Environments for Aging - Spring 2023 - 42

DESIGN SHOWCASE
AWARD OF MERIT
NEW HEIGHTS
A hospitality-inspired high-rise addition at Houston's Uptown Oaks community
delivers a luxury product and impressive shared amenity space
SLATED TO OPEN in April 2025, Uptown Oaks at
Th e Hallmark in Houston is a $140 million, nearly
500,000-square-foot addition to an existing
continuing care retirement community that offers
a modern interpretation of urban, high-rise
senior living. Th e in-progress luxury project is
a solution for owner and operator Brazos Presbyterian
Homes to expand its reach to the area's
active adults as it also provides a dynamic piece
of architecture to the city skyline.
Th e expansion, which will house 113 independent
living apartments, enhances the overall
campus, as well, thanks to amenity spaces
designed to offer areas where residents can
connect. Th ose include an art studio, theater,
putting green, library, game room, and pool
deck boasting panoramic views of Houston.
Not only off ering residents easy access to the
surrounding neighborhood, the project works to
draw residents outside on the campus, as well,
thanks to integrating the site's mature oak trees
into the new landscape design and providing a
series of courtyards to explore.
Th e jury noted the project's thoughtful design
to integrate the tower within a tight urban
context, even conducting a master planning
process that considered how the addition
would work with a vision for future campus
growth. Additionally, its hospitality-forward
design recognizes how and where senior living
is diff erent than a hotel-for example, requiring
a grand reception desk to manage everything
from deliveries to valet services. Meanwhile,
the aesthetics of the project were lauded for
both modernizing and fi tting in with the existing
exterior context of the campus. Inside, a
light-fi lled design was introduced that freshens
and contemporizes the community.
Here, lead designers Jeremy Whitener, associate
principal at Perkins Eastman (Chicago),
and Nicole Hill, senior project manager
at Faulkner Design Group (Dallas), offer insight
on some of the jurors' favorite features
that earned the project an Award of Merit.
42 | spring 2023
EFA: Th is addition will bring a modern, luxury
option to the campus. But it also has to blend
in with the existing buildings, all within a tight
urban site. Tell us how you've navigated these
challenges.
Jeremy Whitener: We began the project by
speaking with the client and end users to discover
what was missing from their current
spaces. Th ere was a real desire to create amenities
and spaces that would enhance not only
the Uptown Oaks property but also the whole
campus of buildings. Th is led us to explore ways
to create a new " heart " of the campus, centered
on gathering and dining venues. Furthermore,
we needed to craft a new main entry for the
entire campus to create a real sense of arrival
that knits together old and new. Th e only free
land area left on campus was a corner zone that
is currently a parking lot. No other location for
this project had the land area large enough to
support parking with residential above. The
team took an approach of sliding an amenity
form into the existing Hallmark building,
connecting horizontally, and stacking the new
building on top of those amenities. When land
area is at a premium, going vertical is your
friend. Future phases plan to remove and replace
current buildings that will eventually
become outdated, so the team laid the groundwork
early with horizontal connections, creating
a network of corridors that would link
existing and new structures as Hallmark grows.
A notable piece to the campus plan is the integration
of the existing mature oak trees, including
resident-favorite " Big Al. " How has the
design evolved to manage that?
Whitener: We did a series of master planning
efamagazine.com
COURTESY OF PERKINS EASTMAN AND FAULKNER DESIGN GROUP
http://www.efamagazine.com
Environments for Aging - Spring 2023

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