Walking along Richmond Avenue and heading toward Rogerdale Road in Houston, Texas, you will find a nondescript four-story building, emblematic of the fabric within the city of Houston in the 1980s. In a partnership between the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores of the United Mexican States and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Consulado General de Mexico en Houston’s existing location was on a delicate tract of land that TxDOT needed in order to bury and widen U.S. Highway 69. TxDOT purchased the existing, vacant building at 10555 Richmond Avenue to house the new consulate’s offices.
The 50,000-square-foot government building had been built in 1982, was outdated and had been vacant for several years. One site visit told the team at Method Architecture that this was a sustainable gem ready to be polished and reset.
The Consulado General of Mexico in Houston serves a vast stretch of southeast Texas and parts of western Louisiana, as well as all Mexican nationals traveling or residing in the United States. Consulate services range from providing replacement documents such as passports, IDs and visas to immigration support and family services. The consulate is also a cultural hub in which the interests of the Mexican government and citizens interact with local businesses, schools, outreach programs and professional resources.
The benefits of existing buildings are immeasurable and unique. Infrastructure is in place, embodied carbon is sequestered and surrounding neighborhoods are established, providing bus transportation, biking and walking. Seeking Silver-level certification under LEED v4 for Interior Design and Construction, we were reminded of the Carl Elefante quote, “The greenest building… is the one that is already built.” Our task was to show our clients that the building could be their ultimate headquarters, while highlighting Mexican culture in a sustainable way.
https://www.usgbc.org/articles/working-clients-share-benefits-existing-buildings