This 80,000-square-foot academic building brings the University of Houston System to the booming suburb of Katy, Texas. As the first building for a new campus, it guides future campus growth, sets the framework for system and community collaboration and provides direction for campus aesthetic standards.
Local residents seeking careers or to further their education in engineering, nursing, health sciences, business administration, finance, marketing, or education can now access state-of-the-art facilities close to home. This instructional site is a shared space for the University of Houston and University of Houston-Victoria to meet the higher education needs of an expanding community.
With a focus on nursing and engineering disciplines, the design of UH at Katy’s classroom and lab spaces was guided by the latest teaching methods, while providing flexibility for programs to evolve and grow. Alongside a mix of labs, office suites and shared student services, classrooms range in size from 40 to 120 seats. The largest classroom also functions as a multi-purpose room, with foodservice capability for university and community events.
Specialized spaces include healthcare simulation labs, a 20-bed teaching emergency room and clinic, an engineering makerspace, and multiple teaching labs. The heart of the building comprises the lobby, student lounge and café, where students relax between classes and collaborate casually with peers and faculty. Inviting transparency and bright collegiate branding establish easy wayfinding for students and visitors throughout the space.
This project created a development plan for the new Katy campus, including Design Aesthetics Guidelines, while also programming, planning and designing the first academic building. This first building strategically creates a strong site edge and is positioned to begin the establishment of a future collegiate quad.
Paula Myrick ShortThe UH at Katy instructional site offers a University of Houston Tier One education to residents across our region in disciplines that are in great demand. These new undergraduate classes and programs are yet another step in making higher education and a UH degree accessible to the greater Houston metropolitan area.
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
HarrisonKornberg collaborated with SmithGroup on the project.
