Smith & Company Architects :: Projects

Texas Southern University
Cleburne Avenue Parking Garage

Completed: March 2006
Size: 334,054 sq. ft

Scope:

The Cleburne Avenue Parking Garage is located at the corner of Cleburne Avenue and Sampson Street directly across from the Jesse H. Jones School of Business. The architecture in this northeast section of TSU’s campus is contemporary in nature and the Cleburne Garage was designed to continue that contemporary vision.

This new 334,054 S.F. parking garage is the second of a three phase parking improvement plan for Texas Southern University (TSU), The Cleburne Avenue Parking Garage is designed to accommodate 1,000 cars and the quadrangle that houses the garage is equipped to handle up to 1,500 cars. These additional spaces will aid in Texas Southern University’s quest to prepare for an ever-increasing student population.

In addition to parking, the new garage has 1,941 S.F. of office space, which includes two offices for the TSU Police Department, three administrative offices and a public lobby area. One of the key design components of the garage is the introduction of a perforated metal paneling and framing system or “mesh”. This “mesh system” was introduced into the design palette to make the new building better suited to blend into the context of the areas neighboring buildings. The design of the garage matches the same palette of materials used on the Jesse H. Jones School of Business. Along with the Mesh System, the use of brick, pre-cast concrete and metal in the design of the garage was done to create a relationship to the School of Business and to keep in tune with the contemporary movement of TSU’s northeast side. Together the two buildings serve as a wonderful introduction to TSU’s east campus.