McConnell Photography

02/28/2024

With the move from California to Frisco, Texas, and a new IA-designed multi-floor headquarters dubbed the “Whirl’d Support Center,” Jamba Juice celebrates over 25 years of successful blending and juicing. Bold and vibrant experiential graphics inspired by the Jamba culture and style set the pa...

09/15/2017

09/14/2017

08/20/2017

Austin Commercial/Good Fulton and Farrell designed/built Texas A&M University's Central Texas Campus's new Founder's Hall building; "at 103k sf the $30 million project will feature office and classroom spaces, gathering spaces, service areas and bookstore. As first building on campus, Founders Hall includes all of the components necessary to support an independent learning institution: instructional space both small and large, office space for faculty, academic departments and administration, student and enrollment services, informal gathering spaces, food service, bookstore as well as building support. The building must also establish a compelling precedent for the architecture of the new campus.
The design responds to two distinct influences: acknowledgement of the past, and anticipation of the future. It was important that the new building reflect the character of Central Texas architectural heritage, and the impact of the hot, dry climate and bright sun. It must also reflect the new campus as an incubator for dynamic emerging technologies driving economy in Central Texas, including healthcare/bioscience and defense technology. The building’s architecture is called upon to be expressive of those and other new technologies. Good Fulton & Farrell Austin Commercial LP

08/10/2017

In addition to designs of Savor and Relish at Kyle Warren Park, Thomas Phifer and Partners also designed the nearby Muse Family Performance Pavilion. It's canopy also has back lit perforated metal panels like the restaurant. Thomas Phifer and Partners Klyde Warren Park Jacobs Engineering

08/10/2017

Thomas Phifer and Partners designed the restaurant Savor, and its attached outdoor pub Relish, on the edge of Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, Texas.
Typical of Phifer's canopied, glass walled designs, 'the pavilion-style space was built under one roofline on the north end of the park. The finished project features large canopies that allow for more than 3,000 square feet of seating on the exterior of the building, which is enveloped by a glass curtain wall system. An additional 2,000 square feet of exterior space is designated for diners enjoying Relish and its mirror-finished stainless steel skin.' (McCarthy Builders website). Thomas Phifer and Partners McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Jacobs Engineering Klyde Warren Park Savor Gastropub

08/07/2017

Winn Wittman designed this spectacular home in Westlake Hills, a neighborhood in Austin, Texas. Nicknamed Soaring Wings, Wittman used the existing grade and brought light into the southern facades using floor to ceiling windows.
From the architect's website: The home is separated into a public volume, containing the living, eating and entertaining spaces, and a private volume, containing the bedrooms, separated by a two-story glass and steel bridge. Two large wings face the west façade, clad in copper, which provide both sculptural expression, and shading. Motorized mesh shades programmed to an astronomical clock raise and lower with the sun. The home is highly energy efficient, despite the many windows, due to bio-foam insulation, low-e films, and passive solar technologies. There is also has a provision for rainwater collection. There is a three-story elevator which makes the entire house accessible.
The courtyard, carved from the hillside in back, contains a salt-water pool, and Zen-like rock garden, and is a private refuge from the hot Texas sun. The owners believe the home is a complex, rich, and ultimately satisfying framework for their life.
Soaring Wings has won a Dream Home award for Best Contemporary Home of the Year, and was selected as Architectural Record’s House of the Month. The project has also been published in the German book Die Neue Villa, 2009 and a Chinese book 50 Top Houses, 2011. The home has also been featured in such magazines as Robb Report, Spaces (UK), HOM (DL), Objekt, (NL) and Hinge (HK).
Winn Wittman Architecture Emphatic Creative Media

08/02/2017

Designed by DHR Architects and created by Vaughn Construction, the Scobee Educational Center is a must see. From the Vaughn website:: 'When the Brooks Aerospace Foundation approached Alamo Colleges about relocating its Challenger Learning Center, San Antonio College was the perfect choice. Both entities agreed the learning center would complement the college’s existing Scobee Planetarium, named for Commander Dick Scobee of the Challenger shuttle mission.
We began the renovation by preserving the 50-year-old concrete dome of the planetarium and constructing the learning center and observatory around it. We installed a new domed projection screen, lighting, sound system, and reclined seating for optimal viewing.
To construct the two-story, 20,761 SF learning center around the existing planetarium, we erected a massive steel truss conformed to the shape of the dome. The truss divides the dome such that the entrance is on the interior of the building. The new building features a mix of brick, concrete, steel framing, aluminum composite panels, and glass.'
Challenger Learning Center Scobee Education Center Scobee Planetarium DHR Architecture Vaughn Construction Alamo Colleges District Emphatic Creative Media Holly Reed Brooks Aerospace

