METALAB

Mercado Picado
for Greater East End Management District

Metalab was retained by Greater East End to design a prototypical market kiosk for the Navigation Blvd Esplanade in the east side of Houston. These shade structures are installed along with our Ringo LED pedestrian lighting system with accompanying solar generators. The wispy design alludes to the the Vesica Piscis, the shape created by the union of two circles which historically in gothic architecture has symbolized community and union. A perforated sheet metal shell roof provides dappled light shading while retaining transparency to reduce wind loads. The perforated pattern references the tradition of “papel picado” in the Hispanic culture of the surrounding neighborhood.

Round Pen
with Joe Mashburn

The Round Pen is a standard size – 62′ diameter – open riding arena that is used to train yearling horses in a simple environment without distraction. This project was a re-invention of this rural building typology, using computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) laser cutting and digital modeling to create a kit of parts that was built on site by skilled craftsmen using only scaffolding, minimal equipment, and hand tools. Precise truss layouts were generated, along with parts and assemblies directly fabricated from the digital model. A unique convergence of design, manufacturing, and craftsmanship resulted from this highly collaborative and interdependent effort. Designed with Joe Mashburn for Lyle Lovett at his ranch near Houston.

From the Archives: Metalab created HOUSE FOR DOGS for the annual “Barkitecture” auction event benefiting the Houston Pup Squad rescue group. The product is comprised of two pieces of hotwire-cut expanded polystyrene (EPS) which are then coated with food grade polyurea, a durable and non-toxic polymer that is applied in liquid form and solidifies within seconds.

This canine cabin came in a variety of color combinations and was available in small, medium, and large sizes.

Fallen Five Memorial - RE:site, Artist

The Memorial completed in Tennessee Riverpark, Chattanooga, TN in 2019 is inspired by the transcendent form and symbolism of a wreath.

The sculptural wreath is composed of interlacing, brass colored stainless steel arc bands waterjet cut with the powerful words of tribute from the community following the tragic and heroic acts on July 16, 2015. At the center of the plaza is a circular granite bench that provides seating and a contemplative place to look upwards through the wreath to the sky above. The words and circular form of the wreath become a powerful symbol of unity for Chattanooga. The relationship of the pillars and wreath become a metaphor for how Chattanooga will forever be connected to the Fallen Five and how the Fallen Five will always lift up the community and stand as beacons of hope, honor, valor, and sacrifice.

| Shane Albritton + Norman Lee, Artists

20 N Sampson
Metalab HQ

Metalab’s own headquarters, 20 North Sampson, is an adaptive reuse structure in Houston’s East End District. The two story front of the building is a late Art Deco structure built in 1940, constructed of brick with limestone trim around the windows. The interior, home to our design studio, was a minimal intervention of light demolition and added color to celebrate the original rooms. The mid section of the building is a concrete structure from 1952, which has been partitioned with glass to create a furniture maker’s workshop and a common conference for the building. The building’s back section is a 1962 Bethlehem steel structure that was redesigned with minimal drywall partitions that are carefully revealed around the existing steel columns and original steel windows.

GREENWAY BLUEWAY BYWAY SKYWAY is a cantilevered bridge-like structure designed by New York artist Matthew Geller. Engineered like a diving board suspended over the Yadkin River in North Carolina, the galvanized steel pathway culminates in a circular viewing and seating platform allowing visitors to engage with one another or simply appreciate the vibrant scenery at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Metalab provided digital design, installation services and project management for the artwork whose primary components were fabricated and assembled by Iron Access in Houston.

Trail of the Dog Park Lakes

This pavilion for a dog park located in the Trail of the Lakes Municipal Utility District in Atascocita, TX is the result of a collaboration between Metalab and landscape architects Four and One. Part of Four and One’s master plan for this land included two parks for large and small dogs. Metalab’s intent was to design a pavilion that stretched across both parks, creating interactive moments between people and dogs large and small under one sweeping structure. The pavilion’s roof is built as a sequence of linear elements, producing a ruled surface reaching out from the middle of the park’s central walkway and into the large and small dog zones at either end. The dramatic formal gesture of the roof is in reference to the dynamic character of dogs at play, be it a wagging tail or a thrown stick. Board form concrete storage rooms act as shear walls and integrated signage for visitors. The pavilion’s landings are strategically raised so people walking outside the parks are almost at eye level with the dogs, bringing humans and dogs closer together.

