This master plan for a new neighborhood in Houston, TX, takes health and sustainability as its defining themes. The low-rise, high-density plan is a contextual and upgraded extension of the existing community. Individual homes are sited to define the streets, keeping a similar scale as in the adjoining blocks.
A new central street is proposed that ties together the three courts that represent different parts of a neighborhood: community, education and retail. The new shopping center on the western side of the site is a series of shops that form a courtyard and town center. The campus of the existing daycare is now the conceptual education courtyard. The last courtyard is that of the community, with a large swimming and wading pool and pool house, a basketball court, playground and a greenhouse with agricultural fields that enable children and neighbors to grow their own healthy vegetables and food. There are three additional courts with parks and children's playgrounds that create smaller precincts within the district.
The 400 new housing units included in the master plan are comprised of three different housing types. The units allow for different configurations of plans, all with porches and courtyards, in a style that takes important elements of housing in Houston and Texas to create a unique sensibility to define the new community, yet tie it into its surrounding neighborhood.