DBR worked with Powers Brown Architecture and Harvey Builders to complete the Daikin Texas Technology Park (DTTP) in Waller County. Located about 40 miles from Houston, the manufacturing hub features a 4.2 million square foot building, the largest tilt-wall structure in the world, with 370 panels measuring more than two miles in length.
DBR has launched an initiative to optimize the operating cost of buildings while working within the Owners’ initial construction budgets. This is a WIN/WIN/WIN scenario for the Owner, Architect, and the MEP Engineer (DBR).
Located in Houston’s Third Ward, Energy Institute High School is the newest magnet school in Houston ISD and the first energy-focused magnet school in the Nation. The campus, established in the “Energy Capital of the World,” is helping the district pave the way for students who aspire to a career in the energy industry and ensure they are well versed in corporate culture.
The Will Smith Zoo School is the largest nature-based preschool in the country, where children ages 3-5 will spend more than half the day outdoors and visit the neighboring San Antonio Zoo daily. DBR worked with Lake Flato Architects and Guido Construction to renovate an existing building to create a flexible indoor and outdoor learning environment for up to 220 students.
The environments we construct are not only places in which we spend our time, but they also act as a hub for our local communities. When you see development taking place, whether it be new construction or a renovation project, it signifies a growing and changing community.
We spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, so it comes as no surprise that the built environment can play a powerful role in promoting our mental health and well-being. By utilizing appropriate design, programmatic, and policy strategies as outlined in the WELL v2 Standard, we can positively influence not only the lives of employees in the workplace but also the greater community as well.
Whether you’re looking at a small home or a large commercial project, the materials, and products selected for the construction and operation of that building play a significant role in the health impacts on the building occupants. Logically, this makes sense – Any toxic chemicals you bring into your building will then become part of the indoor environment, resulting in a diminished quality of air and water, which can then result in negative impacts on your health.
Whether it is pleasant noises such as music or birds chirping, or less pleasant noises such as construction work or excessive sound from HVAC operation, sound has a powerful impact on our physiology, psychology, concentration, and behavior. By utilizing research-based design techniques in our built environment, we can maximize the acoustic comfort in our designed spaces and help improve the overall health and well-being of our building occupants.
In the A/E/C industry we design and create buildings. One of the main functions of a building is to act as a controlled environment that is separate from the surrounding exterior conditions. As designers, we have the opportunity to create an environment that is both comfortable and health-promoting for our future building occupants.
Your health is one of the biggest determinants of the quality and quantity of time you have on this earth, and physical activity is one of the major influences on your health. You might be thinking “that sounds great, but it also sounds like a lot of work,” but actually, when designed correctly, the built environment can set us up for success and encourage us to incorporate activity into our daily routines without even recognizing it.