CLIENT
City of Houston

AWARDS
2003 Texas Downtown Association Public Improvement Big City
2001 ACEC Engineering Excellence Award
2000 AIA Houston Design Award - Architecture Honor Design Award
1999 American Planning Association Highest Honor Award

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Cotswold Project began with the dream of a private foundation. It envisioned a waterway in place of a street to spur development of the area. In 1998, the foundation turned the project over to the City of Houston who contracted with the Houston Downtown Management District to deliver the improvements. “Cotswold” became a $62 million project that rebuilt streets “from the underground up” and provided a number of entertaining public amenities. The City preserved the foundation’s original water concept by incorporating a number of exciting water features as focal points for the historic district. Trees for Houston, Scenic Houston and The Downtown District also are underwriting improvements to the area.

Public art is an integral part of the city’s vision for Cotswold. Artists worked with the Cotswold design team to realize a key objective of the Master Plan: “to foster a thoughtful and vibrant sense of street life through the introduction of visual elements which range from intimate in scale to monumental.”

The Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County (CACHH) coordinated the Cotswold art program. Artworks chosen for the area focus primarily on paving enhancements and water features to create a unique sense of place for visitors, business owners and residents. These features include sidewalk mosaics, bike racks, decorative grates, fountains and grand water “vessels” for the Central Amenity Zone of the Cotswold Project.