UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Location
Houston, Texas
Design Architect
SizeSmithGroup
350,000 sf
Project FeaturesInstructional Spaces
Simulation Centers
Seminar Rooms
Research Labs
Collaboration Spaces
Simulation Centers
Seminar Rooms
Research Labs
Collaboration Spaces
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is a comprehensive academic health center located within Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. In 2021, UT Health was named a Top 25 School of Public Health as well as the #1 School of Public Health in Texas (U.S. News & World Report). To support the school’s momentum, the team of SmithGroup and Kirksey was engaged by UT Health to design its new Public Health Education and Research Building.
Strategically located adjacent to the Texas Medical Center’s innovative TMC3 campus, this new 10-story tower will provide learning, research and community engagement opportunities to grow the departments of Biostatistics and Data Science; Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences; Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences; and Management, Policy and Community Health. The ground level will provide meaningful spaces to engage with the community, such as a simulation center, teaching kitchen, and large and small seminar rooms. Lower and mid-levels will feature labs and instructional space, while the upper levels house faculty offices and meeting space for each academic department. The building will include a variety of classrooms, both dry and wet labs, and space for the Library and Graduate Communication Center, Academic Affairs, and EdTech. Collaboration spaces are dispersed across each floor to encourage connections between departments.
Strategically located adjacent to the Texas Medical Center’s innovative TMC3 campus, this new 10-story tower will provide learning, research and community engagement opportunities to grow the departments of Biostatistics and Data Science; Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences; Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences; and Management, Policy and Community Health. The ground level will provide meaningful spaces to engage with the community, such as a simulation center, teaching kitchen, and large and small seminar rooms. Lower and mid-levels will feature labs and instructional space, while the upper levels house faculty offices and meeting space for each academic department. The building will include a variety of classrooms, both dry and wet labs, and space for the Library and Graduate Communication Center, Academic Affairs, and EdTech. Collaboration spaces are dispersed across each floor to encourage connections between departments.
Steve Durham, AIA, LEED AP713 426 7521steved@kirksey.com
Spearheading Kirksey's collegiate practice, Steve's experience spans everything from dining halls and academic buildings to athletic facilities and religious institutions. Early in his 26-year career at Kirksey, Steve initiated the Outreach Committee which offers opportunities for staff members to volunteer their time for various local communities and non-profit organizations. He also leads the firm's membership in The 1%, a program connecting non-profits to architecture firms willing to provide pro bono services. Steve has developed an expertise in mass timber projects as well and champions this construction type.
