Review: Where People And Performance Meet

The city of Houston is currently in expansion mode, and Page Principal Jamie Flatt who grew up and attended graduate school there is well-positioned to comment on its growth. The 1966 Jones Plaza serves as a connector for performing arts facilities in downtown Houston's Theater District, including Alley Theater, Wortham Center, Jones Hall and now the Bayou Place entertainment complex. A design by Los Angeles-based Rios Clementi Hale (RCH) Studios has been selected for the plaza's next incarnation, and Jamie wrote an analysis for Texas Architect (TA) Magazine.

Her article provides background on the plaza's original objective and the role it has subsequently played in downtown Houston's history. She then walks through RCH's proposed design, explaining how each element is to function and how it is to satisfy the client mandate to transform Jones Plaza into “a vibrant public square that is visually and physically accessible; welcoming and comfortable; programmed and managed; usable both day and night; and a space that reflects a performing arts character.”

Jamie is a strategic consultant who brings exceptional creativity and business acumen to programming and planning projects at Page. The firm's Houston office also is located downtown, four blocks down the street from Jones Plaza, and Jamie has been a part of Page as it has played a role in reshaping central Houston, from resuscitating the historic Rice Hotel to designing the built architecture of two urban parks that have won national awards. She serves on the publication committee for Texas Architect Magazine, proposing topics and raising the profile of local projects through her reviews.

To see RCH's proposed design and read Jamie's analysis, click here.   

To read her review of the repurposing of the historic Houston Heights Textile Mill, which was a TA cover story, click here.

To see her assessment, also a TA cover story, of El House, a residence that won a 2016 Design Award from Texas Society of Architects, click here.