The purse building

This commercial project was my last studio project at HCC while pursuing my AAS. The goal was to envision a mixed-development use for the historic Purse Building, located at 1701 Commerce St. in downtown Houston. The Purse Building has had many lives in its century-long life and is currently being developed by its owner, Scarlet Capital. Our class toured the building in January 2024 while most of the building was still in construction. Doing this allowed us to get into the shoes of the developer and understand their struggles, point of view and ultimately what matters most to them versus interior designers or the tenants. For many, it was the first time in a gutted building.

Given the Purse Building’s proximity to not only Minute Maid, but also Shell Energy Stadium, the Toyota Center and George R. Brown Convention Center, and Rice University, University of Houston, and Texas Southern University, I wanted to focus on creating a facility where career professionals could network, socialize, and expand their career opportunities in the sports industry…

Please click on the buttons below to see various research I conducted in relation to the Purse Building, and preliminary ideas I had for the first two floors of the building. The Purse Building is being developed as a mixed-use building by Scarlet Capital and is also the same perspective my class used when approaching how to design this historic building.