Project 2010

At the beginning of the year on the large sign in front of West Hill Business Center below the tenant's signs I posted the phrase "PROJECT 2010. 

Only a few people have asked me about what it is and to tell the truth I could not say.  It was a knowing that this was the year that we would find a clear direction for the land we own around West Hill.  That direction is emerging.

Stay tuned for more details....

LIVING GOES UNDER MICROSCOPE

How do you spend energy, water and other resources?  Researchers are going to take a close look at real life.

DALLAS Dec. 3,  2010 (Reuters, Real Estate Center, AgNMore News) – As printed in the RECON newsletter from Texas A&M

A planned $150 million "urban living laboratory" — complete with apartments, office space and tenants — could help pave the way to more sustainable communities.

At least that's what the Texas A&M University System and Dallas-based Realty Appreciation have in mind with what a Reuters story describes as "a commercial and residential incubator where cutting-edge sensors will monitor data on everything from light bulbs to appliances and toilets."

"There's nothing like it in the world," Realty Appreciation's Director of Real Estate Kevin Rogers said in a presentation last month at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School.

The urban living laboratory will be on 73 acres at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas.
Johnson Controls is developing the technology platform that will collect data from every thermostat and faucet in the community for analysis. Rogers said the data will show "how people are utilizing these products, so we know how behavior affects the performance."

J.P. Hymel with Johnson Controls told Reuters the data will allow researchers to "study the process of building a green community — the design and construction — as well as the operation and management."

How many people could the 1.2 million-sf laboratory/community accommodate? In his presentation at Mays Business School, Rogers said it will provide apartment housing for 3,500 tenants, and it will have office space for 1,800 permanent, on-site jobs. That's in addition to the 150 research positions the project will require.

Companies such as General Electric, Philips Electronics, Owens Corning, LG Electronics and Kimberly-Clark have already agreed to donate products and appliances to the project. While they'll benefit by learning how their products are used and how effective they are, people who choose to live in the community could gain something from the arrangement as well.

For example, in addition to enjoying use of "smart" appliances donated by the corporate partners, Rogers said they might pay a reduced rent and 50 to 70 percent less in utilities. Work is expected to begin on the project late next year.

December 3, 2010     Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

Material herein is published according to the fair-use doctrine of U.S. copyright laws related to non-profit, educational institutions. Items attributed to sources other than the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University should not be reprinted without permission of the original source.

Space for Contemplation

There is a Place on our land behind West Hill Center that calls for a sculptural space for contemplation--to observe the expansive views within and in the surroundings.  The Lost Pines Chapel offers an example of the spirit of the kind of space will be created near my favorite "rock falls".   In the months ahead we will announce the details for a design competition for this site.

 

Austin architect wins American Architecture Award

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin | Thursday, October 7, 2010  Statesman

Austin architect Murray Legge of LZT Architects has won a prestigious 2010 American Architecture Award for the Lost Pines Chapel, a modest project on the banks of Lake Bastrop just outside Austin. The award is given by the Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture.
Commissioned by the Boy Scouts as an interfaith gathering spot, the open-air Lost Pines Chapel consists of interlocking cedar and metal frames. The project’s budget was a modest $40,000.
The modesty of the project is even more remarkable when considered against other winners of a American Architecture Award this year. Also getting the kudos are high profile — and high budget — projects such as Renzo Piano’s Resnick Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Herzog & De Meuron’s Miami Art Museum.
Perhaps small is the new cool when it comes to design.