Through a series of community meetings, White Oak Studio developed a long range re-development plan for a gated townhome community. Committed to starting at the beginning, the community chose to redevelop their entry based on White Oak Studio’s design criteria.
White Oak Studio was responsible for the design of this 70-acre retirement campus in west Houston. The first phase included the Commons Building, several residential buildings, outdoor gathering spaces including courtyards, putting green, walking trails, entry monument, landscape lighting, signage and a seven-acre detention basin/amenity pond with a stone-clad vehicular bridge. We collaborated with Knudson, LP on the project.
White Oak Studio worked closely with Jay Baker Architects on this unique residence located in a historic neighborhood in Houston’s museum district. The gardens extend and culminate axial views within the house. They were designed to complement the formal layout of the house and to provide areas for large-scale entertaining. The design includes both formal public spaces and intimate garden rooms. Limestone, flagstone, and Mediterranean-inspired plant palettes were the main elements used for the exterior.
In 1999, the historic Hermann Park pedal boat lake was enlarged to almost twice its original size, with an extensive portion of the lake dedicated to wildlife habitat – islands, wetland plantings and native meadow. Paths, boardwalks, and a fishing pier provide pedestrian access around the lake. The park’s miniature train route was also integrated into the lake plan. White Oak Studio collaborated with SLA Studio Land on this project.
White Oak Studio transformed a derelict, overgrown parking lot island into a wooded, meandering wetland stream in Houston’s Hermann Park. Working with the client, Hermann Park Conservancy, we incorporated special storm drainage features within the adjacent Lake Plaza to celebrate the urban water cycle. Runoff is collected in decorative runnels and directed to the Greenway to be filtered by native wetland plants on its way toward Braes Bayou. The stream is used as a tool to educate the public about the stormwater cycle through a display of interpretive signage at key overlooks. The Greenway serves as a stormwater detention basin as well.
Keith-Wiess Regional Detention Basin set a new standard for joint-use, outdoor recreation-stormwater detention facilities in Southeast Texas. This 112-acre detention basin includes a riparian system of ponds, wetlands, and streams that filters urban runoff while providing wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities. Acres of new wetland planting, native woodland and grassland plantings have initiated the process of naturalization and integration into the surrounding wooded 400 acre City of Houston park. White Oak Studio provided leadership in the groundbreaking collaboration that involved numerous public agencies and an interdisciplinary group of professionals for most of this decade. PBS&J was the project civil engineer and Harris County Flood Control District was the client.
White Oak Studio was landscape architect for the Harris County Flood Control District development of the Bretshire Basin. Located at Hall’s Bayou and Jensen Road in northeast Houston, the Basin is part of the District’s flood control plans for the Hall’s Bayou watershed. We worked on a team led by McDonough Engineering and were responsible for the design of in-basin water quality features and for recreation amenities along the edge of the basin. While the recreation amenities were constructed, funded by a Tx Parks & Wildlife grant, implementation of the basin was put on hold pending resolution of a broader watershed effort.
A Master Plan for Re-Establishing Houston’s Grand Boulevard White Oak Studio worked with the Montrose Boulevard Conservancy, a grass-roots community group, to develop a conceptual vision for the 2.7 miles long Montrose Boulevard corridor, extending from Buffalo Bayou to Hermann Park and Rice University. The vision addressed analysis and documentation of existing conditions, a comprehensive pedestrian circulation system, streetscape beautification and stewardship – long-term sustainability of the public streetscape. White Oak Studio facilitated workshops involving key stakeholders in development of parameters and goals for the Master Plan.
Phase 1 of a comprehensive plan for the renovation of downtown Lake Jackson is currently under construction. In collaboration with KBR the project engineers, White Oak Studio is revitalizing the historic downtown in this city of 30,000. Improvements include new utilities, storm drainage, roadways, street-parking, pedestrian walks and gathering spaces, enlivened by lighting and street furnishings. A primary design objective of the project is to enhance the pedestrian environment, including reducing the width of downtown streets and the scale of intersections. Urban design highlights the Mid-Century Modern heritage of the city’s beginnings, shaped by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé Alden Dow.
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