Kirby Grove Highlights Upper Kirby Green Space
Construction is nearing completion at Kirby Grove, featured above and designed by our client, Munoz + Albin, who is known for their international design expertise. This multi-use development from Midway is centered around Levy Park (shown at left in the rendering above), the recipient of a $15 million overhaul. The recently opened park (photo inset) features a children's play area, interactive water features, a performance pavilion, and a dog park. Midway anticipates Levy Park will fill the void for much-needed green space in Upper Kirby, and bring more visitors to Kirby Grove to enjoy the upscale dining and shopping. The building totals 225,000 s.f. and stands at 16 stories. Kirksey is the architect of record.
Cheers to the new year!
Whether you ate black-eyed peas, made a champagne toast, or vowed THIS is the year you’ll keep that one resolution, January is traditionally the time for starting with a clean slate and planning for the year ahead. The PRISM team recently finalized our goals and plan for 2017. We refined our Core Values, which influence our daily operations and every decision we make. We hope to continue working with more like-minded clients and partners in the coming year. PRISM Core Values:
Helping Hands for Boys in Need
Following up on the Good Shepherd RTC project we shared last month, PRISM is increasing our involvement with this wonderful cause. On December 10th, Sarah and I participated in their annual Christmas Celebration by providing drinks, homemade food, and volunteering at their Christmas feast. PRISM sponsored one Good Shepherd Boy’s Christmas gift, which included a new duffle bag filled with a pair of jeans, polo shirt, shoes, socks, athletic ball, and hygiene essentials. PRISM also donated Deluxe Bag Toss sets and gift cards for two caretakers at The Good Shepherd.
United for a Cause
Thanksgiving is officially over, yet the action of giving thanks is still present for all of us at PRISM. We have been blessed again this year with engaging clients, fulfilling projects, and an enriching work environment. One project that is the culmination of the Thanksgiving spirit is the new campus for The Good Shepherd Residential Treatment Center. PRISM was invited to participate alongside major Houston firms in providing pro-bono services to bring the project to fruition. The all-volunteer team worked in the areas of fundraising, designing and ultimately, building the 19,000 s.f. facility to serve the specialized needs of at-risk boys between 7-17 years old. The team includes:
Retail detail at ICSC
It may not even be the end of October, but a National Retail Federation survey found that 40% of consumers say they start their holiday shopping before Halloween. Tracking retail patterns and trends is a constant focus for our friends at ICSC and Bisnow, two groups where PRISM maintains involvement. We attended ICSC RECon in June, and earlier this month Jing and Sarah Amos, our VP of Client Relations, attended ICSC's Texas Conference & Deal Making event in Dallas. We debuted the complete new PRISM interactive display, where we had multi-media capability to showcase our recent renderings, animations and virtual reality portfolio.
SMPS Houston voting starting now for favorite award entries!
As we always say, PRISM's growth in the past 10 years is all thanks to our clients and friends. And with your input, we made the transition from PCG to PRISM Renderings, and introduced a bright new brand, developed by the experts at Marketing Refresh. We are so excited about our new name and look that we entered the annual SMPS Houston Design Awards, and are honored to share that our entries placed in the top three in the Corporate Identity and Special Event Materials/Holiday Pieces categories. SMPS Houston is having a Facebook contest to showcase all the amazing entries. Please visit Facebook to 'LIKE' your favorite entries; the entry with the most likes will receive a special award during the Gala. You can check out all the PRISM entries on Facebook at the links below.
Not your average sandcastle
Forget the plastic buckets and shovels. Houston’s A/E/C industry is known for amazing design, engineering and craftsmanship. Teams in the annual AIA Houston Sandcastle Competition unleash their creativity, producing sand sculptures ranging from the fanciful to the frightful. PRISM sponsored two clients who brought home awards this year. Kirksey, along with Metzger Construction, won the coveted first place Golden Bucket award for their re-interpretation of a Disney film, Finding Gory. Ziegler Cooper Architects won the Best Costume award and a fourth place Honorable Mention design award for Game of Bones. Congratulations to all!!! The Sandcastle Competition is a major fundraiser for AIA Houston and Architecture Center Houston Foundation. Their shared mission is to promote awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the ways architecture and urban design influence and enhance the quality of life in our community. PRISM was proud to be a part of this event and support this work.
Houston’s multifamily market is certainly a mixed bag. Supply is currently outpacing demand, and another 29,000 units are under construction. Houston leads the nation in declining rents, yet some submarkets are commanding a premium for new luxury developments. Pearl CityCentre and Pearl Residences at CityCentre, developed by The Morgan Group and shown above, are listing 1BR units as low as $1,465/month and 3BR units as high as $5,455/month; according to Rent Jungle, the average Houston rent in July 2016 was $1,373/month. Developers continue to look for ways to stand out in this increasingly competitive sector.
The Briar Club New Reality Matches Rendered Vision
When management from the prestigious Briar Club, a private Houston social and recreational club, requested approval for a $30 million renovation, they made sure to give their members plenty of incentive. The Briar Club engaged PRISM to showcase the extensive design enhancements provided by Jackson Ryan Architects. PRISM completed several renderings to clearly depict the improved amenities throughout the club and luxury detailing. After two years of design and construction, members celebrated substantial completion of the project over the 4th of July weekend. Before construction started, I went to the site several times to meet with The Briar Club’s general manager. Hearing his vision for the finished project and how it would enhance the member experience allowed me to vividly convey the rendering needs to our team. Such involvement with our clients is incredibly rewarding.
The Better Business Bureau of Houston recognized PRISM Renderings with a 2016 Winner of Distinction Award; the award is based on overall company excellence and quality in the workplace. The judges for this award reviewed company business practices, client relationships, customer service, and reputation in the community, among other criteria.