Always a pleasure to see our friend , especially in our home state . Lyle and the Large Band played at the Masonic Temple theater downtown on Tuesday. His lyrics cause me to reflect on family and homeland across the years. Something we should all do more often, I’m sure. Thank you for having us!

x2 in an amazing building downtown . Chocolate and peanut butter! 💥 curatorial flex by So strong.

is awesome! Thank you Leah for the wonderful tour and kudos on the great light artwork Dinner at was pretty great. Come to yall. Cool s**t happening.

This place! Thank you for the amazing tour of all the great projects. Detroit is such an amazing place and plays a big part for sure. and are fantastic venues for art and hospitality. Get there. Wonderful to meet Betsy from and amazing artist Your work is amazing!

Final paint punchlist! Check for some install pics! Final pics coming soon. Fantastic by

Stacked Cubes
Jim Isermann, Artist

Stacked Cubes is composed of two 42-inch cubes constructed out of roto molded polyethylene, produced by Deep South Plastics. Each cube is assembled from modular parts, six planes, each a series of four protruding finger like bars. The bars have obscured bolted connections that allow assembly of a cube. The cubes balance on point, conjoined one atop the other with hidden custom fabricated SS hardware and anchored to a base plate. Stacked cubes have been exhibited as a 6 pair series, Constituent Components, at the Bloomberg Gallery in London.

Stacked Cubes
Jim Isermann, Artist

Stacked Cubes is composed of two 42-inch cubes constructed out of roto molded polyethylene, produced by Deep South Plastics. Each cube is assembled from modular parts, six planes, each a series of four protruding finger like bars. The bars have obscured bolted connections that allow assembly of a cube. The cubes balance on point, conjoined one atop the other with hidden custom fabricated SS hardware and anchored to a base plate. Stacked cubes have been exhibited as a 6 pair series, Constituent Components, at the Bloomberg Gallery in London.

Alief Swarm
Bennie Ansel, Artist
From the Artist: “The Alief Swarm creates an uplifting experience and provides a transition space to all residents entering The Alief Community Center. At first, viewers see pieces on the ceiling that appear to be birds or butterflies, then as they walk into the atrium, the piece expands upwards in the open space, creating a flying migration of what will then be revealed as around 1000 pieces of CNC cut and bent acrylic with printed images of shoes shaped like butterflies, floating and flying above. Through its forms this indoor piece will be connected to the outside butterfly garden on the grounds of the community center.
Why call it The Alief Swarm? A swarm is the word for a large group of bees going on the attack or emigrating to start a colony in a different location. Like bees, any group of people can be considered a swarm emigrating and working together, fiercely toward a goal.”

For Houston Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs

| Artist
| Fabrication
| Installation

Gorilla Gathering Tent
for the Houston Zoo
We were commisioned to design a new gathering tent at the Houston Zoo. The shelter is constructed from timber and offers a large batch of cool shade, welcome in the hot Texas summer.

Sojourn Heights’s new church campus utilizes the renovation of a historic church building, new facility construction, and landscaping to stitch together a vital nexus for the neighborhood.

The existing building was previously North Main Baptist church. Built in 1940, it had been unoccupied since the early 1990’s. This two-story, load-bearing masonry structure is capped by a beautifully preserved bowstring truss roof structure over a double height worship space. Our design reinforced the masonry structure in this building and modernized the facility while retaining its character and housing a new sanctuary space with mezzanine seating. On the west side of this existing building, a new steel-frame, ground-up addition houses a fellowship hall and staff workspace.

To reconnect with the context, the two buildings will form a U-shape around a common courtyard and greenspace, which Sojourn makes accessible to the community as an amenity for all to share.

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Lyrical Journeys, located in Nashville International Airport (BN) and completed in 2020, is inspired by the theme of bridges as a rich metaphor for the musical, geographic, and cultural identity of Nashville. As the Cumberland River runs right through the center of Nashville, the city is connected by fifteen bridges, many of them iconic. In music composition, particularly popular and country music, a bridge is a contrasting section that prepares for the return of the verse and the chorus. In stringed musical instruments, the bridge is a piece of wood that supports the strings and transmits the vibrations of the string to the resonating body. Known as “Music City,” Nashville is a bridge connecting people who are in different places, enabling the passage of ideas.

Expressed in a suspended, interactive light sculpture, Lyrical Journeys is a natural progression of how music has been visualized by the arts: from sheet music notation to the synesthetic paintings of Wassily Kandinsky, and architect Daniel Libeskind’s Chamber Works to generative data visualization.

