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High-riser in Houston Reputation in one business segment triggers opportunities in another as a Houston design firm adds condo towers to its portfolio of tilt wall offices. P R O F I L E
By RICHARD MASSEY Managing Editor D eveloping a new business segment for an es- tablished architecture firm is certainly not im- possible, but if it’s going to happen, and happen in the right way, a few key things like staffing, liabil- ity, and workflow, have to be evaluated. That’s the word from Jeffrey Brown, a co-found- er and principal at Powers Brown Architecture (Houston, TX), an 85-person firm founded in 1999. The firm, well known and highly regarded in the fields of Class A office and industrial design, interi- ors, and renovations, about a year ago embraced an entirely new architectural endeavor – luxury high- rise condominiums. Outside of Brown himself, the firm had little expe- rience with the form, so an intense round of assess- ments began before the decision was made to add high-rise design to its suite of services. “What was our liability?” Brown says. “We had to sit down with our insurance company first.” Powers Brown is now in various stages of development on four high-rise projects: The Marlowe in downtown, Arábella in posh River Oaks, Ivy Lofts in the emergent EaDo neighborhood, all in Houston, and an unnamed condo-hotel on the River Walk in San Antonio. As they hashed out the liability issues, the firm also had to consider changes in drawing standards. Ex- perts in the process of designing horizontal subur- ban buildings, the firm suddenly had to learn how to go vertical. “We hadn’t done anything high-rise,” Brown says. Finally, the firm had to take a hard look at its team, and decided to add a few essential people – those who had already worked in the high-rise market and who knew the ins and outs of 34-story build- ings with amenities such as rooftop terraces and pools. See POWERS BROWN, page 10
Jeffrey Brown, Co-founder, Powers Brown Architecture
Arábella, by Powers Brown Architecture
THE ZWEIG LETTER February 15, 2016, ISSUE 1139
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