Two award-winning UH architecture professors plan to renovate the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management this summer.
‘It’s a gut-out renovation,’ architecture professor Christian Sheridan said. ‘It’s about to or already receiving bids and is supposed to be going under construction this summer.’
The project, which will update the school’s archives and library, is not the first UH renovation BRAVE/Architecture has taken on. The firm also designed the computer lab in the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication.
In March, the firm’s founder, UH architecture professor Fernando Brave, was honored along with Sheridan for their design of the New Horizons Family Center in Baytown.
‘ ‘Fernando and I have been teaching third year studio for three years now,’ Sheridan said.
Brave and Sheridan earned the 2009 Design Award from the Houston chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in the area of architecture, along with two other contestants in a field of 43.
Sheridan said the family center won the design award because of the project’s organization and the community atmosphere and services it provides.
‘The projects don’t really compete with each other, but are basically judged on the merit of how they succeed in accomplishing their program,’ Sheridan said.
Brave and Sheridan completed construction of the facility in July 2007.’
The decorated family center increased the capacity of the New Horizon’s facility, which was frequently crowded.
‘New Horizon was able to serve 555 clients last year due to our expanded facilities,’ executive director for the family center Patrina Pelton-Smith said in a press release. ‘Without the assistance of DivisionOne construction and BRAVE/Architecture, many victims of domestic violence and sexual assault would have remained in the cold.’
Sheridan said he and Brave appreciate the recognition from their AIA peers, but they are more pleased with the community outreach their building is able to provide.
‘One thing the firm really prides itself on is community work,’ Sheridan said. ‘We really understood the importance, that it was more than just a building and offices.’
The structure of the 9,600 sq. ft. facility includes a public area with a kitchen, administrative offices, a conference room and communal area.
The center’s two dormitory ‘pods’ provide housing for domestic abuse victims as well as an outdoor and indoor play area for children.
The structure encloses a garden, giving residents a private outdoor area.
The building’s design stemmed from the needs of its occupants.’
‘There’s a focus on privacy first and foremost for the clients, as well as security and the overall functionality,’ Sheridan said. ‘This is so it doesn’t feel institutionalized.’
Brave founded BRAVE/Architecture in 2002 and has worked on several projects around the city and on UH campus.
‘We’ve received awards for Santa’s Gallery on Richmond, the K. Smith Elementary School and the UH computer lab in the (Jack J. Valenti) School of Communication,’ Sheridan said.
The firm is always open to working on UH projects in the future, Sheridan said.
‘We love working with UH,’ Sheridan said.
