Customizable commercial condo concept expands to The Woodlands

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The XSpace has tapped The Woodlands for its third location. Rendering via xspacegroup.com

An Austin-based company that provides ownable multi-use space is expanding in the Houston area.

XSpace has announced that it will break ground next year in The Woodlands and open near the intersection of Six Pines Drive and Lake Woodlands Drive in 2025. Both it and the Houston location, which is slated to open at 7022 Old Katy Road in 2024, are already fully committed, but prospective buyers may still put their names on a waiting list.

“We’re a cool warehouse space that you own,” said XSpace founder Byron Smith told InnovationMap about the Houston location last May. In Houston, confirmed owners in May included “car guys,” such as a car-wrapping business; media companies that plan to podcast from XSpace; and an interior design company. The first location, in Austin, is already active.


Those interested can now get on the waitlist. Rendering via xspacegroup.com

“The Woodlands’ incredible reputation and status as one of the top-selling communities in the Greater Houston area made this an ideal location for our third XSpace. XSpace The Woodlands will offer owners and tenants a dynamic and thriving community in a beautifully designed space,” says Smith on the company’s website.

Architect Francisco Gonzalez Pulido of FGP Atelier has designed The Woodlands space. Pulido is best known for his work on the stadium of Diablos Rojos and Felipe Ángeles International Airport in Mexico City, the Veer Towers complex in Las Vegas, and the Shanghai International Financial Center. The design is reflective of The Woodlands’ natural landscapes, but buyers will be able to customize their own spaces to their liking.

“The XSpace model works because it allows immense scalability and customization to an incredibly broad group of owners and tenants,” says XSpace chairman, Howard Ecker. “XSpace The Woodlands location will be accessible to young entrepreneurs who want to own and customize their first office, as well as a more mature owner who might want to scale a business or invest in multi-use storage spaces. XSpace is poised to become the newest trend and standard for the market for customizable space.”

To join the waitlist for The Woodlands’ location, business owners should visit the XSpace website.

XSpace is based in Austin and first announced its Houston expansion earlier this year. Rendering via xspacegroup.com

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XSpace — a huge multi-use commercial condo concept — will be opening its Houston facility in the next few months. Rendering courtesy of XSpace

Innovative company with ownable multi-use concept shares details on Houston facility opening

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To some, Houston’s lack of zoning laws is a beautiful thing. The first time Byron Smith visited the city, he remarked on seeing a church, school, office building, and strip club all in startlingly close proximity.

At the time, the Sydney-born entrepreneur, whose previous experience was primarily in the automotive industry, was living in New York. But he fell in love with Space City.

“I was like, ‘We need to be in Texas,” he recalls, referring to expanding his next venture, XSpace, to the Lone Star State.

XSpace is a multi-use commercial condo building that allows entrepreneurs to own a home for their business.

“We’re a cool warehouse space that you own,” Smith explains, calling it “evolutionary space” where a business can grow from the roots up.

Though his family business was commercial real estate, Smith first dipped his toe into working with buildings with last year’s opening of the first XSpace in Austin. The city became “a natural fit” for the first project because Smith identified it as “a little bit more receptive to new things.” But Houston was part of the plan from the very beginning.

Located at 7022 Old Katy Road — close to both an escape room and an Aston-Martin dealership, among other diverse businesses — the Houston XSpace’s 86 units are already between 20- and 30-percent pre-sold, says Smith.

Rendering courtesy of XSpace

Confirmed owners of the spaces include “car guys,” such as a car-wrapping business; media companies that plan to podcast from XSpace; and an interior design company. Smith says that he’s been impressed with Houston’s depth of market.

“We’re trying really hard not to be rich-guy car condo stuff,” explains Smith. “It’s about cool, interesting people who are successful or are going to be successful.”

Though multiple businesses will all operate in XSpace, don’t think of it as a coworking space. In fact, coworking space is just a component included in the package of what owners get when they purchase part of XSpace. That’s inside the Owner’s Lounge, a flexible 4,000-square-foot area.

