Interloop—Architecture was one of five nationally recognized architecture firms invited to submit a design proposal for a new landmark in Downtown Houston: Central Station – Main. Houston’s light rail infrastructure currently consists of just one line, but construction has begun on two additional transit lines that serve diverse neighborhoods in the city. These lines will all intersect at the new Central Station transfer zone in downtown Houston. This transfer zone literally occupies the right of way, allowing riders use the city sidewalks to change trains and make connections between the three light rail lines and city buses. Central Station is made up of three light rail platforms: one at Main Street – the focus of this competition proposal – and two more at Rusk and Capitol Streets. These platforms and the common spaces between them combine to form Open Transfer.
Tag Archives: Graphics
16 Houses
Interloop-Architecture’s “Klip House” is featured in this highly acclaimed publication.
E-X-I-T
EXIT is a custom exit light produced for The Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. Interloop Architecture designed and fabricated the exit lights, working with engineers, fabricators, UL technicians, and the graphic design firm 2×4. In keeping with city, state, and federal safety standards, every emergency light fixture must undergo extensive testing by the Underwriter Laboratories Testing Center to meet a wide range of design criteria. These stringent technical requirements typically thwart innovation by limited new design, requiring the exclusive use of existing UL approved components.
On November 7, 2007, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, inducted E-X-I-T into the permanent collection. A design like E-X-I-T marks a departure in MoMA’s collecting policy, and as such, provides an early precedent in the acquisition of architectural signage.
Julia’s Bistro
Julia’s is a twenty-five hundred square-foot new restaurant, bar, and full kitchen located in Midtown, Houston. Two existing commercial spaces were gutted and combined to form the new interior. A large portion of the existing brick facade was removed and replaced with new storefront glass windows. The space takes advantage of it’s prime corner location along the new light rail, connecting downtown Houston to the medical center and stadium. The main dining space projects a vibrant interior onto the street. A palette of six (almost cosmetic) colors are deployed like wallpaper, wrapping the interior space with no regard for physical corners or material edges. The flooring is a custom colored epoxy finish, suitable for industrial applications, that wraps up the face of the bar, the banquette seating, and two columns.
1ab: First Architecture Biennale
First Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (1ab) is an international urban event organizing a series of lectures, competitions, and exhibitions throughout the city. Eight international architects and designers were invited to design a “stim” – a site specific interactive installation, as described by architect and critic Lars Lerup – an object, image, or space that brings together various forms of technology in order to create a moment of connectivity and intense engagement.
Interloop’s three Stim proposals utilize simple technologies to create a spatial dynamic where fixed material elements become balanced with the real-time circumstances of pedestrian intrigue and engagement.
Klip House
Klip is a consumer based housing platform, a delivery system that provides the physical and operational infrastructure for trade corporations to participate in the production, delivery, and servicing of housing.
This project is a result of our participation in Sixteen Houses – a project organized and curated by Michael Bell in 1998 and funded by the Graham Foundation, the Fifth Ward Redevelopment Corporation, and DiverseWorks in Houston. Sixteen architects and designers were invited nationally to generate innovative concepts and new options for a low-income house – to expand the very limited market. To briefly describe the voucher program – these are Federal and State initiatives that provide financial assistance to qualified families and individuals by awarding, housing “Vouchers” to serve as the down payment on a house. In its current format, the voucher system distributes a mass of capital such that one voucher equals one house.
We were, and are, frustrated with a design system that is constricted by insurance companies, loan officers, municipalities, and contractors, etc. and decided to look at the overall economic impact that these vouchers might have if they were bundled, rather than distributed. Instead of designing a single house that has very little impact to the housing industry, we worked with the idea of consolidating the vouchers to pay for a housing platform, or infrastructure. We needed to work outside of the home mortgage process in order to gain some ground.