HCU Moody Library Renovation
This renovation reimagines the library as a dynamic hub for learning, connection, and adaptability. As education and research shift away from traditional models, new service paradigms are emerging to meet the evolving needs of students and universities. The library’s value is no longer measured solely by its books and collections, but by its ability to bend and flex with changing institutional priorities. By reshaping the relationship between information, technology, and people, the design positions the library to thrive amid the cultural, social, and economic changes shaping higher education.
Location
Houston, Texas
Design Team
Joe Rivers, Melissa Cross, Rafia Imran, Esmer Leija, and Kevin Barden
Typology
Commercial
Date
2022
Process
Explore
Port Bolivar Beach House
Port Bolivar, Texas
Residential
Situated above the shoreline in a Gulf Coast community, this elevated beach house offers a restful retreat shaped by light, breeze, and expansive views. Drawing from the local tradition of stilt-frame wood construction, the design lifts the main living level to capture sun, breeze, and shade throughout the day while providing shelter below.
Reid Kennedy
Musician, Composer, & Teacher
Music and Performance
In this episode our resident architects Joe Rivers and Kevin Barden visit with Reid Kennedy, a drummer and composer from St. Paul, Minnesota. Reid Kennedy is a percussionist and pass drummer from St. Paul, Minnesota and a standout example of the modern working musician. In addition to being a top-call drummer in the Twin Cities, Reid teaches percussion and music theory at McNally Smith College of Music in downtown St. Paul. He composes, performs, records, and produces his own music in groups such as the Reid Kennedy Jazz Trio and Big Villain, and is the co-founder of the neo soul modern jazz darlings of Minneapolis, Nooky Jones. Joe and Kevin talk with Reid about his path to becoming a full-time musician, having passion for creating, and the ins and outs of collaboration.
Pallasmaa On The Sublime
Kevin Barden
Writing
The emergence of digital and virtual technologies in the past decade has flourished exponentially giving academic environments and professional practices a newfound basis for collaboration between process and product. This essay proposes that we cannot lose sight of the underlying sources which drive a good process (whether digital, virtual, or manual) and lead to the opportunity for a great product. In his paper for the 101st Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, New Constellations New…