08/01/2017

Designed by Pelli Clark Pelli, the Bill and Melinda Gates Computer Science building is a 234,000 square feet marvel.
From the architects website: The complex emphasizes modern uses of materials found in the Spanish Mediterranean buildings at the core of the campus. Exterior walls use the signature UT-​Austin mix of Texas brick laid in a stack bond or grid-​like pattern. Soffits on the underside of roof overhangs recall the painted wood soffits of older campus buildings. Large windows give the complex a light, open appearance. This use of glass is contemporary in spirit while recalling Sutton Hall and other campus buildings by Paul Cret.
The complex houses 60 faculty offices, 40 offices for visitors and technical staff, space for 350 graduate students, and almost 1,860 assignable square meters (20,000 square feet) of flexible research laboratory space. Teaching spaces include a 200-​seat lecture hall, seven classrooms, 10 seminar rooms, several electronic seminar rooms and instructional labs, more than 24 discussion rooms, and eight conference rooms.
The complex received a LEED Silver rating.
We captured this project for the architect of record STG Design and for the contractor Austin Commercial. STG DesignPelli Clarke Pelli Architects Austin Commercial LP Emphatic Creative Media The University of Texas at Austin

07/29/2017

I recently read an article published by AIA National about light and projects using natural light in its fenestration. Designed by Stantec, this design of the University of Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management fuses natural materials and window walls to bring light into the lives of its students.

From the architect: 'We optimized the concrete framing system with large bays and a consistent, shallow structural depth. Main beams and cross beams drop to the same level, so future designs and ductwork can be flexible and unimpeded. It’s a modular design. The school will be able to fill the shell space with what they need, when they need it. And when more funds become available.

A centerpiece of the design is a two-story commons fronting a new courtyard—space for individual and group studying, casual collaboration, café service, and socialization.'

A principal at Stantec and the Project Director was Vandana Nayak, whose projects have won multiple awards and whose projects have been featured in numerous publications including Architectural Record, American School & University, School Planning & Management, Engineering News Record, and Texas Architect.

An Indian industrialist, and a former Member of Parliament (MP) from Kurukshetra, Haryana, Naveen Jindal is the Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited, a part of the $17 billion diversified O.P. Jindal Group founded by his father. Jindal is an active campaigner for population stabilisation, women's empowerment, environmental conservation, and health and education.

Stantec Emphatic Creative Media Holly Reed Naveen Jindal School of Management - UT Dallas

07/27/2017

Tellepsen Builders created this amazing 155,000 square foot three-story Science and Allied Health Training Facility building for San Jacinto College just east of Houston.
From the San Jacinto College website: Incorporating state-of-the-art lecture halls, classrooms, conference rooms, and simulation labs, the building provides students a modern learning environment in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.
"This building is state of the art," said Dr. Brenda Hellyer, San Jacinto College chancellor. “Over the last 10 years, growth in STEM careers in the United States has increased at a rate three times higher than non-STEM careers, and those working in STEM are earning 26 percent more. This new facility allows us to provide our community with highly-trained employees that are ready to transfer on to earn a higher degree or enter the workforce with the necessary skill set to pursue a career.”
Eight science and allied health programs are housed in the building. Science programs include biology, chemistry, physics, and geology. Allied health programs include vocational nursing, associate degree nursing (ADN) mobility, pharmacy technology, and the physical therapy assistant program. The first floor is comprised of general-purpose lecture halls and classrooms; the second floor consists of the health science program classrooms and labs; and the third floor houses the natural science classroom and lab spaces.

Tellepsen Builders Bay IBI Group Architect San Jacinto College

07/27/2017

The Dallas office of DPR Construction : copper curtains separate public/private areas.
Gensler DPR Construction Holly Reed