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    community building

    The Texas architect helping define Houston's visual style searches for a nonprofit community partner

    Brianna Caleri
    Mar 23, 2023 | 3:21 pm
    Interior of Austin Angels by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

    Michael Hsu Office of Architecture is accepting proposals for $20,000 worth of pro-bono consulting through May 19.

    Rendering courtesy of Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

    These days, if you're asking Houstonians to come into an office, it'd better be a nice one. Nonprofit workers and beneficiaries often get the short end of this stick, with outdated buildings and cost-cutting, so one acclaimed Texas architecture firm is offering its services to spruce things up.

    One nonprofit partner in Austin or Houston will receive $20,000 worth of services to directly support its mission from Michael Hsu Office of Architecture (MHOA). That can be accrued however the partner sees fit within design and consultation services, such as site analysis, feasibility studies, master planning, and even interior design help.

    Designs by MHOA are likely familiar to Houstonians, who may recognize the firm's work at Uchi, Loro, Da Gama, the Montrose Collective, and many more hard-to-miss modern buildings. Many clients have locations in both Austin and Houston, where Hsu grew up and another office is based, resulting in a growing visual connection between the two cities.

    This is the second iteration of the Design for All Partnership, following the success of 2022 as an inaugural year with Austin Angels, a community-building organization that supports youth and families in foster care. Although the partnership began last year, MHOA is still working on a community center on 2.5 acres in Buda that used to support a church facility.

    Renderings of the new space show an angular structure that prioritizes storage and openness from one area to the next, plus lots of colors through murals. The organization is now in a fundraising phase to bring the ideas to life.

    Austin Angels appealed to the architects because of its capacity to anticipate the needs of its community and a background in hospitality design. This overlap is fitting for the goal of the partnership, which beyond providing one-time services, is meant to meaningfully connect the organization with the design industry.

    The next partner will also embody values that align with MHOA's, but also must fit within a few hard criteria for eligibility: it must be a registered 501C3, be within 50 miles of the Austin or Houston metropolitan areas, and propose a project equal to or smaller than 50 acres for master planning or 20,000 square feet for architecture and interior design.

    “Our firm has always done our best to balance community-focused work in our project mix,” said Michael Hsu. “Similar to Austin Angels’ project, we’re looking for a partner who is actively contributing to our communities in Austin or Houston.”

    MHOA has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) and is accepting applications until May 19 at 5 pm. It will also be accepting questions until April 14, and plans to start conduct shortlist interviews between June 5-9. The new partner should be announced on June 22, and services will start shortly thereafter in July.

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    telling stories

    Black-owned Houston bookstore opens new home in historic Third Ward space

    Craig D. Lindsey
    May 13, 2025 | 2:45 pm
    Kindred Stories bookshore Eldorado Ballroom
    Photo by Craig D. Lindsey
    Kindred Stories has moved to its new location.

    Even though its grand reopening will be held this Saturday, May 17, Third Ward bookstore Kindred Stories has already begun a soft opening at its new location inside the Eldorado Ballroom at 2310 Elgin Street.

    Since September 2021, the Black-owned bookstore was located on Stuart St., one of many businesses that came to life thanks to Project Row Houses’ Incubation Program. Last year, the nonprofit informed Kindred and the other business that they had to vacate their premises at the end of this month to allow new businesses to occupy the spaces.

    Thankfully, Kindred already had its eye on the Eldorado location, next to neighborhood eatery The Rado Market (which has a collection of cookbooks curated by Kindred). It’s a space previously held by Hogan Brown Gallery, which abruptly closed in December. “I had caught wind that this space might be available,” Kindred founder/owner Terri Hamm tells CultureMap.

    Hamm turned the moving process into a fun little event for her and her loyal customers. “Last Tuesday, we invited about 20 of our top community members that, you know, are always in the store and have really supported us all of the year,” she says. “We packed up all the books in the space in an hour and, then, we moved everything in an hour. So it was like the beautiful way to close out that space in the midst of the community that has really supported us throughout three-and-a-half years there. And we spent the last four days kind of unboxing and just getting all set up.”

    Hamm says the new location is certainly roomier (around 1200 square feet) than their previous spot, which was only 450 square feet.

    “There's more room to just spend time in the store,” she says. “I feel like that's the ideal bookstore experience, when you can go in and really take your time. I feel like in the other space, it was so small, people kind of felt like they were in a rush.”

    Although Kindred is open and ready to welcome anyone looking for Black-and-proud literature, Hamm insists they’re only 90 percent done. More light fixtures need to be installed. Plants and furniture have to be brought. They even have custom-made wallpaper that needs to be installed.

    “So, we have a few little things that need to happen,” says Hamm, “And, then, I feel like the space will be really, really ready – probably in another six months.”

    In the meantime, it’s business as usual. This month’s calendar of events includes various appearances from authors as well as a couple of book clubs. Hamm is looking forward to new bookworms coming in and discovering what Kindred Stories has to offer.

    “The bestsellers are selling,” she says, “But I feel like, in this space, people are going to get to discover a lot of under-the-radar titles, just because there's more space to see the books and explore.”

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