Texas Architect

Portfolio: Healthcare

Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza

PROJECT Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza, Houston
CLIENT Mischer Healthcare Services
ARCHITECT Kirksey
DESIGN TEAM Jim Dietzmann, AIA; Tomas Barrera, AIA; Bob Inaba, AIA; Scott Wilkinson, AIA
CONTRACTOR D.E. Harvey Builders
CONSULTANTS Haynes Whaley (structural); Walter P Moore (civil); Wylie Consulting Engineers (MEP)
PHOTOGRAPHER Aker/Zvonkovic Photography

The new 31-story addition to the Texas Medical Center (TMC) offers 500,000-sf of retail, ambulatory surgery, and professional office space to an area that previously lacked adequate lease space for physicians. In addition to solving that problem, Houston-based Kirksey has created a focal point for the TMC skyline. Located at the intersections of Fannin, Main, and McGregor, the building’s design fits an 11-story parking garage, 15 floors of doctor’s suites, and 2 floors of a 100,000-sf Ambulatory Surgery Care Center into a tightly packed area. Kirksey’s unique design incorporates an illuminated crown that at night becomes a beacon of changing colors. The center includes the Roger Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine, the Memorial Hermann Breast Center, and the Memorial Hermann Imaging Center. Kirksey effectively integrated the new building into the Texas Medical Center through the use of skybridges that connect the new tower to surrounding buildings, including the Hermann Professional Building to its west and the UT Professional Building to its south.

--Megan Braley