[HtownWxBoy]

Captain Impossible, on Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 @ 8:14pm, said:

A horrific building in a terrible environment. I'm glad I don't have to deal with this monstrosity - or its surrounding area.

Wow that really is one UGLY building.

[Subdude]

crunchtastic, on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 @ 8:01am, said:

Subdude, I love it! What could be more Houston than a flare coming out? A really, really big one.

Just think of it - the world's largest tiki torch. Houston would finally have the landmark it deserves.

[desirous]

Subdude, on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 @ 4:03am, said:

Just think of it - the world's largest tiki torch. Houston would finally have the landmark it deserves.

Now they just need to pipe over a few refinery flares.

[SpringShadows]

Taken yesterday:














I also thought this was pretty cool, here is the treatment I-10 is getting in part of town. Much nicer than the key lime green outside the beltway.

This post has been edited by SpringShadows: Monday, August 25, 2008 at 6:33 AM

[PuroAztlan]

Whoever designed this building should be shot.

[citizen4rmptown]

PuroAztlan, on Monday, August 25th, 2008 @ 7:22am, said:

Whoever designed this building should be shot.

Yes, and i am pleased to announce that the comitee in charge of shooting people who design horrible buildings, has chosen you.

Well, go on chosen one, kill him!

This post has been edited by citizen4rmptown: Monday, August 25, 2008 at 8:10 AM

[PuroAztlan]

citizen4rmptown, on Monday, August 25th, 2008 @ 7:09am, said:

Yes, and i am pleased to announce that the comitee in charge of shooting people who design horrible buildings, has chosen you. Well, go on chosen one, kill him!

Just give me the chance.

[20thStDad]

I think this building it too big for its style. I can see this style in a 7 story little office park (sans crown) and it might be, eh, ok. But it is so gi-normously boxy...

Have we already started the petition to mandate the builders to add arms? If not we are losing precious time.

[Pumapayam]

KinkaidAlum, on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 @ 12:46am, said:

I agree. By comparison, the new building makes the Fuddruckers sign appear attractive. Freeway architecture at its worst.

I dunno, it's growing on my guys, it will look awesome when complete, especially at night.

[desirous]

I should've stuck with an architecture major back in college, if only I knew people get paid oodles to design this ____.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Without arms, this thing is incomplete.

[Jax]

Hizzy is absolutely right.

[swtsig]

we demand arms!

[CasaNova]

swtsig, on Monday, August 25th, 2008 @ 1:45pm, said:

we demand arms!

Yeah then it can at least look like a transformer. You know like the autobots, then it can be cool ...no wait never mind, that thing is just but ugly.

[20thStDad]

The arms aren't just for looks, they can also remove wreck/stalled vehicles from I-10 during rush hour.

[PuroAztlan]

Can we move this thread to the Crater Houston Alliance already?

[CoolBuddy06]

PuroAztlan, on Monday, August 25th, 2008 @ 8:13pm, said:

Can we move this thread to the Crater Houston Alliance already?

I second that.

Looks like folks at MH won't mind a round peg in a square hole. I understand what they're trying to do-have a landmark along I-10 but such should be pleasing to the eye. if that building's round, or at least have rounded edge, it might've been a success.

[livincinco]

CoolBuddy06, on Monday, August 25th, 2008 @ 11:12pm, said:

I second that.

Looks like folks at MH won't mind a round peg in a square hole. I understand what they're trying to do-have a landmark along I-10 but such should be pleasing to the eye. if that building's round, or at least have rounded edge, it might've been a success.

IMO, this looks like a lot of buildings that I've seen in China. The lighted crown and the directional lights at the top in particular.

[Pumapayam]

Is this new?

Real time webcam of hosptial and hotel construction.

Cam faces north just east of Gessner.

You can see the half finished skywalk.

Note the name of the area, Gateway Tract.

[Rammer]

Captain Impossible, on Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 @ 9:14pm, said:

A horrific building in a terrible environment. I'm glad I don't have to deal with this monstrosity - or its surrounding area.

Lord help those who need to get to the emergency room of this monstosity.
When you fail to plan...you plan to fail.

[sheeats]

Rammer, on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 @ 3:53pm, said:

Lord help those who need to get to the emergency room of this monstosity.
When you fail to plan...you plan to fail.

