Pickard Chilton representatives Michael Hensley and Mig Halpine, at center, receive the award from CTGBC Chair Wayne Cobleigh, left, and CTGBC Executive Director Alicia Dolce, right. - © Mara Lavitt
Pickard Chilton,an award-winning architecture studio best known for its innovative and sophisticated design of high-performance corporate headquarters and campuses, announced that 609 Main at Texas, a 48-story, 1.85 million gsf, LEED Platinum-certified office tower in Houston’s Central Business District, has received the Out-of-State Award of Merit from the Connecticut Green Building Council (CTGBC). The award was presented at a ceremony on October 3, 2019 at the Common Ground High School, Urban Farm and Educational Center in New Haven, Conn.
The CTGBC Out-of-State Award of Merit is awarded to Connecticut firms that engage in noteworthy green building projects outside of Connecticut. A jury of professionals chosen by the CTGBC 2019 Awards Committee reviewed all the submissions, which were critiqued according to sustainable goals and challenges, the quality of design solutions, overall aesthetics, innovative strategies and technologies, and performance metrics.
“As one of downtown Houston’s newest landmarks, we are proud to add that 609 Main at Texas is also one of its most sustainable. It’s an honor to receive this recognition from the CTGBC and to have played a role in delivering this high-performance property to the Houston skyline,” said Jon Pickard FAIA, principal of Pickard Chilton. “The sustainability aspects of 609 Main at Texas have been a great asset in attracting the slate of premier tenants from across Houston and beyond.”
609 Main, Houston, Texas - © Alan Karchmer
The 48-story, 1,850,000-square-foot 609 Main at Texas is a Class-A, next-generation office tower developed by Hines. Considered one of the most ambitious skyscrapers developed in downtown in years, the sustainably-designed tower is clad in subtly faceted high-performance floor-to-ceiling glass with brushed-stainless-steel accents, offering panoramic views of greater Houston. The building’s north and south façade extend skyward, culminating in a diagonal crown. Vertical blades incorporated into the slightly recessed east and west facades offer solar shading.
Amenities include a hotel-style lobby with café, 7,000-SF fitness center and an 8,000-SF conference center. 609 Main at Texas features an underfloor air system, ‘smart’ elevators, a sophisticated safety system, and flexible floor plates that allow daylight deep into the building.
In addition, the podium features a two-level roof garden that conceals parking for 1,700 cars below. 609 Main’s prestigious tenant roster includes United Airlines, Goldman Sachs, and Kirkland & Ellis, among others.
In 2018, the Pickard Chilton-designed River Point, one of Chicago’s most sustainable office towers, received the CTGBC Out-of-State Award of Merit.
In addition to this award from the CTGBC, 609 Main at Texas was also recently recognized with a 2019 Green GOOD DESIGN award from The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, 2018 Houston Business Journal Landmark Award - Office Building or Campus Category, and a 2018 Americas Property Award for Commercial High-Rise Architecture.
ABOUT PICKARD CHILTON
Pickard Chilton is an international architectural practice noted for its expertise in the design of large, complex and often high-profile buildings including corporate headquarters, high-rise commercial office towers, hotels, and academic and health care facilities. The firm’s layered perspective informs all of its work, presenting clients with a sophisticated, knowledge-based approach that emphasizes design vision, integrity, a focus on client objectives, and exceptional service. Headquartered in New Haven, Conn., the firm’s recent completed projects include: River Point in Chicago; 145 Broadway, Akamai’s new headquarters in Cambridge, Ma.; Northwestern Mutual’s headquarters in Milwaukee; and, Eaton House in Dublin, Ireland. Current projects include 325 Main, Google’s new headquarters in Cambridge, Ma.; the Y2 Project and Global Gateway Shinagawa development, both in Tokyo, Japan; 2+U in Seattle, Wash.; and, Canal Place for Dominion Energy in Richmond, Va. as well as commercial and residential developments in Austin, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami, San Francisco, Stuttgart, Germany and Tokyo, Japan. Please visit www.pickardchilton.com for more information.
