Location
Year
Type
Size
Houston, TX
2020
Education
Specialty Clinics
Experiential Design
41,353ft²
Since 1947, THI has helped thousands of Houston-area children gain listening, speaking and literacy skills – the tools they need to improve their quality of life and achieve success in society.
In 2017, THI commissioned Inventure to design a new ground-up building within the city of Houston. A new building was necessary to support the fast growth of their services that are projected to double over the next 5 years.
While looking for a new site, an invitation was extended to join the Texas Medical Center as a member institution.
As a result, THI now resides within TMC’s McGregor Campus at the intersection of Shenandoah and Mark Crosswell Street; adjacent to highway 288.
THI’s new building supports their excellent service to the Houston area and 36 surrounding counties. The atmosphere reflects the organization's professional approach to a child's hearing loss and provides an environment that meets their unique, individual needs.
The overall facility provides an elegant feel of a “simplified nature”.
Inventure complimented the architecture with a strong graphics and signage program that communicates child-like aesthetics and wayfinding starting at the front door of the light-filled Pavillion.
Generous use of windows on the corridor allows observation of the children’s learning. Resources for the classrooms are located in the interior spaces and the culmination of the design is the open library which is designed as part of a forest.
The facility is colorful and bright and children know that a place has been created specifically for them. The school uses the theme of “house and home” to anchor the 14 classrooms with color-coded “houses” as entries.
The project overcame several challenges.
They included a tight window to sell their property at West Dallas Street, find a temporary location to continue the mission of the THI while navigating the timeline of the design and construction of their new building.
Requirements for the Medical Center and flood control limited the access to the entire 4-acre site. The clinic and staff parking restricted the size of the building and the close location to the noisy 288 corridor required the sound booths to be moved as far east as was possible.
The construction started during a particularly wet season and the contractor, Tellepsen, was also presented with the challenges of managing their subcontractors during the pandemic. The tight scheduling required the building to be completed for the coming school year.