Gulf Coast Green has paired its conference theme with a student competition for the last 17 years. This year, the Gulf Coast Green 2024 committee, partnered with the Houston Zoo, invites current students studying architecture, landscape architecture, planning, urban design or any related curriculum or study to participate in an open innovation challenge for the conceptual design of Parking Lot G at the Houston Zoo. This year’s conference, Wild by Design, aims to explore the connection between design and nature, both inside and outside of buildings. Participants are invited to submit innovative designs, based on the theme of Wild by Design, for a space to complement the Houston Zoo’s mission of connecting communities with animals, inspiring action to save wildlife.

It all started with a Bison named Earl. Founded in 1922, a fence was erected around a plot in Hermann Park to house Earl and a few other animals. This plot would grow into what is today the Houston Zoo. Boasting the second most visitors for a zoo in the United States, the Houston Zoo has exhibits for over 6,000 animals and 900 different species. Most notably, Houston Zoo supports more than a dozen conservation projects in Texas and across the globe to help endangered wildlife survive. Located in Hermann Park, the Houston Zoo sits at an opportune location. The Zoo is surrounded by a free family park on 3 sides, abuts the Houston Medical Center, and is walking distance from a train line and Rice University. However, currently McGovern Lake and a sea of parking separate the Zoo from the northern part of the park.

The members of Gulf Coast Green challenge students to provide a graphic site plan that addresses the connection from the Houston Zoo to Hermann Park through a public park at Parking Lot G.

The goal of the park is to offer a greenspace that compliments the Zoo by offering a park that allows the Zoo to host pop-up style events aimed at promoting the Zoo's program and mission at a more intimate scale in a public setting. The proposed site for the Parking Lot G Park is approximately 2.3 acres of surface parking for approximately 200 parking spots. The site can be accessed either from Parking Lot F, or from Hermann Park Dr. Existing impervious cover is roughly 95%. Student teams should provide any additional documents or models to best support their concept, left to their discretion, including but not limited to sections, elevations of any site elements, renders, physical models, or inspirational pieces.