Hines announced another flexible office space planned for downtown. Image courtesy of Hines

A new downtown Houston skyscraper that's on the rise and expected to be completed by the end of the year will offer flexible office space.

Texas Tower will feature The Square, Hines' flexible office product, the international real estate firm announced with Ivanhoé Cambridge. The 18,000-square-foot space will provide "elevated level of service and amenitization akin to a hospitality environment," according to a news release from Hines.

"We recognize the way our tenants conduct business is rapidly changing. The Square at Texas Tower will provide the highest quality flexible work experience in the market supported by an unparalleled dedication to service and integrity. Its offerings accommodate tenants' temporary teams, task forces, and expansions, and welcomes collaboration and variability," says Hines Senior Managing Director John Mooz in the release.

The Square is scheduled to open in early 2022 in the LEED Platinum office building that's being designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli. The flexible space is a result of a collaboration between Hines and Montreal-based firm, Ivanhoé Cambridge.

"We are thrilled to offer this signature workplace service in Texas Tower," says Jonathan Pearce, executive vice president of leasing and development, office and industrial at Ivanhoé Cambridge. "We have listened to our tenants and understand their need for flexibility of service, duration and built environment. As owner of Texas Tower and long-standing partners with Hines, we thrive to put forward innovative solutions such as The Square, to elevate and support the user experience of our customers and their employees' engagement, attraction, retention, and development."

Hines introduced its coworking concept — Hines² — a few years ago. Hines² already is up and running at two locations: 717 Texas, a 33-story Class A office tower in Houston, and The Kearns Building, a 10-story office building in Salt Lake City. As Hines looks to continued expansion, future cities may include Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, DC, and London, per the release.

The Square's first Houston location opened in 2020 at 717 Texas Ave. Image courtesy of Hines

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Houston femtech co. debuts new lactation and wellness pods

mom pod

Houston-based femtech company Work&, previously known as Work&Mother, has introduced new products in recent months aimed at supporting working mothers and the overall health of all employees.

The company's new Lactation Pod and Hybrid Pod serve as dual-use lactation and wellness spaces to meet employer demand, the company shared in a news release. The compact pods offer flexible design options that can serve permanent offices and nearly all commercial spaces.

They feature a fully compliant lactation station while also offering wellness functionalities that can support meditation, mental health, telehealth and prayer. In line with Work&'s other spaces, the pods utilize the Work& scheduling platform, which prioritizes lactation bookings to help employers comply with the PUMP Act.

“This isn’t about perks,” Jules Lairson, Work& co-founder and COO, said in the release. “It’s about meeting people where they are—with dignity and intentional design. That includes the mother returning to work, the employee managing anxiety, and everyone in between.”

According to the company, several Fortune 500 companies are already using the pods, and Work& has plans to grow the products' reach.

Earlier this year, Work& introduced its first employee wellness space at MetroNational’s Memorial City Plazas, representing Work&'s shift to offer an array of holistic health and wellness solutions for landlords and tenants.

The company, founded in 2017 by Lairson and CEO Abbey Donnell, was initially focused on outfitting commercial buildings with lactation accommodations for working parents. While Work& still offers these services through its Work&Mother branch, the addition of its Work&Wellbeing arm allowed the company to also address the broader wellness needs of all employees.

The company rebranded as Work& earlier this year.

Rice biotech studio secures investment from Modi Ventures, adds founder to board

fresh funding

RBL LLC, which supports commercialization for ventures formed at the Rice University Biotech Launch Pad, has secured an investment from Houston-based Modi Ventures.

Additionally, RBL announced that it has named Sahir Ali, founder and general partner of Modi Ventures, to its board of directors.

Modi Ventures invests in biotech companies that are working to advance diagnostics, engineered therapeutics and AI-driven drug discovery. The firm has $134 million under management after closing an oversubscribed round this summer.

RBL launched in 2024 and is based out of Houston’s Texas Medical Center Helix Park. William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, previously called the launch of RBL a “critical step forward” for Houston’s life sciences ecosystem.

“RBL is dedicated to building companies focused on pioneering and intelligent bioelectronic therapeutics,” Ali said in a LinkedIn post. “This partnership strengthens the Houston biotech ecosystem and accelerates the transition of groundbreaking lab discoveries into impactful therapies.”

Ali will join board members like managing partner Paul Wotton, Rice bioengineering professor Omid Veiseh, scientist and partner at KdT Ventures Rima Chakrabarti, Rice alum John Jaggers, CEO of Arbor Biotechnologies Devyn Smith, and veteran executive in the life sciences sector James Watson.

Ali has led transformative work and built companies across AI, cloud computing and precision medicine. Ali also serves on the board of directors of the Drug Information Association, which helps to collaborate in drug, device and diagnostics developments.

“This investment by Modi Ventures will be instrumental to RBL’s growth as it reinforces confidence in our venture creation model and accelerates our ability to develop successful biotech startups,” Wotton said in the announcement. "Sahir’s addition to the board will also amplify this collaboration with Modi. His strategic counsel and deep understanding of field-defining technologies will be invaluable as we continue to grow and deliver on our mission.”