TMC Helix Park celebrates human and ecological resilience. At 14.5 acres in downtown Houston, TMC Helix Park addresses urgent environmental needs, weaving together stormwater management with biodiverse planting at the center of world’s largest medical campus. The park redefines ecological resilience on the urban scale, transforming a series of hardscaped asphalt parking lots into a strategically vegetated neighbourhood park.

To plan for the 500-year storm, the park was conceived of as a living sponge that stores, filters, and repurposes rainwater for the entire watershed. The park’s permeable open space is designed for rainfall interception, with over 650 new trees, allowing the site’s living infrastructure to retain up to 3.2-million-gallons of stormwater.

As part of a larger 42-acre masterplan for the Texas Medical Center, this first phase of TMC Helix Park redefines resiliency at the urban scale in this majority minority city, transforming a series of hardscaped asphalt parking lots into a strategically vegetated neighbourhood park. To plan for the 500-year storm, the project was conceived of as a living sponge that stores, filters, and repurposes rainwater as a public amenity for the entire watershed.

At TMC Helix Park, a focus on human health defines the gardens and the theme of water and light bring these parks together in creating thermal comfort zones for the community. Active mobility pathways intertwine with water and biodiverse planting to create an oasis of play and restoration. A human-centered approach defines this large urban park with district wide mobility infrastructure, green amenities, programmed spaces for gathering, and water gardens for sustained health and well-being.

Refuge, Resilience, and Climate Conscious Public Spaces
Investing in a district wide climate resiliency plan along Brays Bayou and into the Texas Medical Center, the 42-acre site was elevated by an average of six feet, increasing its ability to absorb water and create planting scheme that protects the campus from flash flooding in this 500-year floodplain. In this first phase, the 14.5 acres of open space will absorb approximately 3.2M gallons of rainwater, storing and filtering it for release in a highly controlled protocol.
Houston’s rainfall will likely decrease, with climate change and events such as flash flooding and droughts are predicted to become more frequent. Houston has a subtropical climate with relative humidity typically ranges from 60 – 90%, with heat index higher than the actual temperature. Houston’s average temperature is 92°F, shaded surfaces can be up to 40°F lower than unshaded ones. Throughout the site, 69,4000sf of shade canopies with 380,000sf of cool pavement and water features provide climate-conscious comfort in hot weather.
Designing Green Amenities & Community Space for Neurodiversity and Inclusion
TMC Helix Park is designed with Mikyoung Kim Design’s neurodiversity toolkit of play, discovery, and care; creating places for multi-sensory experiences and flexible and customizable spaces that offer both refuge and communal spaces. Biophilia shapes the design with texture, natural materials, and immersive experiences.

TMC Helix Park is built around five Texas eco-regions that integrate over 300 biodiverse plant species and 650 new trees (that will intercept 25-50% of rainwater) on the site that brings a range of color, texture, and sound throughout the year. Water play brings health and wellness through noise mitigation and cooling experiences in a park welcoming to visitors of all ages and abilities. Rain Gardens and permeable buffer strips will slow, filter, and store stormwater in this new resilient district.
Streetscapes and mobility routes are designed to be shared, safe and active, providing greater access to the park. Sloped walkways, extensive shade canopies, and multi-faceted cycle pathways are layered within furnishings, and low impact designs. Reaching beyond the core gardens a network of pedestrian and cycle facilities encourage active mobility and connect to the Houston’s complete street plan. The district’s streets offer healthy, enjoyable alternatives to a car-centric commute, connecting adjacent to Texas Medical Center campuses and the broader Houston community.

Architecture offices involved in the design: Elkus Manfredi Architects

Location: 6550 Bertner Avenue, Houston, TX 77030 USA

Design year: 2019

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