New York interior design school announces plans to open new space in Houston

Houston is about to get a major overhaul.

The Houston Design School announced Monday it plans to start construction on a new 1,400-square-foot space at the corner of Westheimer and Westwood avenues that it says will be a “virtual space for design students to collaborate and learn from each other.”

The project is part of the Houston Design Fund, which was founded in 2010 by former Google executive Jonathan Schwartz and includes a design academy and a new design studio, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The school hopes to open the space by the end of the year.

It will be the first of its kind in the country.

Houston Design Fund head Lourdes Martinez said in a statement that she believes “we have the potential to be a leader in the city of Houston.”

The new space will be in an “inclusive environment” that will include “a library, café and conference room, as well as a community garden.”

“This space is designed to be an incubator for creative collaboration and to facilitate the development of the student-led design academy,” the statement said.

“Students will create innovative ideas, develop skills and skillsets and be able to create new experiences that connect to the larger Houston community.”

The school has already begun work on a brand new space that will be on the west side of Westwood.

The new space, which will be called the “Vivian Hall,” will have a rooftop deck and be surrounded by green spaces.