Eric Laignel Photography

GULF COAST PAVERS

HOUSTON , TX

FEATURES + ACCOLADES

“MaRS architectural design studio recognized for two commercial projects” by Katherine Feser, Chron.com, July 2019

AIA Houston 2019, Renovation/Restoration

PaperCity Design Excellence Award, 2019, Commercial Historical Restoration / Preservation

NARRATIVE

The Approached with two dilapidated, one-story 1960’s-era office buildings, the design team sought to both honor and restore the building’s original bones while streamlining the space to conform to a modern-minded service business. The project included restoring the best features of the existing structure – vintage brick, D’Hanis clay tile, raw concrete, terrazzo flooring and expressed steel structure – and adding a complementary palette of wood, steel, and felt along with a new glazing system. Interaction between the interior and exterior was integral to the conception of the building renovation, and the landscape was designed to provide spatial extensions to the interior environment. Large panes of glass reduce visual obstructions, letting spaces bleed across the physical delineations. All new furnishings, a custom steel fence, water features and custom pivoting glass doors accentuate the overall aesthetic of this modern oasis in the middle of the city.