[Urbannizer]

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/busi...ge-6528011.php

Originally Posted by Houston Chronicle

A top Texas Medical Center executive described a plan Thursday for a major medical research campus that would bring together four institutions and contain multiple components, including hotel rooms, living space, restaurants and bars, greenspace and an enormous plaza shaped like a double helix, a nod to the medical description of intertwining strands of DNA.

The origins of the project began at least a year ago when McKeon said the Medical Center determined that the four institutions each need between 300,000 and 500,000 square feet of additional research space.

The project would have 5,700 underground parking spaces.

McKeon said the campus would be open for all Houstonians.

He envisions it as a place where concerts could be held and where people could jog and bike alongside the new greenspace.

The Gensler architecture firm has been involved in the design of the project, which would include a series of research/office buildings between 300,000 and 350,000 square feet and 60,000 square feet for shops and restaurants. The helix would comprise 250,000 square feet.