Lyric Centre Garage Gets a Glassy Feature Wall
Downtown Houston is about to be a lot brighter and a whole lot more colorful. Just like insects, humans are attracted to light and the prettier the better. Right in the middle of the growing food hall scene, the Lyric Market at the Lyric Centre uses light and glass as a marketing vehicle. The building’s secret weapon is that it’s colorfully lit… it’s not just any place to park your car. It’s a destination. It’s sure to be a hit for everyone wanting to take a selfie or do a quick Instagram post.
The Lyric Market (located at the base of the new parking garage next to the Lyric Centre) is part of a gathering of an “all-star” group of at least 18 food vendors and four to six retailers. The $58 million, 31,000-square-foot culinary destination is under the direction of real estate developer Jonathan Enav, the president and CEO of Houston-based U.S. Property Management, who is no stranger to the area as he manages the 27-story Lyric Centre office building. Rhode Island-based Gilbane Building Co. began the project in late 2016 for Houston-based Hines, which is the property manager for the Lyric Centre. The main aspect of the project generating a lot of buzz is the outside of the building. The Market is topped by a seven-level parking garage, clad in brilliant LED-lit panels.
For patrons, the view will be a kaleidoscope of color, but the colors are representative of what is inside – almost like the legend on a map. The exterior, designed by Houston-based Munoz+Albin Architecture, includes LED-lit panels and a striking glass box focal point hovering 60 feet above the sidewalks. The three colors in the site plan indicate different types of venues: pale blue is for full-service restaurants, while yellow and purple are for kiosks with bar seating as well as stalls. The parking garage’s entrance off Smith St. is shown at the curb cut on the left side of the site. The food hall connects to the Lyric Centre through a passage at the office tower’s north end. To check out what it looks like, click here.
What goes better with light than a large structural glass wall feature to accent the building and continue the magical feel? W&W Glass joined installer Momentum Exterior Systems of Houston to engineer and execute the vertical wall glass fin wall system. The Pilkington Planar™ system designed by W&W Glass includes Pilkington Optiwhite™ low-iron SentryGlas® laminated glass panels for the suspended from glass fins. The walls are connected to Optiwhite low-iron, 3/4″ thick tempered glass fins utilizing standard, countersunk Pilkington 905 series fitting hardware. This glass menagerie adds to the total concept of setting the stage for a unique dining experience from the time the diner drives up in his car until the last bite is taken. The result is that diners will be surrounded by a beautifully designed space crafted with painstaking attention to detail, an exciting atmosphere filled with live music, and the hustle and bustle of an international market all in the comfort of downtown Houston.
The project will bring to Houston the latest wave of chef-driven concepts that will dominate the space, which also is expected to include a variety of vendors peddling products such as fresh produce, fresh flowers, artisan baskets, and handmade hats. In total, 34 spaces ranging from 105 to 790 square feet are available for lease. The concept is modeled after international food halls, including: New York’s Chelsea Market, Portugal’s Time Out Market, and Israel’s Sarona Market Local restaurant group Clark Cooper Concepts — behind eateries such as Brasserie 19, Coppa Osteria, and the recently closed SaltAir Seafood Kitchen — partnering with Enav on the project. Plans also call for an underground speakeasy and a second-story open-air terrace and café.
Houston-based landscape architecture firm Kudela & Weinheimer Landscape is designing the terrace with seating, fire pits and a downtown view. Just outside of the hall will be a public plaza centered around the Lyric Centre’s 36-foot-tall “Virtuoso” sculpture by David Adickes. Scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year, the plaza will host community programs as well. Another unique aspect to the Lyric Market is the advanced parking garage technology – the first of it’s kind in the area. The Lyric garage has full, license plate recognition technology at every space. Contract parkers can enter and exit without badging in or out. It also has 2 way circulation, all the way, up and down. It eliminates the hassle of a one-way driving thoroughfare complete with color coding to designate empty spaces.
W&W Glass LLC is a family-owned business with a 70-year history in the metal and glass industry, one of the largest metal and glass companies in the New York metropolitan area and the largest supplier of structural glass systems in the country. We have over two decades of experience in the design and installation of various building enclosure systems, including stick-built curtain walls, pre-glazed unitized curtain walls, Pilkington Planar™ structural glass facades, and custom metal and glass enclosure systems. We install all of our work with our own dedicated union labor force. W&W Glass is consistently the largest employer of glaziers in the NY metropolitan area. W&W Glass is located at 302 Airport Executive Park, Nanuet, NY 10954-5285
