HOUSTON, TEXAS
Working with Rice Management Company, SHoP Architects, and HR&A Advisors, Field Operations designed a master plan for the Ion District, one that creates a new kind of urban district for Houston, prioritizing street life, public space, and a mix of uses that embrace technology, community, and sustainability. This centrally located 16-acre district is poised to become a new heart of innovation activity in Houston and will provide office, academic, restaurant, event, and maker spaces, paired with ample public open space.
The first phase of development for the Ion District, the Ion building and plaza opened in April 2021 and provides 266,000 sf of office, academic, and retail space. The Ion Plaza is comprised of a central flexible space defined by a vine-covered airy trellis and flanked by two lush gardens that integrate existing and mature live oak trees. The gardens function as outdoor meeting rooms, with large-scale raised wood decks and signature social seating that provides spaces to eat, work, and meet under the shade of these majestic trees. The plaza supports the Ion as an incubator space with public space for collaboration and celebration, accommodating everything from small meetings to Party on the Plaza.
With design underway, Field Operations is continuing work with Rice Management Company on subsequent phases of development for the Ion District.
Photography by James Ewing.