Hermann Park had no shortage of amenities when it hired Overland Partners and landscape architect Laurie Olin to rejuvenate the open space.  Located in the heart of Houston, the park is within walking distance of the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, the Museum District, and the Third Ward. Its own cultural amenities, including the Houston Zoo and the beloved Hermann Park Mini-Train, drew plenty of visitors, but they lacked a cohesive outdoor connection.

The Lake Plaza Pavilion now serves as the front porch of Hermann Park, welcoming visitors to explore the park’s amenities or to gather and rest during a day of museum hopping. It features a new depot for the mini-train, gift shop, café with raised dining terrace overlooking the lake, and bridge over the pedal boat lagoon, as well as a promenade along the lake’s edge. The built elements were designed to blend seamlessly into the park setting, allowing the natural environment to remain the focus of attention.The plaza also provides variety in a relatively flat landscape, rising to create a subtle shift in topography and then dropping to meet McGovern Lake.

Employing a variety of sustainable practices throughout the design, the project earned LEED Gold certification. In addition to building design, Overland and Olin substantially bolstered the population of flora across the 8 acres. The Plaza’s Jones Greenway, whose plants will eventually grow to resemble a thriving East Texas forest in the center of the parking area, serves as a detention basin during heavy rainfall. This feature helps with flood prevention, and the water collected in the Greenway’s swale is filtered of sediment and pollutants by lush plant life before being released into Brays Bayou. The Lake Plaza successfully serves as a point of connection between the natural and built environment and the numerous cultural institutions and functions located within the park itself.