Discovery Green
Discovery Green has become Houston’s beloved central park, transforming a sea of surface parking into one of Houston’s most vibrant urban districts. Over 400 annual programmed performances, events, and activities supplement the park’s fixed amenities, to create a multi-faceted regional destination attracting over a million annual visitors. The vitality of this park has been a major catalyst for broader downtown revitalization, with new residential, office, and hotel towers adjacent to the park representing over a billion dollars of follow-on private redevelopment.
Park amenities include a 10,000 SF restaurant, tree-shaded promenades, a great lawn for civic-scale events and active recreation, an outdoor stage and landform amphitheater for daily performances, dog runs, picnic areas, a lake with a café and water gardens, an iconic interactive water feature and adjacent playground for children, several public art works, and two acres of horticultural gardens. The 620-car underground garage is seamlessly integrated with the park.
Location: Houston, TX
Size: 12 acres
Completion: 2008
Client: Discovery Green Conservancy in partnership with the City of Houston
Jacob Petersen led the extensive Discovery Green Design Team from Schematic Design through Construction Observation as a Principal with Hargreaves Associates.