Invited to participate in the 8th China International Garden Expo under the title "Better Garden, Better City”, the city of Houston appointed Morris Architects, along with SWA Group
to design the Houston Pavilion. The design evokes the configuration of
"bayous”, a network of slow-moving waterways dominating the cost of Gulf
of Mexico.
The Houston pavilion is bounded by an embossed concrete wall that
refers to the long Chinese tradition of walled gardens; the wall is
inflected to allow entry and to retain an earthen hill that is intended
to reference the topography of a Houston bayou. Visitors move along a
path guided by a water course that winds between the perimeter wall and
the hillside. The path is further defined by a trellised canopy to
provide shade and to refer to the natural tree canopy of
a typical bayou landscape. The trellised canopy is made up
of plasma-cut plate steel, welded and painted white, covered by a
perforated steel layer that will produce intricate patterns of shadows
along the path. The hill is planted densely with indigenous grasses and
wildflowers.
An orthogonal stone bayou guides visitors through the space, anchored
by large steel cisterns that serve as the source and basin. The basin
is flanked by limestone walks and steps, and surrounded by a tall grass
and meadow flower prairie. At the top of the hill, visitors will exit
down a stair attached to the bounding wall and return to the original
grade.
The Houston garden is intended to speak to the ecology and climate of
the city; a modern industrial city which is defined in large part by
its dense tree canopy and its capacity to domesticate the heat and
humidity of coastal Texas.
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Источник: http://www.evolo.us/architecture/houston-pavilion-for-the-8th-china-international-garden-expo/ | 
