Colman, Scott2013-09-162013-09-162013-09-162013-09-162013-052013-09-16May 2013Austin, Matthew. "HOUrgbo : The Houston Constellation." (2013) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/71917">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/71917</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/71917The Houston Constellation is a type of architectural urbanism situated at the intersection of urban revision and projections for cultures yet unknown. The intent is to provide a template for refiguring new lines of sight and interaction within the contemporary city, between contingent forces, institutions, and a public in flux. The Houston Superdistrict: a heterogeneous collection of 20th Century urban paradigms packed loosely underneath a thick canopy. Institutions in medicine, the arts, education, and recreation make it a major hub for local and global populations. The area is undergoing a transformation, yet in contrast to its ambitious visions, current plans project investment that may drop more single objects into this static field. This project proposes an alternative. A constellation of form that slides across cold boundaries and catalyzes a new spatial consciousness to produce a newly legible environment. Encouraging creativity- the very hope for the district in the first place- begins with architectural performance and contextual interaction. Techniques and tactics of planametric alignment, visual continuity, and material cohesion provide the system a relational fitness, while establishing a larger counterform against context’s existing linear boulevards, axes, and grids. Four forms (R,G,B,O) based on site-specific conditions, constitute programmatic points with distinct characters. A complementary duality, the figures in the park (O & B) engage the spatial and airy quality of the city. While the institutional figures (R & G) embed themselves within the local form of their respective campuses. Producing new linkages between fabric and institution: the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and Rice University link through a new space for the arts in the public realm. Hermann Park’s City Beautiful design is reawoken with a new spine and periphery.application/pdfengCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.Architectural urbanismConstellationColor FieldsHoustonThesis2013-09-16123456789/ETD-2013-05-383