HOUSTON, TX — The Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts, at the epicenter of the Houston Theater District, will provide a green oasis that enhances downtown life and can flexibly accommodate a wide range of outdoor performances and special events that serve the entire region. Wyatt Square is designed by RIOS.
Discovery Green anchors the east edge of Downtown and Buffalo Bayou as a complementary resource on the west edge. Wyatt Square is a jumping off point from the city to the Bayou’s open space network. At the same time, it is a gateway to the Theater District, which engages this cultural context through a series of visual, physical, and programmatic relationships.
The north and south corners of Wyatt Square from Texas Avenue and Capitol Street act as first impressions and serve as welcoming thresholds. The top of the existing garage structure, requirements for planting depths to support large trees, and retention of significant existing retaining walls were all considerations in the design process.
The west and east corners of Wyatt Square are configured as important areas of the park to inhabit and create spaces that are oriented both toward the surrounding streetscapes and into the park. A proscenium walk, with multifunctional media towers, frames the Center Green of Wyatt Square, and allows for diverse types of uses, performances, and activities to utilize the space at a variety of scales.
Wyatt Square can host smaller events in a Street Theater on the east corner. A sidewalk stage allows performers to address an audience in the wooden hillside grandstand or to face outward during street festivals. The Center Green allows large gatherings and events such as simulcast performances from nearby theaters. A ring of trees, sculptural lighting, and outside dining frame this flexible open space.
At the west corner of the site, a two-level restaurant is oriented to address both the park and the street. 200 indoor and 60 outdoor seats are provided across two levels with a grand stair and elevator connecting the park through the restaurant to Capitol Street. The flexible dining areas can also be divided and rented.
Approaching from the Westside, visitors will encounter the Spring Stage, with water cascading toward the street in the direction of the bayou. Texas Avenue can be used as a festival street linking Wyatt Square, Fish Plaza, and the Bayou.
Construction is expected to be completed during the summer of 2022.
Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts in the Houston Theater District will be Multi-Use Venue and Open Space