Each unit has natural light, but also metered electric and hot and cold running water. The whole facility is air-conditioned and well-ventilated and offers 24/7 access. The building is triple-gated for optimum security and includes a backup generator to ensure that owners will be able to work even in the case of another power grid failure.

Smith says that groundbreaking for XSpace will take place in seven weeks. Likely, owners will be able to start moving into the building in the summer of 2024. Until then, Smith says to expect some “sexy announcements” about upcoming partnerships and additional XSpace sites.

Though Smith says that global expansion isn’t yet in the plans for XSpace, “North American domination” is.

“All the cool cities, we’re going to be there,” he says. And it was all inspired by the coolest city of all and its eclectic business landscape.

Rendering courtesy of XSpace

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Houston team’s discovery brings solid-state batteries closer to EV use

A Better Battery

A team of researchers from the University of Houston, Rice University and Brown University has uncovered new findings that could extend battery life and potentially change the electric vehicle landscape.

The team, led by Yan Yao, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UH, recently published its findings in the journal Nature Communications.

The work deployed a powerful, high-resolution imaging technique known as operando scanning electron microscopy to better understand why solid-state batteries break down and what could be done to slow the process.

“This research solves a long-standing mystery about why solid-state batteries sometimes fail,” Yao, corresponding author of the study, said in a news release. “This discovery allows solid-state batteries to operate under lower pressure, which can reduce the need for bulky external casing and improve overall safety.”

A solid-state battery replaces liquid electrolytes found in conventional lithium-ion cells with a solid separator, according to Car and Driver. They also boast faster recharging capabilities, better safety and higher energy density.

However, when it comes to EVs, solid-state batteries are not ideal since they require high external stack pressure to stay intact while operating.

Yao’s team learned that tiny empty spaces, or voids, form within the solid-state batteries and merge into a large gap, which causes them to fail. The team found that adding small amounts of alloying elements, like magnesium, can help close the voids and help the battery continue to function. The team captured it in real-time with high-resolution videos that showed what happens inside a battery while it’s working under a scanning electron microscope.

“By carefully adjusting the battery’s chemistry, we can significantly lower the pressure needed to keep it stable,” Lihong Zhao, the first author of this work, a former postdoctoral researcher in Yao’s lab and now an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH, said in the release. “This breakthrough brings solid-state batteries much closer to being ready for real-world EV applications.”

The team says it plans to build on the alloy concept and explore other metals that could improve battery performance in the future.

“It’s about making future energy storage more reliable for everyone,” Zhao added.

The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Battery 500 Consortium under the Vehicle Technologies Program. Other contributors were Min Feng from Brown; Chaoshan Wu, Liqun Guo, Zhaoyang Chen, Samprash Risal and Zheng Fan from UH; and Qing Ai and Jun Lou from Rice.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCaptialHTX.com.

Rice biotech accelerator appoints 2 leading researchers to team

Launch Pad

The Rice Biotech Launch Pad, which is focused on expediting the translation of Rice University’s health and medical technology discoveries into cures, has named Amanda Nash and Kelsey L. Swingle to its leadership team.

Both are assistant professors in Rice’s Department of Bioengineering and will bring “valuable perspective” to the Houston-based accelerator, according to Rice. 

“Their deep understanding of both the scientific rigor required for successful innovation and the commercial strategies necessary to bring these technologies to market will be invaluable as we continue to build our portfolio of lifesaving medical technologies,” Omid Veiseh, faculty director of the Launch Pad, said in a news release.

Amanda Nash

Nash leads a research program focused on developing cell communication technologies to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases and aging. She previously trained as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., where she specialized in business development, portfolio strategy and operational excellence for pharmaceutical and medtech companies. She earned her doctorate in bioengineering from Rice and helped develop implantable cytokine factories for the treatment of ovarian cancer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Houston.

