Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Corporate Offices

This 170,000-sq.-ft. administrative office building sits on 16 acres in Pearland, Texas, just south of downtown Houston. The site is unique in that it sits outside of both urban context but also outside of banal suburban office park influence, as it is nestled alongside a creek watershed and a retention lake. The two antagonistic systems - the sites irregularity at the creek edge and the typicality of floor plate size based upon program - were combined to create an efficient yet inflected and agitated final plan form. The "slipped Z" typical suburban floor plate in its ideal condition can be both efficiently planned and built. Ultimately, 26 independent and non-Cartesian planes comprised the final volume. The floor plates are approximately 50,000 sq. ft. for the first three levels. Each level contains a town square area located in the round drum facing the landscaped park between the creek edge and the building. The town squares are informal eating, coffee, and private Wi-Fi areas for employees. Core area conference rooms also are found at each level, with a grand Creekside cafeteria and training suites on the ground floor. The fourth floor contains executive departments with rooftop terraces.

The goal was to use the thematic system of exterior breaks and inflections related to the topography to also influence the sense of location on the interior that often goes unaddressed in open office environments. A simple but sophisticated tripartite color/material/texture system was used to indicate both creekside and away side interior spaces.