A dancing, meandering path held in tension by sculptural wood bridges invites viewers to become participants. As they walk beneath the sculpture the strings appear to be strumming above, evoking themes of journey, collaboration, and discovery.

| Shane Albritton + Norman Lee, Artists
| Installation

METALAB hosted a wonderful group from to see the fabrication progress on the artwork at Laser Masters fabrication facility. This work will be installed in late May and we’ll have an event to celebrate this among other and architecture in the park later this year.

Employing proprietary design and material innovation, JuiceBOX is made up of four major components: an up-cycled 20 ft x 8 ft shipping container housing a climate-controlled work/storage space, a proprietary solar rack capable of producing up to 7 kW of solar power, a self-contained battery end-cap with 5 days of battery backup, and a fully integrated renewable power management system.

Adding to this structure of the Juicebox, Metalab was commissioned by Helical to create a revolutionary hydroponic greenhouse that includes water filtration, solar power, and communication capabilities. This working classroom in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is equipped to prepare veterans for the future of farming.

Global Outpost Farm (GO Farm)
for Helical Holdings

Set in an old warehouse, the Amaya Roasting Company’s headquarters is an adaptive reuse project in which the existing steel structure helped to inform how to divide and organize the spaces. Rather than fight the existing structural characteristics, we chose to infill within the bays with a polycarbonate and wood framing system, which met the health and safety regulations for testing and producing coffee in Houston. Throughout the project, strategically placed skylights bring natural light to interior spaces in need of extra visibility. By using conventional materials in unconventional ways, Metalab was able to design a high quality headquarters for a developing business while still meeting their price point.

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Pillars of Hope and Justice commemorates the historic visit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Fort Wayne in June 1963, where he shared his vision of nonviolent resistance. Our concept resonates at multiple levels with Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of nonviolent resistance, bringing together ancient and contemporary. We were very inspired by King’s Six Pillars of Nonviolent Resistance and the Ancient Greek Notion of “Agape.” The monument features six pillars set in a circular configuration around a stone or concrete plaza. Each pillar will evoke both ancient architectural pillars and growing reeds of papyrus that emerge from the ground and bend outwards at the top. The organic form of papyrus reeds evokes Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of nonviolent resistance. Within each pillar is a light that dramatically illuminates the structures at night, creating six radiant beacons of hope and justice. The arc of the moral universe is long, and we pass on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King to “bend the arc” for justice in our time.

Pillars of Hope and Justice is composed of six unique pillars, each set on a cast stone plinth resembling a classical column. The plinth block will measure approximately 26” square with a circular profile transitioning to the column. Each column is composed of 14 individual “flutes” which are approximately 4” wide and contain the text of Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous speech delivered near this site. The flutes are discretely welded together up to a height of approximately 8 feet, and then flare outward like shafts of papyrus bundles to a total height of approximately 14 feet. Each fluted section is cut from 1/4” thick steel.

| Shane Albritton + Norman Lee, Artists
| Installation
Freitag Design and Fabrication | Fabrication

The creation of a street lamp is a signficant design challenge. In addition to creating a robust fixture that can withstand the elements, there were strict criteria governing its performance. To tackle the challenge, METALAB partnered with Phillips.

Initially developed for Houston’s East End Management District, METALAB drew inspiration from the surrounding community, the low-profile of Phillips LED technologies, and the promise of neighborhood renewal. The Ringo offers high performance energy efficient mid-level path lighting with simple elegant forms and a refined presence. Ringo also features cost effective and easily interchangable colored bands that help define the district’s identity. Phillips LED technologies provide state-of-the-art control, light quality, and energy efficiency.

Utilizing advanced LED technologies, this street lamp consumes far less energy than traditional luminaires that produce comparable light output, in part because LED’s project focused directional light. This results in less glare and light pollution, better visual recognition, and excellent color rendition. The efficiency is not only environmentally responsible, it provides great operational savings.

for East End Management District

Great visit to with .inc and to see progress on the , which will span over 2 new buildings creating a microclimate for birds and humans alike! Shown here is of 24” diameter Corten Steel pipes which will become the primary structural arches. Designed by , we have been thrilled to be part of the team bringing this project to life as design consultants and fabrication liaisons working closely with .inc the AOR on the project, the General Contracotrs, and the fabricators and erectors. It will be taking shape on site in about 10-12 months! landscape architects project management and design lead

Built for Lindale Baptist Church in 1953, this building was renovated to fulfill the needs of a modern congregation. Minimal work was needed in the Art Deco sanctuary space, but a complete overhaul of the administrative and classroom wing was necessary for the new church. The floor plates were wiped clean to make space for a new program including a full-time daycare facility, a fellowship hall, a worship hall for the congregation that previously owned the church building, and plenty of office space and weekend classroom space.

