Jing and Warren Johnson attended the magical lighting of the Conroe Christmas Tree. The festive community event brings kids young and not-so-young out to get in the holiday spirit in downtown Conroe. There was The Light of Christmas show, live bands, carolers, amazing merchant window displays, and more. What an uplifting way to ignite the holiday spirit!
Like every other group setting, churches were closed for COVID starting in March 2020. Most have reopened for in-person services. The church is a second home for many families, especially in smaller communities and economically depressed areas. Church is also the place where people living alone get their source of social interaction. And with their various ministries, churches are a vital link to desperately needed resources like food and clothing for those with nowhere else to turn. For many, churches can provide hope in whatever form it is needed. PRISM has worked on renderings and animations for over 40 liturgical projects. They are projects of all sizes, scope, and costs. Our work is most often used as part of capital campaigns to fund new and growing churches. As with any fundraising effort, the intent is to show a future state, what the new or renovated buildings will look like. The biggest challenge we at PRISM always have is how we communicate that hope that is intrinsic in every liturgical environment. We pay special attention to the lighting, scale and height, finishes and textures, and of course, the symbols of faith. This video highlights a handful of these projects we've had the privilege to be part of. Part of showing the future state also involves addressing fears congregations may have of the changes to come. In a recent project, the congregation was nervous about cutting down some trees to accommodate the improvements. PRISM worked closely with our architect client to produce renderings that would communicate the intricacies of the vision to the congregation. Upon seeing the renderings, congregants were not only happy, but the nervousness shifted to excitement!
Imagine resort living with no check out time. The Mustang is a new luxury multifamily property with an expansive waterfront setting on Lake Carolyn, overlooking the Las Colinas urban center. This ambitious new property, developed by American Residential Group of Tulsa, OK, is currently in the design development phase and is expected to break ground in Spring 2022. The design team includes Experiential Design and Branding by HofferWaska Creative, Womack + Hampton Architects, LandDesign, and Ellie Aiello Interiors.
Canstruction is where creativity and packaged food meet! Canstruction Houston 2021 was held November 6 at the Understory food court. Participants produced exquisite sculptures using more than 48,000 cans of food, which was donated to the Houston Food Bank. PRISM sponsored the raffle drawing. Congrats to Amy Moen of HOK, drawn as the winner!
Houston architecture stalwart Kirksey celebrated their 50th anniversary this month. Congratulations on this milestone, and the firm’s long list of achievements, including 2021 AIA Houston Firm of the Year! Jing Johnson and Deborah Gross were honored to attend the celebration and see so many colleagues, clients, and friends. As Jing said, “as a former Kirksey team member, it truly felt like being back home.”
On November 11 we officially recognized U.S. military veterans, past and present. We thank all those in selfless service to our great country, for the risks you take and the sacrifices you make. Let us not forget to pray for our veterans and their families and remember that freedom isn't guaranteed, it's protected by the brave men and women in our Armed Services.
In a July 2021 report, Reuters confirmed that the COVID-19 recession was the worst ever, when the U.S. economy contracted at an annualized rate of 19.2% from the fourth quarter 2019 peak through 2Q of 2020. The pandemic downturn was the deepest since 1947. Every business sector has been impacted. During the initial phase of the pandemic, PRISM too was directly impacted due to many clients that had to temporarily reduce or suspend outsourced services. Like other businesses we had to pivot in our operations. We have since turned the corner and have experienced increased sales as many of our clients are busy again with exciting projects. 2021 has been a year of recovery and relaunch for us. Through it all, the PRISM team has been working on our collective mindfulness, being present in the moment. This hyper focus on current feelings has helped each of us actively look for the positives in everyday life, both big and small. This shift in outlook made it much easier to list the many things for which we are grateful. And this attitude of gratitude was and is a key to our business health. We can’t say it enough – we are grateful for every email, call, text, letter, and conversation with clients. Thank you for the opportunity to work with each of you, your trust in us, and looking to us as a trusted partner. We are grateful for you!
AIA Houston recently announced the winners of their 2021 Design Awards. In the architecture less than 50,000 s.f. the winner is the Lyric Center Garage. PRISM worked with firms Kirkey and Munoz + Albin to develop several rounds of renderings for this significant new addition to Houston’s Theatre District. Not your typical garage, this project features projected masses on each façade to break up the horizontal planes of the standard parking structure. The glass exterior features customizable LED panels that illuminate the entire façade. The ground level has an articulated façade and is occupied by a 31,000 s.f. dining hall with covered outdoor patios. The facility also has full license plate recognition technology at every space, allowing contract parkers access without manual badging. The technology can also provide a digital map to help parkers locate their car. The owner calls this ‘Parking Perfection’ on their webpage and refers to the Lyric Center Garage as a work of art. We agree! Congratulations to Kirksey, Munoz + Albin, and all the award winners this year!
Located immediately off I-25, Colorado’s main north/south highway, the new Elevation25 development is bringing more industrial to the busy Denver market. The 73-acre site in Mead, Colorado is planned for 10 buildings of Class A warehouse space. The first two buildings have 93,600 s.f. and 104,00 s.f. respectively; Building 1 is 41% preleased with opening expected in the third quarter of 2022. The location is what makes Elevation25 such a prime spot. It is within a 35-minute drive of Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Denver International Airport and has premier visibility from I-25. Intergroup Architects hired PRISM to produce the marketing animation for preleasing efforts on behalf of Silver Point Development. In addition to fly-through and aerial views of the development once completed, it also incorporates additional graphics like trucking routes and satellite maps that illustrate the easy transportation access and nearby manufacturers.
Our team recently celebrated our 16th anniversary--what a difference one year has made! We were in total survival mode last year, and my primary focus was finding ways to protect everyone's job. Fast forward twelve months, I'm working on our most ambitious business growth plan with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. If there were any doubts in my mind about our future growth plan, they were eradicated during my second visit with my hero, the First Lady of Aerobatics, Debby Rihn-Harvey, at the Wings Over Houston Air Show this month. Debby is the most courageous, intelligent, competitive, and energetic woman I've ever met. She's been the women's national champion nine times and is the longest-flying U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team member, representing the United States in 13 World Championships. She is truly a national treasure! Debby's passion for aerobatics is contagious. At 70 years young, she did a radio interview about performing tricks while flipping and twisting the plane around in the sky in front of everyone! I could tell from her voice that she was having so much fun doing what she loves to do! That level of passion inspires and drives me to be curious and action-oriented in all that I do!
