Dept. is working with Buffalo Bayou Partnership on the Gravel Silos and Stormwater Crossing, which are two adjacent sites   located on the East End of Buffalo Bayou in Houston’s Second Ward neighborhood. 

On the west side of the project site, The Stormwater Crossing is a natural area along the Buffalo Bayou trail system that takes advantage of the site's naturally low elevation to provide a neighborhood stormwater retention space and  wetland. The park bolsters a historic gully and connects to a constructed wetland that  cleans neighborhood stormwater runoff by recreating the historic "prairie pothole" landscape of the Gulf Coast prairie ecoregion. The Buffalo Bayou trail traverse the constructed wetland and continues downstream to the Gravel Silos. 

Formerly the site of a concrete and gravel operation, The Gravel Silos  celebrates the remaining relics of the area’s industrial past – four large concrete silos, ‘rocks’ made of disposed concrete slurry, and buried concrete walls. The Gravel Silos are repuprosed and adapted as an event space, a waterfront overlook, and a flexible garden. Through selective removal and reuse of materials, the open spaces around the Gravel Silos honor the history of the site while integrating additional walkways, gathering areas, and seating.

The Stormwater Crossing and Gravel Silos are part of the larger plan for the South Bank Trail, which was designed in collaboration with SWA Group for Buffalo Bayou Partnership's Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan. 

Houston, TX

Gravel Silos and Stormwater Crossing

Dept. is a landscape architecture and urban design studio that provides creative, useful, and adaptive design responses for the public and the environment.