Good Brick Awards 2025

Preservation Houston honors historic buildings with annual awards

Preservation Houston’s Good Brick Awards return for their 46th year celebrating excellence in historic preservation. PH presented the first Good Brick Awards in 1979 to recognize outstanding contributions to the preservation, restoration, and enhancement of Houston’s architectural and cultural heritage. Counting the 2025 recipients, the organization has recognized more than 420 people and projects with Good Bricks in the past 46 years.

“The diversity of the 2025 award recipients reflects the remarkable evolution of Houston’s preservation movement,” says Kathy Washburn, PH’s interim executive director. “These projects are a testament to the dedication of those who care deeply about preserving our city’s heritage, and we’re honored to recognize the people and groups that brought them to life.”

Houston has many things that it does well, topping annual charts for numerous positive achievements — like the abundance of parks and other green spaces. However, the Bayou City doesn’t even rank in the top 20 of cities with beautiful old houses. Aggressive redevelopment and gentrification practices across the city have led to rapidly dwindling numbers of historic homes and other properties. Happily, creative and adaptive reuse practices are seeing more and more historic properties saved, restored, and living fresh lives. The Good Brick Awards serve as a reminder that this city is teeming with capable stewards of these buildings, great and small — and that’s something to celebrate.

So, without further ado, here are the 2025 Preservation Houston Good Brick Award recipients, along with a few words from some of the honorees about what this honor means to them. The 2025 Good Brick Award winners will be recognized during The Cornerstone Dinner on February 28, 2025, at the River Oaks Country Club.

The Preservation Houston President’s Award

Jon Deal for his contributions to historic preservation in Houston.

Deal is founder of The Deal Company, a development and investment firm specializing in repurposing former industrial and retail buildings in the urban core. He has been involved with several prior Good Brick Award-winning projects including the adaptive reuse of the former Riviana Rice silos in First Ward as The Silos at Sawyer Yards.

Juried Awards

Jason Johnson for an addition to the Lighthouse House (1906, Olle Lorehn) in the Old Sixth Ward Historic District.

“I was raised inside the loop. I love this city. I strive to be a good steward of my property. I want to do what I can to help preserve our architectural history,” Johnson says.

Diane and Ray Krueger for the adaptive reuse of the Big Three Industries Building (1974, MacKie & Kamrath) in Greater Heights.

“The Big Three Industries Building is a Houston story. Having the opportunity to acquire and repurpose it to a mixed-use of offices with our home on the top floor was a starting point for it to have a new life. Living there is a singular experience! Receiving a Good Brick Award validates our vision for this Kamrath wonder,” Ray Krueger says.

Julia W. Long for rehabilitating the Warshaw House (1965, Hy Applebaum) in Meyerland.

Hon. Annise Parker and Kathy Hubbard for renovating the Crawford House (1904) in the Westmoreland Historic District.

Mary Patton for rehabilitating the Herzog House (1956, Paul László) in Braeswood.

“I’m deeply honored to receive this award. After a decade in interior design, I’ve come to realize how essential preservation is,” Patton says. “This recognition is especially meaningful because it reflects a shared appreciation for valuing what already exists and finding ways to enhance it, rather than replacing it simply because we can.”

Julia and Thomas Pascal Will Robinson for rehabilitating the Waldo Mansion (1905) in the Westmoreland Historic District.

Charles Stava and Jacob Garber-Stava for restoring the Martha Perlitz House (1912, Alonzo N. Dawson) in the Avondale West Historic District.

“I've known my house for years before I purchased it, as I knew the previous owner,” Chuck Stava says. “He had it extensively modernized in the 1960s, which he later regretted. I could envision what a grand home it once was and felt it was our duty to return it to its rightful appearance both inside and outside. Receiving a Good Brick Award is a vindication of our efforts to restore one of Montrose's original grand ladies.”

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum for the rehabilitation of the Houston Light Guard Armory (1925, Alfred C. Finn) in Midtown/Third Ward.

The Church at 1548 Heights for restoring the historic windows at its building (1924, Alfred C. Finn) in Houston Heights.

Stephen Fox for his book The Architecture of Birdsall P. Briscoe.

The Martha Peterson Award

Southampton Centennial Committee for the Southampton Place Centennial Celebration.

“We are thrilled the Good Brick award honors Southampton’s architectural and cultural history. Our community’s strength and future commitment are enriched by Preservation Houston’s recognition,” committee member Joe Fischer says.

