Hess Tower: Office Skyscraper At 1501 McKinney St.

[lockmat]

I was wondering about the shape too. It does look to be something other than a rectangle in the rendering. The lot is an interesting shape so maybe the building will follow suit.

It's interesting b/c the bottom level looks parallel w/ the street, but the top/back doesn't look like 90degrees.

[H-Town Man]

Reminds me of this classic:

[roadrunner]

What makes you think it's wind turbines? None of the articles mentioned wind turbines, the rendering doesn't show wind turbines, and Houston isn't a particularly windy city..

I thought I read that in an article? For some reason that's exactly what I thought they were when I looked at the rendering.

[Jax]

I thought I read that in an article? For some reason that's exactly what I thought they were when I looked at the rendering.

The top doesn't look like it has wind turbines to me, but who knows...

It would be cool.

EDIT: There's now a google earth model for discovery tower and it looks like it might have some sort of vertical axis wind turbines on it (not the common propeller style turbine), but who knows how accurate the model is, or who made it.

Does anybody have a link to the article to confirm this one way or the other?

(this is what i mean by vertical axis wind turbine)

http://www.eco-nex.com/resources/wind+turbines+vortex1.jpg

Edited February 27, 2008 by Jax

[ricco67]

I kinda' think it could be a rooftop plaza at best, or just a good way to camouflage utilities (Cell towers).

[Jax]

Here is a Google Earth view of Discovery Tower, One Park Place, and Main Place.

[Jax]

It seems that Discovery Tower will also make a big impact on the skyline, especially from Midtown and the 288, as will One Park Place (Main Place not so much, you can just barely see it from this angle).

Edited February 27, 2008 by Jax

[ricco67]

Excellent, looks good, Jax.

I have a funny feeling Voyeurism is going to be a new hobby for those at the 1401 building.

Now all we need is the Embassy Suites and La Quinta renderings to see how it is going to look like together.

[HtownWxBoy]

Here is a Google Earth view of Discovery Tower, One Park Place, and Main Place.

AWSOME!

[Mister X]

I hope the person that made this rendering got the height right in relation to the rest of the skyline. If this is correct, Discovery Tower will make a bigger impact on the skyline than I thought it would. It will make DT look wider from a distance from the north/south. Cool!

Has the height (in feet) of Discovery Tower ever been announced. I know is supposed to be 30 or 31 floors, so I assumed it would be taller than the 27 floor 5 Houston Center building (the tower on the block due west), but these google renderings show it as being about as tall as the new 37 floor One Park Place.

BTW, that small rendering that was posted here a few weeks ago which shows Discovery Tower with the park in the foreground, shows that Discovery Tower is noticeably smaller than One Park Place. I hope this latest rendering form google is more accurate, but I have my doubts.

But anyway, it looks like the stuff at the top of Discovery Tower will make the building LOOK at least 4 stories higher. So, maybe it will appear to be about 34-36 floors even if it is only 30-31.

Every inch counts.

Edited February 27, 2008 by Mister X

[TheNiche]

I hope the person that made this rendering got the height right in relation to the rest of the skyline. If this is correct, Discovery Tower will make a bigger impact on the skyline than I thought it would. It will make DT look wider from a distance from the north/south. Cool!

Has the height (in feet) of Discovery Tower ever been announced. I know is supposed to be 30 or 31 floors, so I assumed it would be taller than the 27 floor 5 Houston Center building (the tower on the block due west), but these google renderings show it as being almost as tall as the new 37 floor Park Tower.

Figure 14 feet per floor of office space, so that's 434 feet. Add some amount for the crown, and we're pushing 450 feet.

Residential floors are typically not quite as tall as office floors, since shell office space needs a crawl-space above the ceiling to accomodate dramatic reconfiguration of lots and lots of wiring and ductwork.

[Mister X]

Interesting. Thanx for shedding some light, Niche.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Figure 14 feet per floor of office space, so that's 434 feet. Add some amount for the crown, and we're pushing 450 feet.

Residential floors are typically not quite as tall as office floors, since shell office space needs a crawl-space above the ceiling to accomodate dramatic reconfiguration of lots and lots of wiring and ductwork.

That was about the same as my estimate. I was thinking about 430-440 feet. By the way, the most recent images offered here are the best that I've seen so far. I hope the color scheme is correct as well. I think the blue skin makes more of an impat.

[HtownWxBoy]

That was about the same as my estimate. I was thinking about 430-440 feet. By the way, the most recent images offered here are the best that I've seen so far. I hope the color scheme is correct as well. I think the blue skin makes more of an impact.

I agree.

[NotYetYuppie]

I hope the person that made this rendering got the height right in relation to the rest of the skyline. If this is correct, Discovery Tower will make a bigger impact on the skyline than I thought it would. It will make DT look wider from a distance from the north/south. Cool!

I don't know about Discovery Tower, but the Apartments in the picture next to 5 Houston look way bigger than they will be in real life. I work near there, and they are just about out of crane space, so I don't even think it will be as tall as 5 Houston...

[mojeaux131]

Reminds me of this classic:

Is that Mies' Seagram Building?

