H3 has designed a new headquarters for the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT). Founded in 1987, BRIT is an internationally recognized non-profit research and conservation organization whose collection of more than one million dried plants represents many of the earth’s plant families. Once complete, BRIT will hold more than two million plant specimens, making it one of the largest such repositories in the country. Further, as a demonstration of the client’s commitment to environmentalism and energy-efficient design, H3 and BRIT will seek a LEED Gold certification. Serving as both museum and library, the complex sits on a five-acre site adjacent to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and consists of three main structures. A two-story concrete panel building punctuated with tinted glass windows contains administration spaces, research facilities, classrooms and exhibit space accessible by the general public. This structure also includes two terraces configured to allow maximum daylight into the building. Perpendicular to the public building are the herbarium and library, which house BRIT’s collections. Solid concrete panels, required to support state-of-the-art temperature and humidity control systems that preserve the institute’s collections, are adorned with multiple species of native ivy and slow-growing vines. The combined effect of the order of the structure creates a perfect palette for the organic growth of plant life clinging to its surface. The entrance canopy is an organic curvilinear shape that creates a partially shaded gallery that intersects and unifies the two orthogonal structures. Conceptually, the entrance canopy combines the openness of the Texas plains with the acute need for shading to protect visitors from intense Texas sun.
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