After decades of suburban growth, Houston has seen a recent shift back toward the desire for urban life. Older neighborhoods, some of which were established more than a century ago, are seeing increasing property values and coordinated revitalization efforts. But the cost to bring historic homes up to modern day standards can be greater than to build new, and without deed restrictions or zoning, the character of many of Houston’s oldest neighborhoods is at risk of being lost to new development.

Three Rice University graduates believe they have a solution—one that accommodates the need to modernize while keeping a neighborhood’s material identity and social fabric intact…

Intrigued? Read more here!

Article written by Kirksey’s Colley Hodges and Emily Winters.

Congratulations are in order to everyone who was involved in the Texas State Residence Life housing project as it has been LEED Gold certified! This project achieved 43 points (39 needed for Gold) in the LEED for New Construction V2.2 rating system.

It’s a wonderful project and we hope all the residents enjoy their new LEED home!

Have you recently joined ULI and are looking for a way to get more involved?

Are you thinking about joining and want to learn more about ULI Houston?

MyULI is an event designed to answer these specific questions and more. Please join us for a complimentary breakfast followed by a brief presentation designed to give you a robust picture of what ULI Houston is all about. We will be discussing the benefits of membership, the role of our Leadership Committees, exciting events planned for 2013, and a short discussion about where ULI devotes its resources.

Location
6909 Portwest Road
Houston, TX 77024

Once again, Kirksey’s awesomely creative and talented team made us proud at this year’s 2013 Product Runway event. The team had been working on their ensemble for weeks, threading, measuring, cutting, sewing, and it all paid off this past Friday. They took home 3rd Place and we couldn’t be more excited!

This year’s IIDA Product Runway benefitted the Houston Furniture Bank, The Texas Associate for Interior Design, and The Houston Design Community. It’s a great way for our designers to show their talent in addition to bringing all the Houston firms together for a wonderful cause.

Here are a few photos of the design team and the final, AMAZINGLY beautiful product. Of course, we think our team’s design is 1st place worthy;-)

To piggy back on our previous post ‘We’ve Got Talent, Yes We Do!’ Melodie Smith, who is currently playing Patsy Cline in Always…Patsy Cline, was asked to perform at Former President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush’s belated Christmas Party. Patsy, I mean, Melodie, said the Former President and First Lady were gracious and lovely. It’s not every day you get to sing in front of an audience of that caliber but we know our Melodie did us proud.

Great job, Melodie!

Have you recently joined ULI and are looking for a way to get more involved?

Are you thinking about joining and want to learn more about ULI Houston?

MyULI is an event designed to answer these specific questions and more. Please join us for a complimentary breakfast followed by a brief presentation designed to give you a robust picture of what ULI Houston is all about. We will be discussing the benefits of membership, the role of our Leadership Committees, exciting events planned for 2013, and a short discussion about where ULI devotes its resources.

When

April 24, 2013
07:30 am to 9:00 am

Where

6909 Portwest Road
Houston, TX 77024

Hosted by Kirksey Architecture

We have architects, designers, marketers, etc. but did you know we also have actors?!?!

Our very own Melodie Smith is performing in the critically acclaimed musical, ‘Always…Patsy Cline’, opening tonight at the Stages Repertory Theatre!

“Based on a true story, this tribute to the legendary country singer and her friendship with devoted Houston fan, Louise Seger, is rich with down-home country humor and includes 27 of Cline’s unforgettable hit songs.”

The show runs through June 23rd so buy your tickets and get it on the calendar!

http://stagestheatre.com/shows/#always-patsy-cline

Each year, Kirksey puts on our own Chili Cook-off complete with chili and department theme competitions. This year’s cook-off took place last Friday and, as usual, it was a blast. Everyone planned and plotted their secret recipes and got crafty with their costumes in hopes their team would take home the  prize.

This year our IT Department won for Best Chili and the Marketing Department won for Best Theme as The Real Housewives of Houston. Here are some photos from the fun, and chili, filled day!

Giddyup!

What if “trash” became extinct? And what if you no longer had to sort your plastic cups from your glass jar from your banana peel?  

One Bin for All is a revolutionary idea for residents to discard all materials in one bin, treating “trash” as valuable assets, dramatically increasing recycling using game changing technologies.

Houston is one of the 20 national finalists chosen by Bloomberg Philanthropies to receive a generous grant to help implement One Bin for All. You can help the City of Houston’s idea become a reality! 

Join Kirksey in supporting this mission and vote now for One Bin for All in the fan favorite contest at 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/19/vote-mayors-challenge-fan_n_2716857.html.

Vote today and then tell your friends, family and colleagues to vote until the contest ends on Wednesday, March 6, 2013.

With One Bin For All, residents can put everything from soda cans, paper and plastic to food scraps, rubber, wood and glass into one bin, then technology does the rest.  By relying on state of the art technology and new process systems to sort trash from recycling, Houston would be able to achieve recycling rates of up to 75%. 

Help bring to Houston an easy to use service that will increase Houston’s recycling and waste diversion, improve air quality and lower costs to our city!

What a great way to round out the week: with the help of Kirksey EcoServices, BG Group Place has been awarded a LEED Platinum Certification! This is a huge milestone for both Kirksey and BG Group Place as it takes a concerted effort from both sides.  ”It was truly a marathon and a real team effort!” said Kirksey’s Director of EcoServices, Julie Hendricks.

But wait. What is LEED? LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary, consensus-based, market­-driven program that provides third-party verification of green buildings. From individual buildings and homes, to entire neighborhoods and communities, LEED is transforming the way built environments are designed, constructed, and operated. Comprehensive and flexible, LEED addresses the entire lifecycle of a building. According to the USGBC, LEED projects have been successfully established in 135 countries.

But wait again. What is LEED Platinum? LEED Platinum is the highest ranking you can receive for meeting sustainability efforts. For commercial buildings and neighborhoods, to earn LEED certification, a project must satisfy all LEED prerequisites and earn a minimum 40 points on a 110-point LEED rating system scale. To achieve LEED Platinum, you must receive 80+ points. This means BG Group Place has participated in this voluntary LEED process and is demonstrating, at the highest level, leadership, innovation, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility, something that is near and dear to Kirksey’s mission.

It’s one thing to say you want to preserve the environment and improve the workplace for your employees, but it’s quite another to follow through. Congratulations, to BG Group on this important achievement and cheers to sustainability!