Autodesk Highlights Memorial Park Project with Insights from Emily Brown

Ecosystem Restoration Project Manager Emily Brown highlights Freese and Nichols’ use of a 3D model to solve a complex stormwater management challenge for Houston’s Memorial Park Conservancy in an Autodesk article.

The feature details our team’s role in applying innovative design and technology to one of the city’s most significant nature-based infrastructure projects.

Freese and Nichols served as a subconsultant to Ardurra Group, LLC, to tackle a unique challenge: reconnecting a watershed north of the six‑lane roadway that runs through Memorial Park with the park’s natural drainage system of ravines to the south. In the article, Emily shares insights into how the redesigned stream serves both as an appealing natural feature and a critical part of the park’s stormwater and flood management system.

Autodesk, one of America’s leading multinational design, engineering and entertainment software companies, provides tools such as Civil 3D, which our team used to model how the stream would interact with the surrounding land and infrastructure. It allowed us to design a culvert that manages water flow, prevents sediment buildup and protects the prairie from erosion.

Since opening in 2023, Memorial Park’s transformation, united with the Kinder Land Bridge and the Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Prairie, has brought together stunning views of Downtown Houston, revitalized wildlife habitats and provided a welcoming space that allows the city’s social and cultural communities to gather.