Edited February 29, 2008 by mojeaux131

[Jax]

I don't know about Discovery Tower, but the Apartments in the picture next to 5 Houston look way bigger than they will be in real life. I work near there, and they are just about out of crane space, so I don't even think it will be as tall as 5 Houston...

They will be increasing the size of the crane as they go. It really is going to be that tall.

[King Owl]

Looking at the little awning / front covered entry way thing out front of Discovery Tower, it sort of reminds me of the look of the Apple store that's just Southeast of Central Park in NYC. How cool would it be if they incorporated something like that out front of Discovery Tower? For those of you who haven't been to the Apple store in NY, it's a big glass cube that has an elevator that takes you below ground to the actual store - visually very cool

http://picasaweb.google.com/federicoer/New...472207761388002

[H-Town Man]

Is that Mies' Seagram Building?

Nope, it's C.F. Murphy's Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago. Sort of like Chicago's answer to the Seagram Building.

[mls1202]

Is it trapazoid shaped? And maybe I'm the only one who hasn't noticed yet, but it looks like the top ornamental part is only on the front.

No, it is not. At first glance I thought the same thing, but all the lines converge at the same vanishing point as the road. It is just a strong visual perspective that gives it that look.

[AstrosFreak]

I don't know if this was ever settled, but swamplot.com is reporting that the shorter white poles at the top of the tower ARE wind turbines.

http://swamplot.com/discovery-tower-yep-th...nes/2008-02-29/

[HtownWxBoy]

I don't know if this was ever settled, but swamplot.com is reporting that the shorter white poles at the top of the tower ARE wind turbines.

http://swamplot.com/discovery-tower-yep-th...nes/2008-02-29/

Wow neat... it's so... un-Texas.

[nyc_tex]

Wow neat... it's so... un-Texas.

Really?

http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/Annu...ngs_041107.html

[HtownWxBoy]

Really?

http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/Annu...ngs_041107.html

Kewl.

[ChannelTwoNews]

Apparently, construction starts this week

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/busine...ff/5583898.html

[Jax]

The developer plans to install 10 wind turbines at the top of its new downtown building to harvest renewable energy.

I guess this confirms the question about the turbines at the top. It might be sort of gimmicky, but I think it's pretty cool. I'd be interesting to know how much energy they can generate. I bet it will look cool from the ground to see these things actually spinning at the top of the building.

A couple years ago they put up one huge wind turbine in Toronto's waterfront area, so you see this huge thing spinning in front of the skyline when you drive into town. Apparently it only generates power for one building (a museum I think), but more importantly it makes a statement and it makes people think and talk about alternative energy. Plus it looks cool.

The artile also helps confirm that there will be retail. I remember somebody on here was trying to tell me that there would not be any retail.

The structure was designed with two stories of retail and restaurant space overlooking a landscaped plaza.

Edited March 2, 2008 by Jax

[Boblawbob]

Having dealt with LEED building design now for sometime, the chances of this building getting gold are remote. According to my inquiries, this building is not yet LEED pre-certified, nor does it appear to have been even registered with LEED before LEED changed the rules for getting even the minimum certified level.

LEED now dictates that all buildings achieve 2 LEED energy credits, period. Most, if not all, normal high rise buildings in the southern climates achieve 0 LEED credits, and to achieve 2 in Houston's climate means that the see-through glass like Discovery Tower's is in no way, shape, or form going to allow them to achieve 2 credits. Sunshades don't help either. This climate, to achieve 2 credits as required, requires without question either far less vision glass (good bye floor to ceiling glass) or really high-mirrored glass (hello 80's glass facade) that blocks tons of light. I love the glass and look they have on this building, and it looks pretty sweet with that lobby...but I am afraid that they will have to switch the glass if and when their LEED consultant, who should have told them to register the building before the rules changed last year, wakes up and realizes their massive mistake. Good bye transparent tower, and hello mirrored 80's facade.

The LEED rule changes are going to dramatically alter the way buildings are designed here in Houston if they are to be LEED certified, and most people do not yet understand the implications of the massive shift in the LEED credit rules.

[MyEvilTwin]

Good bye transparent tower, and hello mirrored 80's facade.

What makes you think this building isn't already designed with a mirrored facade? The renderings we've been seeing are dusk/night shots, when the lights are on inside. Dark outside, light inside makes the glass transparent, mirrored finish or not. No?

[woolie]

I've gotta say I'm absolutely sick of seeing gimmick decorative pinwheels, I mean, wind turbines. I want to develop our wind resources as much as anyone else -- but this kind of building glitter just gets under my skin. We're talking what, a MW or two of nameplate capacity?

[TheNiche]

I've gotta say I'm absolutely sick of seeing gimmick decorative pinwheels, I mean, wind turbines. I want to develop our wind resources as much as anyone else -- but this kind of building glitter just gets under my skin. We're talking what, a MW or two of nameplate capacity?

Environmentalism is objective-driven. The environmentalist movement (in business and in politics) is all about branding.

It takes nearly as much money to actually certify a building as it does in hard costs to make all the necessary design modifications. And ultimately, it's all about marketability to an audience that for the most part doesn't have a clue.