Bio:

The great designer, Michelle Old is a registered architect with 13 years of experience that designs innovative buildings that excel in beauty and high performance. Her projects have won numerous design awards from AIA Houston, ASID and Texas Architect. She has shared expertise at conferences on a broad range of topics including education, sustainability and mass timber design.

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How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?

I was initially exposed to architecture through my father’s passion of buildings. It was not until I realized that buildings could be a form of art, that was both democratic and long term, that it became my passion.

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What do you do?

As an architect, I design buildings that inspire people and communities. Spaces that evoke emotions and give a sense of belonging. Spaces that make a difference to their context and create positive experiences for all.

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What excites you in the work you do?

Architecture has the ability to shape and mold the community its within. Every day buildings impact people whether experiencing the building inside or out. To create that interaction is exciting to me.

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Who or what inspires you professionally?

The impact in people’s life through a building is something that inspires me project to project. Daily life is consistently altered by buildings and I strive to create experiences of hope through my designs.

 

What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?

In 2016, I was recognized as one of Houston’s Emerging Voices by the YAF. Both my professional work and personal art were on display at the AIA Houston Architecture Center. Being encouraged to participate from one of my mentors was an honor.

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Featured Project Name: 

Prairie View A&M Fabrication Center

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Featured Project Location: 

Prairie View, Texas

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Featured Project Completion Date: 

2016

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Role in Featured Project: 

Design Architect

 

Featured Project Description:

The Prairie View A&M University School of Architecture’s new Fabrication Center is a state-of-art facility that looks to promote student and faculty innovation. As one of the seven HBUC (Historic Black Colleges and Universities) with an accredited architecture program, this new building enhances these student’s education as they come into the field of architecture. This innovative maker space houses a variety of equipment allowing architectural students to build, develop, and test new ideas.

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Photography Credit:

Joe Aker

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Featured Project Name: 

San Jacinto Classroom Building

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Featured Project Location: 

Pasadena, Texas

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Featured Project Completion Date: 

2021

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Role in Featured Project: 

Design Architect

 

Featured Project Description:

The new San Jacinto Classroom Building is a new full mass timber building that showcases many sustainable components besides its structure. As the nation’s largest academic mass timber structure, it sequesters carbon instead of producing it. The wood itself is on display in all public areas educating what mass timber is. Other sustainable strategies include greywater treatment, photovoltaics, electrochromic glazing and tubular daylighting, making it a high performing building.

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Photography Credit:

Joe Aker

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Featured Project Name: 

San Jacinto Engineering and Technology

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Featured Project Location: 

Houston, Texas

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Featured Project Completion Date: 

2020

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Role in Featured Project: 

Design Architect

 

Featured Project Description:

LEARN - MAKE - DISPLAY The new Engineering and Technology Building is an innovative building that provides spaces for students to make and display. The Innovation Center dissects the building providing an enclosed area to create and an open area to collaborate with transparency displaying the students and their projects. Different moments of engineering and technology are celebrated such as the Y columns, the skeleton stair, tubular daylighting and electrochromic glazing.

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Photography Credit:

Joe Aker