| Architect's rendering of the Discovery Tower courtesy of Gensler Architects. |
Gilbane Building Company has been chosen to construct the 871,000-square-foot Discovery Tower in downtown Houston at an estimated cost of $156 million. Trammell Crow is the developer, and CBRE is the real estate broker, with Gilbane's Southwest regional office overseeing the work. Designed by Gensler architects, the 30-story tower will have 10 wind turbines at the top of the structure to harvest renewable energy by generating electricity.
Located on a full city block, Discovery Tower will have an adjacent 10-story parking garage accessible by a sky bridge, and will be located next to Discovery Green, a 12-acre park with a children's playground, interactive water features, amphitheater stage, public art works, and restaurants.
The project will seek a LEED Gold certification based on the rooftop wind turbines, a first for Houston, as well as other sustainable features such as air filtration systems and water-efficient plumbing. Completion of the project is estimated to be the second quarter of 2010.
In another trend-setting Houston area project, Gilbane Building Company has been selected by the Clear Creek Independent School District (ISD) to oversee the construction of their new Education Village, a first of its kind in Texas. The elementary, intermediate and high school will be built on the same property and share common areas including the main kitchen prep area, mechanical plant and service yards.
While the schools occupy the same property and some services, each campus is separate. The site features a 105,000-square-foot elementary school, a 176,500-square-foot intermediate school, and a 460,000-square-foot high school. PBK Architects is teaming with Gilbane's Southwest regional office on the precedent-setting project. The elementary school will open in the fall of 2009, with the intermediate school and high school opening a year later.
