Generation Park Teams With Students On Health & Wellness District

From McCord Development

HOUSTON – McCord Development has partnered with The University of Miami School of Architecture’s Master of Urban Design program and the Master in Real Estate Development program to give students the opportunity during the spring semester to develop plans for a future Health & Wellness District at Generation Park.

The Health & Wellness District at Generation Park is intended to re-imagine the traditional healthcare ecosystem to create a vibrant, walkable, and pedestrian-friendly urban environment centered around community, connectivity and quality of life.

The idea behind the partnership stemmed from McCord Development’s Director of Design & Planning, Gonzolo Echeverria, Int’l Assoc. AIA, who earned his master’s degree from The University of Miami.

In February, the students kicked off the initial brainstorm and design process with a three-day site visit to understand the potential site and surrounding regional context for the 200+ acre future Health & Wellness district at Generation Park. The course is designed to provide students the opportunity to develop and apply sustainable urban and architectural principals to real-world scenarios. The course includes interdisciplinary teams of students from various Masters programs including Architecture & Urban Planning, Real Estate Development, Law, and Medicine.

Ryan McCord, president of McCord Development, explained crowd sourcing proposals like this are a natural fit for Generation Park. “We are always excited to get new ideas and perspectives from around the world,” said McCord. “Our development team at Generation Park is here every day, so it’s helpful to bring people in to look at something in a different light. We are always looking for creative solutions for the issues of today and tomorrow.”

The course is taught by Joanna Lombard, AIA, LEED AP, an architect and Professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture with a joint appointment in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine; Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, FAIA, LEED AP, founder and emeritus board member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and Malcolm Matheson Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Director of the Master of Urban Design Program with a joint appointment in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine; and Chuck Bohl, associate professor and the director of the graduate program in Real Estate Development and Urbanism.

“The students love McCord’s vision of how to provide a better quality of life through design,” said Lombard. “This opportunity gives students a chance to think critically, unleash their creativity and take a practical approach on a proposal for a new medical district that could truly impact the city of Houston.”

The program runs through May and will culminate in a presentation from each student for consideration by the McCord team and the top ideas will be shared via Generation Park’s website and social media