Ponce Architecture is a research-driven design practice that investigates the intersection of culture, context, and the built environment.

Our approach is grounded in a rigorous design process that incorporates personal testimonies, topographical surveys, historical narratives, and cultural geography. This methodology broadens the contextual lens, surfacing complex questions that span sociopolitical, infrastructural, and environmental concerns, as well as rural vernaculars, local cultural networks and domestic life.

Our ongoing research catalyzes urgent conversations about the built environment. We believe that impactful, community-centered design emerges from thoughtful inquiry and academic rigor.

The Houston office of Ponce Architecture is certified as a State of Texas Historically Underutilized Business. The firm has been recognized with AIA Houston Design Awards in 2017 and 2019, and received a Texas Society of Architects Design Award in 2020.




Celeste Ponce, founder and principal of Ponce Architecture, is a registered architect. She earned her Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, where she was awarded honors for Excellence in Design. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Houston. Celeste is a faculty member at the University of Houston’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design and is a LEED Accredited Professional and a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Her research, "Seeing Double: A Journey Along the Rio Bravo," was featured in Cite 103 (Rice Design Alliance, 2022) and exhibited in a solo show at the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning in 2018. Her writings on Houston’s East Side have appeared in Texas Architect magazine’s March/April 2021 (Nature/Culture and Commercial) and July/August 2023 (Public/Private) issues.

Collaborators: Raghad Al Gaood, Cynthia Cruz, Allison Gander, Jon Henning, Mitzi Jimenez, Sharon Lott, Asmaa Olwi, Sharon Philip, Greg Tauriac, Sheryl Tucker de Vazquez, Elizabeth Westmoreland, Austine Yu.