HOUSTON – (Cynthia Lescalleet for Realty News Report) – The renovations at Houston Arboretum & Nature Center extend beyond landscaping and infrastructure. Among the upgrades to the Nature Center is the installation of bird-friendly glass.
This bird-friendly glass incorporates a delicate crisscross pattern that is nearly imperceptible to human visitors but makes windows visible to birds, reducing fatal collisions. Given that Houston lies along major migratory routes, that protection is especially important. The Arboretum cites research showing that at least 365 million birds die each year in the United States after striking windows.
The Nature Center portion of the Arboretum’s master plan is a $2.1 million, two-phase renovation that began earlier this month. While work proceeds, part of the facility will remain open to visitors; however, the Discovery Room will be closed until the two phases are complete, expected in early 2020.
Phase I focuses on updating the original long, low-slung building from 1967. That mid-century structure reflects landscape-oriented design principles that are again popular; the same aesthetic influenced the recently completed administration building located across the project’s new courtyard, an Arboretum spokesperson said. Across the master plan, designers prioritized minimizing impacts on the site’s natural character, which helped drive the decision to use bird-friendly glazing.
Located adjacent to Memorial Park, the Arboretum sits on the east side of Loop 610 at Woodway Drive.
The current renovation is gutting and reconfiguring the roughly 4,000 square feet that historically served as the Discovery Room. After an expansion in the mid-1990s, that area was converted to offices and workrooms, which have since been moved into the new administration building.
Most changes are interior: the former Discovery Room will be transformed into a nature shop and flexible classroom areas.
The renovated building will also restore the main entrance to its original location on the western façade, replacing the current north-side entry.
Phase II, scheduled to begin later this fall, will address the 1990s addition. That work will update four existing classrooms, add an outdoor classroom, and construct a new Discovery Room.
“The newly conceptualized Nature Center is a key component in realizing our educational mission,” said Debbie Markey, executive director, in the project announcement.
This renovation is part of the Arboretum’s broader $25 million master plan, developed in 2012 to restore the sanctuary’s acreage to resilient, sustainable ecosystems and to rethink site management, access, programming, and community reach.