“Returning to Rice represents a full-circle moment in my career, from conducting my doctoral research here to gaining strategic insights at McKinsey and now bringing that combined perspective back to advance Houston’s biotech ecosystem,” Nash said in the release. “The Launch Pad represents exactly the kind of translational bridge our industry needs. I look forward to helping researchers navigate the complex path from discovery to commercialization.”

Kelsey L. Swingle

Swingle’s research focuses on engineering lipid-based nanoparticle technologies for drug delivery to reproductive tissues, which includes the placenta. She completed her doctorate in bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, where she developed novel mRNA lipid nanoparticles for the treatment of preeclampsia. She received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University and is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

“What draws me to the Rice Biotech Launch Pad is its commitment to addressing the most pressing unmet medical needs,” Swingle added in the release. “My research in women’s health has shown me how innovation at the intersection of biomaterials and medicine can tackle challenges that have been overlooked for far too long. I am thrilled to join a team that shares this vision of designing cutting-edge technologies to create meaningful impact for underserved patient populations.”

The Rice Biotech Launch Pad opened in 2023. It held the official launch and lab opening of RBL LLC, a biotech venture creation studio in May. Read more here.

University of Houston archaeologists make history with Mayan tomb discovery

History in the Making

Two University of Houston archaeologists have made scientific history with the discovery of a Mayan king's tomb in Belize.

The UH team led by husband and wife scientists Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase made the discovery at Caracol, the largest Mayan archeological site in Belize, which is situated about 25 miles south of Xunantunich and the town of San Ignacio. Together with Belize's Institute of Archeology, as well as support from the Geraldine and Emory Ford Foundation and the KHR Family Fund, they uncovered the tomb of Caracol's founder, King Te K’ab Chaak. Their work used airborne light detection and ranging technology to uncover previously hidden roadways and structures that have been reclaimed by the jungle.

The tomb was found at the base of a royal family shrine. The king, who ascended the throne in 331 AD, lived to an advanced enough age that he no longer had teeth. His tomb held a collection of 11 pottery vessels, carved bone tubes, jadeite jewelry, a mosaic jadeite mask, Pacific spondylus shells, and various other perishable items. Pottery vessels found in the chamber depict a Maya ruler wielding a spear as he receives offerings from supplicants represented as deities; the figure of Ek Chuah, the Maya god of traders, surrounded by offerings; and bound captives, a motif also seen in two related burials. Additionally, two vessels had lids adorned with modeled handles shaped like coatimundi (pisote) heads. The coatimundi, known as tz’uutz’ in Maya, was later adopted by subsequent rulers of Caracol as part of their names.

 Diane Chase archaeologist in Mayan tomb Diane Z. Chase in the Mayan tomb. Photo courtesy of University of Houston

During the Classical Period, Caracol was one of the main hubs of the Mayan Lowlands and covered an area bigger than that of present-day Belize City. Populations survived in the area for at least 1,000 years before the city was abandoned sometime around 900 AD. The royal dynasty established by Te K’ab Chaak continued at Caracol for over 460 years.

The find is also significant because this was roughly when the Mexican city of Teotihuacan made contact with Caracol, leading to a long relationship of trade and cultural exchange. Cremation sites found in Caracol contain items that would have come from Teotihuacan, showing the relationship between the two distant cities.

"Both central Mexico and the Maya area were clearly aware of each other’s ritual practices, as reflected in the Caracol cremation," said Arlen F. Chase, professor and chair of Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Houston.

“The connections between the two regions were undertaken by the highest levels of society, suggesting that initial kings at various Maya cities — such as Te K’ab Chaak at Caracol — were engaged in formal diplomatic relationships with Teotihuacan.”

The Chases will present their findings at a conference on Maya–Teotihuacan interaction hosted by the Maya Working Group at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico in August 2025.

 UH professors Chase make Mayan Discovery UH archaeologists Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase Photo courtesy of University of Houston

 

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This story originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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