Search the Community

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company Technical Training Center Project: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company Technical Training Center, Houston Client ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company Architect: PageSoutherlandPage Contractor: D.E. Harvey Consultants: Shen Milsom Wilke (av/acoustics); ASA Consulting Engineers (structrual); ARCADIS (civil); The Office of James Burnett (landscape); Sunland Engineering (traffic); HBC/Terracon (soils); Bridges International (roofing); Moisture Technology Corp. (curtain wall) Photographer: Tim Griffiths Floor Plan The design of the ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company Technical Training Center, completed in May 2004, blends the old with the new. The two-story 98,000-sf facility responds to the materials and horizontality of the existing Buffalo Speedway campus, but applies a new combination of forms and material relationships. The new building's design becomes more creative as it moves away from its junction with the 1950s-era McKie and Kamrath building, notable for its strips of brick, glass and shading devices. The new facility's facade steps toward the street in a series of layers composed of Central Texas limestone, glass, and brick. Another material - a canted curved metal panel - is introduced to represent ExxonMobil's innovative technology. The facility houses a grand lobby and gallery, classrooms of various sizes, two large areas for breakout sessions, as well as support and office spaces for training staff. The terrazzo floor in the lobby is an abstract pattern representing fluvial systems studied within the training center. Classrooms are equipped for the latest media, and a visualization classroom takes advantage of a large projection screen that can be configured in several ways, including as four sides of a cube. Parking for approximately 458 cars is provided adjacent to the training facility. The project distinguishes itself by covering a wide range of subject matter, from the tactile nature of oil field hardware and geologic material to the virtual world of computer models and simulations. All elements combine to create a training tool which will serve thousands of students annually from around the world who are involved in ExxonMobil's exploration, development, production, and research enterprises. --Courtney Mahaffey Link