Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/980339
t m c » p u l s e | m a y 2 0 1 8 15 "Discovery often doesn't happen in the lab," the CEO stressed. "It happens over coffee, it happens over a drink, or while running with a friend. It's an accidental discussion." The intern's pencil continued to move in broad strokes when McKeon suddenly saw what looked like a double helix. Everything clicked. TMC 3 would be as big and as bold as it was groundbreaking. Current blueprints feature four main buildings—cornerstones for the campus—connected by a three- tiered structure modeled after the shape of DNA, often compared to a twisted ladder and dubbed a double helix. TMC 3 will stretch across nearly 30 acres just south of the current TMC, between South Braeswood Blvd. and Old Spanish Trail. With more than 1.5 million square feet of shared laboratory space, mixed-use permits and a focus on pedestrian traffic, the campus aims to be a true "live, work and innovate" environ- ment, McKeon said. The base floor of the double helix will hold three plazas saturated with trees and vegetation, as well as restaurants and commercial, retail and entertainment space to support the community day and night. The second floor will contain shared laboratory space so that institutions can work together and alongside industry experts. In addition to the five founding members, numerous TMC institutions already have plans to be involved, including those from the academic sector. The top level of the double helix will be a park designed by James Corner Field Operations, the land- scape architecture firm famed for its work on the High Line in New York City. Situated 60 feet above ground, the green space will feature walking and running trails, bocce courts, chef gardens, reading hammocks, children's education gardens and more. The park will also bridge the bayou greenway systems, providing access points to the entire Houston community. The estimated cost for the double helix is $246 million. "These are essential amenities if we want to attract and retain the individuals who are going to become the intellectual cornerstone of our medical city," McKeon said. "When we look at the places we're competing with—San Francisco, Boston, Shanghai, Singapore— they've all evolved from just tall buildings with labs to a more integrative environment. This whole generation of emerging scientists and leaders in research won't accept anything less." The Texas Medical Center, which owns the land where TMC 3 will be built, will kick in $40 million for the project. The other four founding institutions will give $36.45 million apiece. (continued) My hat has got to go off to the trustees of the Texas Medical Center. You did the brave thing, which is to completely change the covenants around two plots of land. … That is a visionary step. — PAUL KLOTMAN, M.D. President, CEO and executive dean at Baylor College of Medicine