Architects ― Health and Education
For the School of Nursing and Student Community Center building, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston selected and contracted with BNIM (Berkebile, Nelson, Immenschuh and McDowell) Architects of Kansas City, Missouri. BNIM then contracted with Lake|Flato Architects of San Antonio to form a partnership for the project.
BNIM
Winner of the 2011 National Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects, BNIM (Berkebile, Nelson, Immenschuh and McDowell) is an innovative architecture and design firm that focuses on high performance environments.
Founded in 1970 in Kansas City, Missouri, with a commitment to design excellence and the community, the firm has emerged nationally as a leading resource for:
- Established methodologies.
- Innovative technologies.
- Cutting-edge research in architecture, planning, landscape and workplace design.
The firm has won more than 300 local, regional, national and international awards ranging from excellence in design to cutting-edge research in materials, and sustainability to master planning.
In 1990, co-founder Bob Berkebile helped to establish the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment. As a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council, Berkebile, along with other firm members, helped to pioneer the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system with multiple pilot projects. The firm’s work includes a broad portfolio of LEED projects and current work that goes beyond LEED’s highest standards to achieve Living Building status.
The firm has expanded its presence to Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego and Des Moines, Iowa, out of increasing national demand for holistic design solutions that consider human, fiscal and environmental success simultaneously. In the firm’s integrated process, clients and collaborators work together to create buildings and spaces that maximize human potential, productivity and health while increasing the vitality of natural systems.
Lake|Flato
Lake|Flato believes in architecture that is rooted to its place, responds to the natural environment, and merges with the landscape.
In 2004, the American Institute of Architects awarded Lake|Flato the prestigious National Firm Award, the highest honor an American architecture firm can receive.
Lake|Flato’s work reflects the belief that sustainability and design are two sides of the same coin ― balanced, integrated and inseparable. The firm employs practical sustainable strategies that:
- Conserve resources.
- Engage nature.
- Promote healthy living.
Committed to making sustainable and healthy decisions regarding architectural building products, the firm has endorsed use of the Health Product Declaration, an open standard for manufacturers to accurately disclose product contents and associated health information.
Lake|Flato believes that the best ideas evolve from an engaging and collaborative design process with clients, consultants and members of the firm. The firm’s open studio environment leverages each person's passions and unique perspectives to develop common ownership and innovative solutions.
A commitment to using Building Information Modeling on all projects results in a seamless integration of energy modeling, sustainable systems, construction detailing and administration. This approach continues in post-construction reviews, in which the firm tracks building performance and energy usage well after the client has moved in.
Lake|Flato incorporates the demanding programmatic requirements of higher education facilities with the environmental and campus context to create more cohesive and pedestrian-oriented campuses that foster healthy social and academic communities.