Jim Parsons is the program director for Preservation Houston and believes that highlighting the successes of dedicated preservationists remains important to the continuing efforts of individuals and communities to restore and preserve historic structures.

“From day one, we’ve believed in celebrating outstanding preservation projects and the people who make them happen,” Parsons says. “It’s not just about honoring their work — it’s about showing Houstonians that we can respect our past while keeping historic buildings a meaningful part of our city’s future.”

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Good Brick Awards and their contributions to the preservation of our historic spaces.

For more information about Preservation Houston and the Good Brick Awards, visit the organization’s website.

Preservation Houston Good Brick Awards 2025

Photo by Divya Pande

The Waldo Mansion at 201 Westmoreland.

respectful design

New Montrose studio brings bespoke European design to Houston

Photo by Laurie Perez

Armazem.design is located in the historic Winlow Westheimer buildings.

Houston’s newest interior design showroom is a dazzling display of how historic preservation and swanky European design can slip into a harmonious dialogue that quietly dismisses the longstanding notion that contemporary furniture has no place within the oftentimes rigid constraints of a traditional home.

Tucked between The Upper Hand Salon and The Phoenix Pub in the historic Winlow Westheimer buildings, Armazem.design is a lifestyle design boutique carrying elevated European design and architectural solutions from century-old brands such as Arclinia, Lema, Barausse, Foscarini, Gaggeneau, and Sub-Zero Wolf.

The name Armazem pays homage to founder and principal Jon Fante’s Brazilian roots. Traditionally, armazems were community cornerstones — general stores where people not only shopped but also learned, connected, and built long-term relationships. Appropriate then, that Fante would choose to nestle himself between a salon and a pub, two businesses that are traditional archetypes for familiarity and community.

Armazem.design is set up like a bespoke home as opposed to a traditional contemporary design concept space. With everything from stately 1920s Victorians to cozy 1930s bungalows still in play in Montrose, setting up shop in a “Houston Browns” brick building from the 1930s — complete with original wide plank floors, exposed brick interior, and open rafter ceilings — allows clients to get a genuine feel for how the product lines work within the framework of these older homes.

Fante, who was born, raised, and educated as a civil engineer in Brazil, came to the States in 2006 to handle US operations for Florense. Fante retired from his position as CEO in 2017 to start Armazem.design in Chicago. The decision to expand to Houston is something that Fante says was a no-brainer, as Houston has been moving towards a more contemporary style overall.

“What we are trying to show here is that you don’t have to be in the extremes. You don’t have to be in the extremes of classic American design, which is beautiful, and what is also perceived here as European design, which is super contemporary, which is also beautiful,” Fante tells CultureMap. “There is a breadth of solutions in the inbetween.”

The buildout for Armazem.design takes clients on a journey through two kitchens, a living room, dining room, generously-appointed closet and dressing space, home office, and casual den space, all outfitted with wall units, complex storage solutions, and warm, comfortable furnishings. Formerly open spaces have been divided into distinct concepts using architectural partitions that can be designed for any space.

Every aspect of Armazem.design is custom made to order. The design may follow a more European school, but there are wooden elements and handmade objects that protect their environment from the contemporary curse of feeling cold, uninviting, or institutional. With lead times around three to four months, going bespoke here is as accessible as placing orders from mainstream retailers.

“While there is a focus on kitchens, there are a lot of different products that we bring,” says Fante. “We are a showroom that is focused on interior architectural applications for home. We have partners in doors, partitions, wall paneling, closets — there is a lot. We got this historical place in Montrose and we made it as a home. We want people to walk in and feel like they could live here. It’s very comprehensive.”

The owners of the building are currently working with the city to gain historical recognition, something that would mean a lot for the neighborhood, and to Fante.

“We were very lucky to find this space. We preserved every historical element in the showroom — you see these very rustic floors, these floors are almost 100 years old.” Fante discovered more of the historic “Houston Browns” brick during the renovation (the classic Houston brick has been out of production for decades), all hidden behind swathes of drywall. “We ripped that all out to expose the true character of the space,” Fante explains. “Of course we kept the brick.”

Fante shares that the decision to restore the building led to a phrase from an architect in their Chicago showroom that has remained their motto here in Montrose: “Let’s not bully the space, let’s respect it.” That’s a sentiment that the entire neighborhood can get behind.

Armazem.design is located at 1911 Westheimer Road and is open Monday through Friday from 9 am-5 pm.

Photo by Laurie Perez

Armazem.design is located in the historic Winlow Westheimer buildings.

shopping home-design