Two Houston firms merge to form Method Architecture

Two Houston-based architecture firms, Architects-Plus and Three Square Design Group, will merge to launch Method Architecture this year.

The new studio will be situated in a 10,000-sf second floor of an industrial building in the EaDo neighborhood, east of downtown Houston. Method will move into the building in June, and it will design the exterior renovations for the entire building, which also includes retail and food businesses.

Architects-Plus and Three Square completed 700 total projects between them last year. Architects-Plus has designed auto dealerships, offices, financial institutions, and medical centers, while Three Square’s portfolio contains corporate interiors, industrial centers, and special projects, like breweries. Each have worked on retail spaces and assisted living centers.

Method will have a staff of 40 and it will take on the same range of projects that Architects-Plus and Three Square did.

Method is led by four partners: Keith Holley and Eric Hudson, Principals and Co-owners of Architects-Plus; Jake Donaldson, Founder and Principal of Three Square; and Vanessa Ortega, Director of Projects at Three Square.

Left to right: Donaldson, Ortega, Holley, and Hudson.

The partners have a shared history. First they were classmates at Texas A&M and the University of Houston, then they worked at Architects-Plus before Donaldson opened Three Square in 2008 (Holley and Hudson became owners of Architects-Plus in 2013).

“We’re thrilled about what lies ahead with Method, as we tap the resources that both firms bring to the table,” the Partners said in a statement. “Our combined portfolio means that we have collective expertise on a vast array of project types. After considerable planning, we’re confident that we can build upon this expanded reach, while still providing the same quality, personal attention and culture that clients and employees appreciate.”

(Click to enlarge photos)

Parkview Commerce Center is a 828,162-sf three-building multi-tenant speculative industrial park in Flower Mound, Texas. It was designed by Architects-Plus.

The first commercial facility of its kind in the U.S., the 44,000-sf Maersk Training Center is a training facility in Houston designed by Architects-Plus.

The popular Karbach Brewing Company is a 22,040-sf brewery with a tap house, full kitchen, and event spaces. Three Square Design Group was the architect.

Investigators from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) say they have found no evidence of underground voids on the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse, according to a new NIST report. The team of investigators have studied the site’s subsurface conditions to determine if sinkholes or excessive settling of the pile foundations might have caused the collapse.

Office Buildings | Sep 14, 2023

New York office revamp by Kohn Pedersen Fox features new façade raising occupant comfort, reducing energy use

The modernization of a mid-century Midtown Manhattan office tower features a new façade intended to improve occupant comfort and reduce energy consumption. The building, at 666 Fifth Avenue, was originally designed by Carson & Lundin. First opened in November 1957 when it was considered cutting-edge, the original façade of the 500-foot-tall modernist skyscraper was highly inefficient by today’s energy efficiency standards.

The Tampa General Health Behavioral Health Hospital, JE Dunn, Stengel Hill Architecture

Healthcare Facilities | Sep 13, 2023

Florida’s first freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital breaks ground in Tampa Bay

Construction kicked off recently on TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, Florida’s first freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital. The joint venture partnership between Tampa General (a 1,040-bed facility) and Lifepoint Behavioral Health will provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient care in specialized units for pediatrics, adolescents, adults, and geriatrics, and fills a glaring medical need in the area.

Adaptive Reuse | Sep 13, 2023

Houston's first innovation district is established using adaptive reuse

Gensler's Vince Flickinger shares the firm's adaptive reuse of a Houston, Texas, department store-turned innovation hub.

Giants 400 | Sep 12, 2023

Top 75 Retail Sector Engineering and Engineering Architecture (EA) Firms for 2023

Kimley-Horn, Henderson Engineers, Jacobs, and EXP head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest retail building engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors revenue for all retail buildings work, including big box stores, cineplexes, entertainment centers, malls, restaurants, strip centers, and theme parks.

Giants 400 | Sep 11, 2023

Top 140 Retail Sector Architecture and Architecture Engineering (AE) Firms for 2023

Gensler, Arcadis, Core States Group, WD Partners, and NORR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest retail sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors revenue for all retail buildings work, including big box stores, cineplexes, entertainment centers, malls, restaurants, strip centers, and theme parks.

Resiliency | Sep 11, 2023

FEMA names first communities for targeted assistance on hazards resilience

FEMA recently unveiled the initial designation of 483 census tracts that will be eligible for increased federal support to boost resilience to natural hazards and extreme weather. The action was the result of bipartisan legislation, the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022. The law aims to help localities most at risk from the impacts of climate change to build resilience to natural hazards.

MFPRO+ Research | Sep 11, 2023

Conversions of multifamily dwellings to ‘mansions’ leading to dwindling affordable stock

Small multifamily homes have historically provided inexpensive housing for renters and buyers, but developers have converted many of them in recent decades into larger, single-family units. This has worsened the affordable housing crisis, say researchers.