Brave Architecture, Houston, Texas, USA
From Archiplanet
| Architecture Firm | Brave Architecture |
| People | Fernando L. Brave, AIA, principal; Frank Vargas, Jr., AIA, associate principal |
| Address | 4617 Montrose Blvd, Suite C230 |
| Houston, Texas, 77006 USA | |
| Telephone | 713-524-5858 |
| Fax | 713-524-5868 |
| studio@bravearchitecture.com | |
| Web Site | http://www.bravearchitecture.com |
| AW Directory | ArchitectureWeek Directory Listing |
| Add buildings by this firm |
Contents |
[edit] Services
Architecture, Design, Renovation, Rehabilitation, Programming, Feasibility Studies, Sustainable Design, Planning, Master Planning, Space Planning, Campus Planning, Community Planning, Urban Design, Interior Design, Furniture Selection, Finishes Selection, Procurement, Landscape Design, Wayfinding, Signage, Exhibition Design, Graphic Design, Packaging Design, Corporate Identity & Branding, Web Design, Product Design, Project Management, Construction Management, Program Management, DOC-JOC
[edit] Focus
[edit] Projects
Sicardi Gallery This project, located in the heart of Houston, will accommodate the new show spaces for a growing art gallery. Sicardi Gallery, established in 1994 with a mission to facilitate a cultural dialogue between Latin America, the United States and Europe through the form of art, a medium the gallery believes to be a universal language. Sicardi Gallery hosts exhibitions of modern and contemporary work by Latin American artists living and working in many regions of the world. Most of the gallery’s exhibits are museum quality large works, paintings, installations and objects. Sicardi Gallery continues to be a source to museums around the world.
The building, currently under design, will respond to the site’s orientation as well as to its very specific neighboring qualities. Its placement near the Menil Collection’s “campus” and across the street from the Houston Center for Photography requires careful consideration. The building’s placement site will allow for maximum use of a small urban lot. Display and work spaces are interconnected with each other providing clear circulation, but allow for privacy where needed. Natural light will enter the building indirectly and be controlled where required for specific art installations.
Houston Texans YMCA
Located near the intersection of the 610 Loop and I-45 south, the Houston Texans YMCA building, named after the city’s NFL team, is a 31,000 SF ground-up facility designed for the south central area of Houston. The site consists of approximately 10 acres of undeveloped land. The project will serve a large community that is currently using a temporary facility with no athletic fields. The building, which is seeking LEED® certification, will be an engineered steel structure clad in brick.
The organization and design of the two-story floor plan maximizes the use of outdoor space and will allow for the building’s possible future growth. The floor plans are laid out around circulation that facilitates the staff’s ability to supervise traffic while also providing many opportunities for user interaction. A community room is centrally located to provide easy access and visibility when it houses a community partner function.
The project includes a child care area, administration offices, a large meeting room designed as a community partner area, basketball court, cardio and fitness areas, two aerobics/program rooms, and locker rooms. The firm is providing full architectural services. Other services provided by the firm include conceptual design and site planning for the landscaping, competition pool, spray park and athletic fields. Some programmatic priorities include the relationship of this building to a nearby area, the involvement of the local community and the diversity of its users. The building’s relationship with the community and the two adjacent streets was carefully considered during early design stages to allow for safety and privacy where needed while maximizing visibility of marketable indoor activities. The facility will also house a display wall to honor the memory of community leader Quentin R. Mease.
City of Houston: Houston Police Department Museum
The Houston Police Museum is a replacement and relocation of the existing Museum at the HPD Academy Building. The intent of moving the Museum to 1200 Travis is the give is greater visibility to the general public at its new location at, as well to update the display areas to provide a more modern appearance. The Museum will house 3,050 square feet of exhibition space, including a retired helicopter suspended from the ceiling. The exterior glazing that surrounds the exhibition area will be wrapped in a protective film that will shield the delicate, historical items on display, as well as provide a large visible graphic of the Museum’s location. The Chief’s Media Room, where the Chief of Police gives press conferences to the television and newspaper media will also receive an update in keeping with the appearance of the Museum.
The most important aspect of the Museum will be to house the Department’s Wall of Honor, a dedicated area for the display of badges of officers who have fallen in the line of duty. This space will serve as a monument to the brave men and women of Houston’s law enforcement community, as well as to educate the public about the service and duty of those officers have provided.
University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management Massad Family Library Research Center and Hospitality Industry Archives This project consists of over 7,000 SF of interior gut-out demolition and new construction within the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston’s Central Campus. Our firm was selected for this project based on our previous performance on the School of Communications project. The design, currently under way, will include an advanced digital media research system, memorabilia displays of the Hilton Family, lounge areas, research and educational spaces for small groups of students and visitors, computer kiosks, circulation desk and projected digital archive displays. The program also includes private study areas, archive work areas and office space for the program’s director and other staff.
The center is designed to accommodate the latest computing and interactive teaching and research technology. The lounge, the project’s core space, provides a semi-informal setting, where visitors will be able to focus on their research without interfering with one another. Natural light from the existing perimeter of the building is incorporated into the space by strategically placing clerestory and glazed openings within the new interior walls.
New Horizon Family Center The 9,600 SF Center serves the needs of those escaping abusive relationships and was a joint project between the Harris County Community and Economic Development Department and New Horizon Family Center.
The center’s layout is divided into two main structures and is oriented around a garden cloister. The administration building includes a communal area with a large kitchen, conference room, and offices. The dormitory building has a children’s playroom that opens onto a private outdoor play area separate from the central garden. The dormitory structure is further divided into two pods. This separation creates a tertiary courtyard and allows natural light into each of the twelve bedrooms.
The central courtyard is comprised of four large boulders set within a rock garden. A Monastery bamboo tree placed near the corner will eventually grow to a height of 30’ and accent the courtyard with greenery and shade.
Services provided for this 18,000 SF ground-up project included programming, design, construction documents and construction administration phases.