Why do you say that? What about the hideous design aesthetic of this building has anything to do with access to its ER? Because I'll tell ya, the I-10 feeder is nice and wide open these days. Yes, it's ugly but it's pretty easy to get around. Once construction on Gessner and I-10 itself is finished, it'll be even better (for another ten years, at least... ).

This post has been edited by sheeats: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 4:03 PM

[wernicke]

Maybe he was referring to the possibility of the building's robot arms reaching out, snatching you up, and disemboweling you in mid-air before you can reach the ER...

[dmoneybangbang]

Wow, you people really don't like the design. I'm not crazy about it, but think it's looks decent from the the front. I think once both the hotel and Memorial Herman building are fully complete, it will all look good. However, from the back of Memorial Hermann it looks like they really dropped the ball. They should have at least added some more glass to the backside.

[ArchFan]

Has anyone commented on how the crown looks like one of those old roof-vent turbines ... or even better, a rotary drill? If it's a robot, I can imagine it inverting itself to burrow into the ground -- in which case, the lack of obvious arms would have the advantage of reducing drag. 'Course, those big shoulders would be a problem, too, but if it were a Transformer it could pull those inward.

The idea of the building being a Transformer got me to thinking ... anyone remember "Atragon", the 1963 Japanese sci-fli flick? Atragon was a submarine that flew, but could also drill through the earth using a suspiciously similar-looking drill. Not sure if I should post it here (copywrite), but here's a site with a pic: www.abtdvd.com/archives/dvdatragon.jpg. It even has the same blades attached to the shiny conical drill!

[jmancuso]

what the hell was MH thinking when they approved of that design. just when you thought houston hit an all time low with the mercer, someone hits one out of the park with this thing.

the base isn't too bad but that crown is absolute shit.

[Talbot]

Or maybe it would look better if the base actually matched the crown a little bit. Instead of a boxy base and a fancy curvy crown.

[mrell32]

Words cannot describe how ugly this building is. If they had kept the rounded edges like the original design, this building would have looked much better. Yes it looks better from the front, but not many are going to see it from that view. Most people are going to be driving down I-10 saying to themselves WTF!?! … Look at that building.

When they were building this thing I was thinking to myself maybe it will look better when they put the glass on. They put the glass on..still ugly!! …and then I thought to myself …the crown will make up for it...still ugly!!? .. the crown actually makes it look uglier, they would have been better off scrapping the crown….and just have it be a big bland box.

They need to add 15 stories to the Westin hotel to try to hide the crown from view … it’s not just that it’s ugly…it’s that it’s TALL and ugly...this building isn’t the normal type of ugly u can just disregard and move on. This building is in your face ugly that demands attention. I can’t believe people actually try to defend this hunk of junk. It’s ugly accept it. Oh It’s not that ugly they say…lol wut!? ...LOOK AT IT! I like tall buildings, but this is one I wouldn’t miss if it was demolished tomorrow.

This post has been edited by mrell32: Monday, September 1, 2008 at 9:14 PM

[Saddleman]

The closer the crown gets to being finished the more I'm loving this building. It's just...I don't know what. I'm loving it.

[Montrose1100]

I wouldn't mind an office in the crown... Its ugly, but its kinda cool.

This post has been edited by Montrose1100: Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 12:58 PM

[fewellman]

I like the building, i think its kind of cool. Its huge and stands out, i think once the entire site is built out it will look a lot better.

[katyresident]

I kind of like it actually...and I agree with the comment above me.

[CoolBuddy06]

katyresident, on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 @ 6:43pm, said:

I kind of like it actually...and I agree with the comment above me.

What exactly do you guys like in that building? The eccentricity of the designers? The 'round peg in a square hole'? The U-Haul box-inspired design?

[Montrose1100]

CoolBuddy06, on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 @ 11:43pm, said:

What exactly do you guys like in that building? The eccentricity of the designers? The 'round peg in a square hole'? The U-Haul box-inspired design?

I like the color of the glass, and the fact that the tiny crown on top is actually floors of offices. And its different.

[fewellman]

I also heard that at night the crown is going to be lit up with fiber optic lighting, which would be really awesome!

[marc]

i love all the development in the area. i even like the burgeoning mini-skyline of that entire corridor.
i still don't understand the placement and size of the crown. As was mentioned a couple of posts ago, it will only look centered from a north-south approach, so i don't really get it considering most people will view it from the east-west approach. Anyway, maybe someone can explain THAT decision.
Personally, i think the placement and size of the crown is a mistake.

m.

