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Update from today: http://s7.photobucket.com/user/brijonmang/media/skyhouse1_zps4821c0ce.jpg.html'> I think they have gotten into turbo-time seeing as they were just pouring the columns for the second floor yesterday and are now laying forms for the third floor. I think the main reason they are able to go so fast is because of the forms I circled in red. They arrive by semi and the crane is able to lift and place huge sections at a time instead of having to build them all by hand on site. The area in green is some graffiti I noticed on the Savoy. Going back I saw that it happened on the night of Friday, June 28. Can't make out any people on the roof in the time lapse shots but when the sun comes up, the paint is there.

From Twitter

That may actually be the design of the building, IMO opinion it does resemble the building in the last renderings released of BLVD Place. Even in this rendering the other two buildings in the back ground have the same motif.

Look at post number 151. Thats your form work. The truss elements are only 3-4 feet tall (hard to tell because of the fish eye lenses). You can also tell from the picture theyre not (completely) assembled for the entire floor. As to how they work: Components are assembled together before hand to form a gang form. A gang form is typically defined as a group of unit forms tied together and lifted by crane to the proper spot. They probably have a crew assembling the gang forms on the ground, or offsite. Crane lifts into the correct spot, Concrete pour occurs after rebar placement, and after sufficient curing (not drying) then the components are broken down again, staged, and flown (slang for lifting with crane) down to the ground where the process is repeated. They probably have enough formwork for more than 1 floor, so while things are being staged to take down to the next floor, they probably have the gang forms for the next floor ready to go. Here's a video on how they do it for wall construction: Keep in mind, the dissembling process for wall construction may be different than slab construction. Now, I dont know their formwork system or civil design. So what i'm saying is a bit speculative on my part. Please keep that in mind.

I don't know where that rumor started. It's quite annoying when anyone mentions a super tall downtown it's always "BUT the FAA"! And for crying out loud the Chase Tower was not supposed to be 80 floors. Yet another Urban Legend... That anyone who cannot name the top 10 Tallest buildings (or even look it up), in this city thinks they have some secret knowledge that there is some height restrictions Downtown. Anyone remember that ugly 200 story building proposal? If any company wanted to build a 2,000ft skyscraper they could do so Downtown. Even if the FAA came into question, if the developer has enough pull in the system they can accomplish anything.

Its the 16 story 400,000 sqft building proposed for the site of the First Baptist Church parking lot of off I-10 close to the 6-10 intersection.

Well, I saw some porta potties out there, so I guess its a go.

Project Bluish Glass tower number 250! C'mon architects, pick a different color in photoshop!

That looks like the Apache site. They must've hired Hines to manage the development.

Anyone know something about this one? Hines is the developer. http://issuu.com/swrmarketing/docs/seb_q1_2013__final_electronic

How does that work? Are the modular sections actually part of the building or just something to hold up the next floor while it is poured and drys? They look like a solid platform on top of six feet of metal laticework, so it seems like it would be too bulky to leave in place and too cumbersome to remove after the pour.

This morning they were doing a rough stake out of the 0 grade foot print (the podium base). It looks like the construction guys are planning the spatial logistics of the job site.

Modular formwork (premade formwork). Yep that'll speed things up.

Yes, not to mention that there are 3 major airports in the NYC area that are about the same distance as Hobby is to downtown that form a triangle around Manhattan. It doesn't seem as if that has really stopped vertical development in that city.

anyone who is thinking Hines is going to do something like double the size of this building is naive at best and out of their damn mind at worst. for a 41 story building an addition of 10 floors would easily justify as a "significant increase" - that's 25% of the existing building for crying out loud! i have no direct knowledge of Hines' plans for this development but please try and temper your expectations.

Just a correction guys. The FAA doesnt have any power to shut down a project. What happens is the FAA will look a proposal and indicate if that will force them to alter approach and departing vectors to stay within FAA guidelines. If a new building will alter pathways for the airport; it can affect commerce out of that airport in a detrimental way. Normally; at this point Governments will step in and say, "yo-change this building design". The building developer doesnt have to listen to the FAA; they may however listen to the government.

Interior demolition is definitely going on. They are filling up and switching out dumpsters on the Capitol side with what looked like metal bits. Many upper floor windows are open as well. Interior demolition is definitely going on. They are filling up and switching out dumpsters on the Capitol side with what looked like metal bits. Many upper floor windows are open as well.

I wish there was a way to make a post persistent at the top of the thread so I didn't have to keep skipping back 5 pages to find the rendering. I thought I'd put it here again to save other people the trouble. I really wish we could see this from more angles. What's that groove along the one side? I wonder if the side facing the bayou where all of the Houston skyline photos are taken from has a similar feature or if it's just flat. At least it's a rounded rectangle floor plate rather than a simple box.

The developers are not getting burned by the HD ordinance. They know how to play the game. Additionally, they are not attached to the house. If the HAHC says change something, they have no problem doing so. They are just going to sell the house, not live in it. The problems arise with individuals who are invested in redoing their home to suit their tastes and needs. When HAHC tells these individuals to change something, it can be a huge deal. Of course, to those people who are architecturally ignorant, HAHC telling them to change something is no problem. I suppose that is why some people are not offended by HAHC's capriciousness.

6/20 by HBJ: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2013/06/anadarko-tops-out-second-woodlands.html