Perkins&Will Puts Environmental Initiatives at the Fore for This Office in Houston

2021 Best of Year winner for Large Corporate Office

It goes beyond what its name implies. “Waste Management is not just about trash collecting,” Perkins&Will associate principal Jennifer Carzoli says. “The company considers itself an environmental one, its initiatives including solar fields and wildlife habitats.” When consolidating headquarters from two locations, it chose nine floors in the new Bank of America tower, with a LEED Platinum–certified core and a shell by Gensler.

Encouraging employee activity, a statement stair in concrete and local hickory connects the project’s 285,000 square feet. It’s bordered on one side by a stunning nine-story living wall composed of philodendron in an ombre arrangement of green and gold shades that correspond to those in Waste Management’s logo. Elsewhere are abundant environmental graphics, the text drawn from the sustainability reports the company has been publishing since the 1990’s. Laun­ched on the reception floor, they consist of filmed glass and hickory panels leading to a tunnel formed of the same wood. Inscribed throughout are snippets of various stories, and, at the end, is a full-scale truck simulator that encourages visitors to take a ride.

Perkins&Will: gina berndt; jennifer carzoli; alyssa carata; matt zelensek; mark walsh; joe connell; lara keskaj; eileen jones; emily preece; vick moore; jessica mazur