On February 25, the University of Houston and the University of Houston Alumni Association hosted the 11th Annual Cougar 100 Awards, spotlighting the fastest-growing companies founded or led by UH graduates, strengthening the network of Cougar entrepreneurs, and emphasizing the importance of alumni collaboration in the business world.
This year, Hines College alumni represented ten percent of the companies included in the top 100 companies, including first-time winners Cate Black Architecture Studio, G. Lyon Photography, Hybrid Fab, Lo Architecture, Martinez Architects, Moment Architects, and THR3E Design.
The rankings are determined by evaluating businesses based on their compound annual growth over a three-year span. To be eligible, companies must have operated for at least five years and generated a minimum of $250,000 in gross revenue. Those demonstrating outstanding success and expansion earn a place among the prestigious top 100.
This year, alumni from the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design once again secured well-deserved places on the list. For the complete list of honorees, visit the University of Houston Alumni Association.
2025 Cougar 100
UH Hines College Alumni Recipients
#16 LO Architecture
Vanessa Ortega (M.Arch. ’08)
LO Architecture offers commercial architectural services with a focus on interior architecture, renovations, adaptive reuse, and interior design. The company is passionate about working with clients to create functional and engaging spaces. Their clientele includes end users, small business owners, real estate professionals, developers, and contractors. They take pride in being a referral-based company.
#18 Aria Signs & Design, LLC
Shaya Attaei (B.Arch. ’13, M.Arch. ’15)
Aria Signs is one of the fastest-growing signage companies in the city of Houston. The company designs, fabricates, and installs interior and exterior signage for major leading companies such as retail stores, restaurants, hospitals, shopping centers, and stadiums.
#22 Moment Architects
Matthew Giardina (B.Arch. ’11, M.B.A. ’17)
Moe Moe Giardina (B.Arch. ’11, B.S. ’11)
Moment Architects is a full-service architecture firm serving the Greater Houston and Austin areas. They offer comprehensive solutions for commercial, residential, and multifamily projects, with a client-focused approach that emphasizes thoughtful design and seamless execution. Their portfolio encompasses a diverse range of projects, including custom homes, remodels and additions, multifamily residential developments and commercial spaces. They are passionate about designing spaces that enrich the lives of their inhabitants, ensuring that each project aligns with their clients' visions and needs.
#29 SMC Landscaping Services
Sonia Chavez ('02)
Lupe Gonzalez (B.Arch. and B.S. '00)
SMC Landscape Services serves the greater Houston area. They provide full-service landscape maintenance for commercial and residential properties. Their personalized services include maintenance, as well as enhancement of your property. They focus on being good environmental stewards and helping their customers conserve their natural resources. They understand the importance of water conservation and keep this in mind when selecting plants and trees that thrive in our native landscape.
#31 THR3E Design
Jennifer Higgins (B.Arch. ’07)
Barry Leong (B.Arch. ’00, B.S. ’00)
THR3E Design is a full-service architecture and interior design firm specializing in health care, higher education, and industrial projects. Our principal-led approach provides expert guidance at every stage, from programming and design development to construction administration, ensuring thoughtful, functional, and high-quality design solutions.
#36 G. Lyon Photography
Geoffrey Lyon (B.Arch. '97)
Jennifer Murray (M.A. '22)
Collectively Canadian and Houstonian at their core, G. Lyon Photography, Inc. embodies a friendly, hospitable, and unpretentious spirit while meticulously ensuring technical precision in the artistic realm. Staying true to their roots, they leverage their architectural, business, and photographic expertise on bringing out the best in their clients' work, both in Houston and in the ever-expanding regions where they operate.
#37 Element Architects, LLC
Michael Graham (B.Arch. ’99)
Element Architects is a growing Texas-based firm specializing in architecture and interiors. Their talented team has extensive experience in the education, multifamily, active adult, healthcare, mixed-use, and retail industries. EA strives to provide exceptional design services with a lasting positive impact.
#42 Hybrid Fab
Frank Martin (B.S. '12)
Hybrid Fab is a Houston-based design team specializing in custom turnkey architectural metal design, engineering, and fabrication. Our name tells our story, referring to the blend of exemplary creative craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology brought to each individual project. The term "Fab" for fabrication describes the precisely cut and tailored finishing they provide for every piece. The company is committed to creating a unique experience in every space, guiding the transformation from an architect's meticulously designed vision to a powerful reality.
#51 Martinez Architects, LP
Ricardo Martinez (B.Arch '01)
Martinez Architects believe that their first responders deserve to live, work, and train in first-class facilities designed by architects dedicated to improving emergency response times and quality. They prioritize the health, safety, and wellness of the brave men and women who protect and preserve our communities. Each day, Martinez Architects strives to be those dedicated architects.
#66 P&W Architects, LLP
Steven Schultz (B.Arch. ’80)
In 1985, Roger Philo and Dana Wilke created PhiloWilke Partnership, a firm with the specific expertise to react efficiently to the complex research and medical design needs of institutional, system, and academic clientele. Dedicated exclusively to you and your communities, the firm specializes in responsive design for technologically complex, interconnected healthcare and health science environments. Their design philosophy drives a process valuing collaboration, practical design, and strategic consensus-building to help their clients achieve their goals.
#67 H4 Architects and Engineers, LLC
Allan Hensley (’03, M.Arch. ’04)
Sherie Hensley (’98)
H4 Architects and Engineers provides full-service architecture and MEP engineering. They strive to exceed client expectations and develop long-lasting relationships.
#82 Cate Black Architecture Studio
Cate Black (M.Arch. ’10)
Cate Black Architecture Studio is a full-service architecture practice located on Galveston Island. We are dedicated to thoughtful and creative designs.