Behind the wall, a new way to work

The Houston Airports Infrastructure Division turns 5,000 square feet of unused space into a hub for focus, collaboration and better ideas

Jun 11, 2026

At the Infrastructure Division Office, the future of Houston Airports is planned, priced, designed and delivered.

Inside the IDO, about 150 Houston Airports employees work inside one of the newest buildings in the airport system. Engineers, architects, project managers and project teams help shape the facilities, systems and major projects that support George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) and Ellington Airport (EFD)/Houston Spaceport.

The work is highly collaborative. The space was, too.

Sometimes, a little too much.

The IDO opened in 2019 with a modern, communal layout. It was built to bring people together. In many ways, it worked. Teams could find each other quickly. Conversations moved fast. Ideas traveled across desks. But over time, employee surveys began pointing to a recurring challenge: The office could be loud. Conversations often happened near desks. Conference rooms were limited. Privacy was hard to find. The same openness that encouraged collaboration could also make it harder to focus. When Scott Hill became Houston Airports Chief Infrastructure Officer in 2025, he paid attention.

“One of the first things I wanted to address was the feedback we kept hearing from employees,” Hill said. “The IDO is a great building filled with talented people doing complex work, but we needed more space for focused conversations, small meetings and collaboration away from someone’s desk.”

The solution, as it turned out, was not across town, in a new building or buried in a future budget cycle.

It was behind a wall.

Behind a wall inside the IDO was nearly 5,000 square feet of unused, unfinished space. For a division that spends every day solving complex infrastructure problems, the opportunity was obvious: Build something useful. Make it flexible. Give employees a place that supports the way they actually work.

Hill tasked a team that included Joe Alvarez, David Scott, Robert Plushnick, Glen Balius and project manager Tyrece Simms with designing and building out the space. They had $400,000 and a clear assignment: Turn empty square footage into a better workday. It also became a Houston Airports team effort.

The IAH Maintenance Small Construction team, led by Jeff Delling, helped with demolition, drywall installation and painting. HAS IT helped install technology features that make the space more functional. Horticulture added plants throughout the space, bringing warmth, texture and life into what had been an unfinished area hidden from view. The result is the new IDO Collab Space, a bright, flexible area designed for the kind of work that doesn't always fit neatly into a cubicle. It has high-top tables, traditional tables, couches, comfortable chairs, rolling whiteboards and two semi-soundproof phone booths for calls that need a little more privacy. The space is available for use by all teams across the airport system.

It feels part lounge, part project room, part quiet escape hatch. The team drew inspiration from The Ion, Houston’s Midtown innovation hub known for bringing entrepreneurs, researchers, startups and established companies into shared spaces designed to encourage connection and idea sharing.

“We wanted a space that gave people options,” Hill said. “Sometimes you need a place to talk through a problem. Sometimes you need to step away from your desk and think. Sometimes you need a phone booth so the whole office does not hear your call. This space gives our employees more ways to do their best work.”

The reaction was immediate. Employees started using it.

They used the tables. They used the couches. They used the quiet corners. They used the views. They used it for conversations that once may have happened next to someone’s desk.

That may be the clearest sign of success. The space did not need a long explanation. People understood it the moment it opened.

The ribbon-cutting earlier this month brought employees together in the new space, many wearing the orange Houston Airports polos that have become a familiar visual marker of Infrastructure’s team identity.

“This was about responding to employees in a practical way,” Hill said. “They told us what they needed. We found an opportunity inside our own building and turned it into something that supports the work, the people and the culture of this division.”

The Collab Space also reflects a larger shift across Houston Airports. As the airport system continues to modernize terminals, improve facilities and prepare for the future of aviation, leaders are also paying attention to the places where employees do the work behind that progress.

The IDO Collab Space may be the first of its kind inside Houston Airports, but it may not be the last. Other leaders are already looking at whether similar spaces could support teams at IAH and HOU.

For Hill, that interest confirms what the IDO team proved: Sometimes innovation does not begin with a new building. Sometimes it begins by listening differently to the people already inside one.

In a building dedicated to shaping the future of Houston’s airports, the next improvement began with employee feedback, 5,000 square feet of hidden potential and the decision to take down a wall.