gold, this flagship YMCA is community-focused and supports the Y’s mission to create healthy spirits, minds, and bodies for all.

URBAN LAND

Ten community/recreation centers model design strategies and partnerships for strengthening communities.

These days, recreation centers go far beyond simply offering fitness classes and equipment, swimming pools, and basketball courts. Contemporary facilities often serve as a social hub, incorporating educational programs and health care services and hosting community meetings and performances. Because they tend to bring

PSYCHIATRIC NEWS

The architecture of the new Menninger Clinic in Houston reflects and enhances the clinic’s philosophy about patient care. The Menninger Clinic, long at the center of American psychiatry—geographically and otherwise—completed its shift from Topeka, Kan., with the opening of a new 120-bed campus in Houston.

RealEstate BISNOW (HOU)

How bittersweet. Construction costs troughed over the past year and are on the rise, according to a recent study by Kirksey. Here’s Kirksey’s Scott Wilkinson, Randy Thomas, and Jim Dietzmann, who lead the commercial team and contributed to the report. The firm is seeing increased development activity, especially in the office sector

Houston Business Journal

A number of energy-related companies are expected to move forward with building projects in the near future, according to an annual survey of leading general contractors conducted by Kirksey. In addition, the cost of constructing commercial buildings in Houston is higher than it was a year ago, based on results in Construction Cost Update 2012, which was released last week ...

Texas Architect

Kirksey's Clean Line Energy Partners project was featured in the Interiors Portfolio of the  May/June 2012 issue of Texas Architect, page 72.

Real Estate BISNOW (HOU)

St. Vincent de Paul, the church and school, is about to launch renovations and expansion. The main focus: Make room for more students to the tune of one class per grade for several years. (That's a lot of future altar servers.) St. Vincent’s originally had a large comprehensive plan for the church and school, but lack of funding made it break into various phases.

ENR Texas & Louisiana

Good talent breeds talent. For the 2012 edition of ENR Texas & Louisiana's annual Top 20 Under 40 list, we feature young professionals who represent a broad spectrum of the industry. Brian Richard turned his long-time interest in science into an architectural career, designing high-performance laboratories and mission critical spaces. At Kirksey, he gained expertise in carrying out projects in which integration of technology and applied science and coordination across disciplines were vital to success. "I find it fortunate I practice architecture on a daily basis that has something to do with that area of the world I am most interested in—science," he says. Richard aims to be a good steward of the environment and holds a U.S. Dept. of Energy-ASHRAE Data Center Energy Use certification. He graduated from the Harvard School of Public Health with training in lab design and has become an expert laboratory planner. Richard also is a valued resource at the firm for projects in the petrochemical, oil and gas, industrial and light manufacturing sectors. He stays active in the community and mentors young people in his profession, instilling in them a passion for knowledge and leadership.

Houston Business Journal

Noble Energy Inc. signed a lease for a 497,000-square-foot, former Hewlett Packard Co. building, with plans to consolidate employees from several locations into the new headquarters in northwest Houston...Kirksey Architecture is redesigning the interior of the building with modern layouts.

Athletic Business

The 2011 Athletic Business® Facility of Merit™ awards were recently selected by a panel of sports and recreation facility architects during two days of judging in Chicago. The Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA is a recipient. The awards were presented to the facility owners and architects at the Athletic Business Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla., on Friday, Dec. 2.
 

CultureMap Houston

Green views of the Waterwall: Skanska's new Galleria office tower is designed to eco wow...As plans continue for light rail service along Post Oak, lead architects Julie Hendricks and Bob Inaba of Kirksey Architecture concentrated on creating pedestrian-friendly space at street level. Instead of placing the garage next to the building, the designers placed the office spaces on top of eight stories of parking — a plan that allowed for a green plaza at the front entrance as well as better views of the city and the Waterwall Park across the street.

Houston Chronicle

After almost two years of planning, construction on a 20-story office building in the Galleria area will begin within a few weeks, a developer said Monday...The building, designed by architecture firm Kirksey, will contain 12 stories of offices atop an eight-story garage. Skanska said the tower is being built for a Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

Houston Chronicle

As the saying goes, Kristen Johnson isn't from Texas, but she got here as fast as she could. The Canadian juggled dual citizenship for a few years and had a fling with Alaska, but after moving to Houston in 1984, Johnson has settled down. An associate interior designer at Kirksey Architecture, Johnson says she always knew she wanted a career in a creative field.