This was all accommodated with carefully orchestrated adjacencies and a series of movable walls, allowing the large community spaces in the building to be reconfigured routinely. The exterior character of the building was preserved with only a few minor repairs and improvements. At the same time, the interior has been re-imagined to accommodate the variety of activities this contemporary congregation engages in. A master plan for the campus includes a playground for the daycare and future garden spaces that will be given to the care of the city as a community park.

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Congratulations for being featured on the Front Page of the Dallas Morning News!

From RE:Site -
Martyrs Park holds part of the history of racial violence in Dallas in its sacred soil. This is where the Memorial to Victims of Racial Violence (Shadow Lines) now stands as an acknowledgment of our shared past and a call to action. It’s been a 175-year journey and many, many hands have touched this project. RE:site is honored to be a small part of this journey and help bring this story into the light. At long last, the public dedication will take place on March 26, 2024.

Special thanks to the City of Dallas, Remembering Black Dallas, The Dallas County Justice Initiative, Poet Tim Seibles, , Freitag Design & Fab, Laser Masters Inc., and Golden Construction.
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ULI 2024 Development of Distinction Awards - Winners Announced!

In the Open Space Category, the 2024 award went to Memorial Park Land Bridge & Prairie. Memorial Park’s Kinder Land Bridge and Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Prairie is an iconic new destination within Houston and a point of civic pride, manifesting the power of what investment in public landscapes and green infrastructure can create. The expansive, 100-acre Land Bridge and Prairie not only is a unique and compelling design, but it also provides the public with an opportunity to connect with significant native ecologies, find peace, rejuvenation, and recreation within the dense urban landscape, and come together as a community in enjoyment and stewardship of Houston’s largest public park.

We worked with Landscape Archtect Nelson Byrd Woltz to create the overlook pavilion and shade structures at various points along the trail. We lovingly refer to these structures as ‘Bird Blinds.’ The structures offer a tranquil place to rest and contemplate the beautiful surroundings. Specific views across the across the prairie are highlighted by rectangular openings in the slats.

For

Landscape Architect |
Fabrication |

Known in the East End as the Knockout Factory, 5601 Navigation is a stunningly simple 20,000 SF warehouse. Metalab recently renovated a 5,000 SF portion of the building to serve as Houston Bike Share’s HQ and workshop, and we have now begun the design phase for a non-profit to occupy the western 6,000 SF portion of the building. Throughout the building, the ceilings are celebrated for their inherent beauty: timber frame joists and wood decking span above the original riveted truss girders with 50 foot clear spans. Original street art on the back of the building will be kept in place as Metalab restores the train loading docks to enjoy views of the bayou.

For

We won an international design competition to develop and fabricate 44 riverboats for the San Antonio Riverwalk. We designed an all-electric, battery-powered fleet with zero emissions and quiet operation that has forever changed the riverwalk experience. Each boat is accessible and modular, allowing for continual use throughout the day. The Riverboats are the most visited attraction in the state of Texas.

Our approach to the riverboat design challenge began with a simple gesture circumscribed within the city of San Antonio’s iconic “deep in the heart” logo. The simple rounded rectangle - or pill shape - creates an iconic form for the vessels that are both easy to fabricate and hydrodynamic. Endless possibilities for the riverboat experience are possible with the easy addition and removal of modular deck components: touring, dining, commuting, yoga, spin class, pop-up barber shops, and other variations yet to be offered. Our decorative railings - inspired by Papel Picado patterns and the city of San Antonio’s secondary color palette - pitch slightly outward and rake forward at the bow and stern to create an iconic boat form. To save space and increase legroom, the outward slant of these railings is carefully aligned with the ergonomic angle of a chair back, allowing for passenger comfort and the shape of the boat to be one and the same.

for the City of San Antonio

We know, it seems idiosyncratic, but in addition to helping artists realize large scale Public Art projects, also specializes in and of . This is one of our best, in which we did in collaboration with of She’s one of the best residential designers in Houston and we collaborate with her every chance we get. She’s currently helping us with phase 4 of the Waldo Mansion in westmoreland. More on that later! For we also moved six houses from 8 blocks away, saving them from demolition. We@designed the renovation of each of those for single family and short term rental uses and created a very cool compound of historic structures.