[AstrosFreak]

Montrose1100, on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 @ 12:59pm, said:

I like the color of the glass, and the fact that the tiny crown on top is actually floors of offices. And its different.

Wait, the crown has offices?? I thought they were filling that thing with their giant (and completely unnecessary) flood lights for the evening lighting (the lights may be used to draw foes for the giant robot to defeat, mothra for example). Though, I don't see offices in the tiny, ugly, crown as that big of a feature. It still looks disgusting from any angle.

[sheeats]

fewellman, on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 @ 3:18pm, said:

I like the building, i think its kind of cool. Its huge and stands out, i think once the entire site is built out it will look a lot better.

If you had to stare at its ill-planned design out of your office window every day, you'd start disliking it pretty quickly. I'm already sick of looking at it and they're not even finished building it yet.

Then again, maybe I'll feel differently when they finish the whole site. Maybe...

[dmoneybangbang]

The crown looked finished and looks pretty good. Wish I had a camera on me and the time to snap a photo.

[MyEvilTwin]

dmoneybangbang, on Monday, October 20th, 2008 @ 10:55pm, said:

The crown looked finished and looks pretty good. Wish I had a camera on me and the time to snap a photo.

I gotta admit, the near-finished crown is looking better than I expected...

[texas911]

I haven't read the whole thread but wanted to share with you guys that you can see the building even from US59 south! Quite clearly too. Its amazing that I-10 is so close when you have some reference point! We need more tall buildings around Houston!

[wernicke]

MyEvilTwin, on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 @ 6:24am, said:

I gotta admit, the near-finished crown is looking better than I expected...

The pinstripes on the glass look nice. I still think the "spikes" or whatever look quite strange and robotic.

[citizen4rmptown]

wernicke, on Friday, October 24th, 2008 @ 12:25pm, said:

The pinstripes on the glass look nice. I still think the "spikes" or whatever look quite strange and robotic.

Does anybody got any recent photo updates?

[Jim from Katy]

Is the Hotel being built next to the Memorial Hermann tower topped out?? It has been a couple of weeks since I've seen them build a new story. If it is then it doesn't look anywhere near as tall as they depicted in the renderings.

In the renderings they made it look like it was almost as tall as the 35 story Memorila hermann building but tight now it looks only about half as tall.

This post has been edited by Jim from Katy: Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 5:32 PM

[plumber2]

Is this the building that suffered severe interior water damage due to a roof failure?

[hldjhn987]

As of today.

[ChannelTwoNews]

Jim from Katy, on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 @ 4:27pm, said:

Is the Hotel being built next to the Memorial Hermann tower topped out?? It has been a couple of weeks since I've seen them build a new story. If it is then it doesn't look anywhere near as tall as they depicted in the renderings.

In the renderings they made it look like it was almost as tall as the 35 story Memorila hermann building but tight now it looks only about half as tall.

I have a print version of the updated rendering (current color schemes) and it comes out to a 25 story building. My guess is there are another two large floors coming since the top two floors are set back and the main roof will overhang both the north and south sides. Some decorative red metal framework also (according to the renderings) should be added to the narrow side facing Gessner. Starting on the 3rd floor and running up that notch, extending outward at the 18th floor just above the condo/hotel split to meet the main roof at an angle.

I should scan it in when I get the chance...

This post has been edited by ChannelTwoNews: Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 6:27 PM

[Geoff8201]

Great quality photos. Always appreciate the visual update.

This building doesn't look as bad as I thought it would in the finished product. Rather unusual with the crown on top, but not all bad.

This has become quite a marker of the I-10 near Beltway 8 area... I can see it all the way from my building located near the Greenway and Upper Kirby area.

[CoolBuddy06]

Geoff8201, on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 @ 11:33pm, said:

Great quality photos. Always appreciate the visual update.

This building doesn't look as bad as I thought it would in the finished product. Rather unusual with the crown on top, but not all bad.

This has become quite a marker of the I-10 near Beltway 8 area... I can see it all the way from my building located near the Greenway and Upper Kirby area.

That's exactly what MH leaders want it to be. They always talk about a landmark and a Medical center outside of Texas Medical Center.

[marc]

Maybe this has already been addressed, but WHY is the crown off-center again? And why is it centered from that angle? i mean, wouldn't most people see it traveling on the I-10 FWY, so, to me, it would stand to reason that it should be positioned to look centered from that perspective. Any ideas?

m.

[rsb320]

When are the runways going in? That thing looks like an airport tower.