Houston Chronicle
Developer Skanska USA has substantially completed construction at 1550 Lamar Street , the first piece of Discovery West, a 3.5-acre mixed-use project. Dubbed 1550 on the Green, the 375,000-square-foot, $225 million tower includes ground-floor space expected to be filled by restaurants.
While it's not the tallest tower downtown, the multi-tiered, curved structure — which places elevators on the west side of the building rather than at the center — is a unique addition to downtown's architectural landscape.
Vines that will eventually creep along the terracotta-colored tower are meant to help the building blend into the surrounding park. The building's curve allows even tenants on lower levels to view Discovery Green.
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"The amount of daylight in this building is higher than a typical what we call 'donut' buildings with the core at the center. It's very unique. It just feels lighter in here," said Jenna Dezinski , senior architect at Bjarke Ingels Group , which led the project's design.
Three outdoor terraces laden with native plants, the use of wood throughout the building, and a lobby with a two-story window overlooking the park pulls in elements of the outdoors.
The city provided $1 million in tax breaks to help support Skanska's efforts to create what it describes as one of Texas' most sustainable office towers.
In the basement, a 48,000-gallon cistern will recycle rainwater for toilets and irrigation, Dezinksi said. Special glass helps to reflect heat to reduce the energy requirements, Dezinski added.
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And by relying on more environmentally friendly construction materials, Skanska reduced the building's embodied footprint by about 45% compared with standard construction, said Matt Damborsky , executive vice president at Skanska.
Damborsky said the firm hasn't signed tenants other than its anchor, law firm Norton Rose Fulbright , which is renting about a third of the building's office space. Skanska, he said, is talking with a handful of other prospects.
"We knew that until you could see it, and touch it and feel it, (the building) is really hard to understand. Now that it's done, people can actually see it and say, 'I get it now,'" Damborsky said.
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