Norton Rose Fulbright Tower icon | Bjarke Ingels Group

Norton Rose Fulbright Tower

Houston, United States

Client

Skanska USA Commercial Development, Inc.

Typology

Work

Size m2/ft2

62,866 / 676,682

Status

Completed

Norton Rose Fulbright Tower image | Bjarke Ingels Group
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower gallery image | Bjarke Ingels Group

COMPACT SITE FOOTPRINT — The site is a compact, irregular shape with a long edge along Discovery Green. This is unique for Downtown Houston, which is full of large city block footprints for office towers.

Norton Rose Fulbright Tower gallery image | Bjarke Ingels Group

IDEAL PLANNING MODULE ARRAYED — A 60' x 60' footprint projects onto the site, an ideal dimension for perimeter office layouts and open floor plan opportunities. The module is arrayed along the site, taking advantage of the long park edge. The site constraints provide a unique opportunity to create a side core building, allowing for views to the park.

Norton Rose Fulbright Tower gallery image | Bjarke Ingels Group

UNIQUE TOWER FORM — When extruded, the modules create a unique building form, unified while preserving the identity of the 6 individual towers. The breaks in the facade between towers expand the natural light in the building and add corner office opportunities.

Norton Rose Fulbright Tower gallery image | Bjarke Ingels Group

CASCADING TERRACES — The towers step down to the north, creating a series of cascading rooftop terraces that provide outdoor space for tenants with prime views of downtown. The stepping of the towers also future proofs views for the empty lots behind.

Norton Rose Fulbright Tower gallery image | Bjarke Ingels Group

DYNAMIC PUBLIC REALM — The towers lift from the ground, creating a shaded and welcoming public realm activated with retail and dynamic patios enhanced with park views.

01 / 05
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower image | Bjarke Ingels Group
“It has been a true privilege to work with the renowned minds of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to bring this one-of-a-kind architectural statement to a prominent location in Houston. From the start, our core design priorities for the project were placemaking energy and world-class architecture, and BIG helped us achieve that. The building is sensitively designed to integrate into the existing urban fabric of the community. It blurs the boundaries between park space and office space while serving as a distinctive architectural statement at a prominent location on Discovery Green. The project embraces Skanska’s tenant-first approach with Houston’s most forward-thinking building.”
Matt Damborsky - Executive Vice President, Regional Manager for Skanska USA Commercial Development’s Houston region
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower image | Bjarke Ingels Group
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower image | Bjarke Ingels Group
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower image | Bjarke Ingels Group
"On a site with a complex footprint and an existing hotel, we have designed six connected and pivoting towers to complete the framing of Houston’s Discovery Green. At ground level, the towers lift to unite the building with the park, while smaller retail volumes below offer a human-scale experience. The stepped tower volumes create three large terraces with views of downtown, adding a striking silhouette to the Houston skyline."
Martin Voelkle - Partner, BIG NYC
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower image | Bjarke Ingels Group
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower gallery image | Bjarke Ingels Group
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower gallery image | Bjarke Ingels Group
Norton Rose Fulbright Tower image | Bjarke Ingels Group

Partner in Charge

Bjarke Ingels

Martin Voelkle

Project Manager

Jenna Dezinski

Ziad Shehab

Design Lead

Julian Ocampo Salazar

Blake Smith

Thomas McMurtrie

Project Team

Siqi Zhang

Sang Ha Jung

Florencia Kratsman

Alana Goldweit

Autumn Visconti

Brandon Cappellari

Corliss Ng

Deb Campbell

Hector Romero

Jamie Maslyn Larson

Kate Cella

Gil Kilmo Kang

Mackenzie Keith

Marcus Wilford

Morgan Mangelsen

Nojan Adami

Kig Veerasunthorn

Rasam Aminzadeh

Sebastian Claussnitzer

Terrence Chew

Margaret Tyrpa

Tom Lasbrey

Tracy Sodder

Frankie Sharpe

Emily Chen

Catrina Nelson

Stephen Kwok

Christian Salkeld

Christopher Pin

Cynthia Wang

Danna Lei

Francesca Portesine

Guillaume Evain

Jan Leenknegt

Janie Green

Veronica Acosta

Mattia Locci

Oliver Thomas

Sinam Hawro Yakoob

Weronika Siwak

Yushan Huang

Ziqi Wang

Awards

ULI Houston Development of Distinction Awards, Large-Scale For-Profit Category, 2025

Collaborators

Kendall/Heaton Associates

Skanska USA Commercial Development

Inc.

Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

Walter P Moore

Wylie Engineering

SWA Group

HWA Parking

Persohn/Hahn Associates

NORESCO LLC

Ulrich Engineers

Morrison Hershfield

Lerch Bates

Risher Companies

Cerami & Associates

HMA Consulting

DG Studios

Dot Dash

CPP Wind

Cogent Commissioning