[roadrunner]

On my way to work today I drove by this site off of McGowen and Fannin that has been set for the San Jose Clinic. It has been fenced off for awhile, but today it had more permanent fencing and it looked like a tent in the middle of the site for a groundbreaking ceremony.

...and more info with a rendering.

http://www.sanjoseclinic.org/pdf/Current%2...5%2028%2008.pdf

[wernicke]

I have worked at the San Jose Clinic (currently located just east of Minute Maid Park, right next to 59), and it is a great organization that provides good service to a predominately Hispanic population.

I will say, though, that I am not sure if the corner of Fannin and McGowen is the best location for their new clinic...

[brian0123]

wernicke, on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 @ 9:23am, said:

I will say, though, that I am not sure if the corner of Fannin and McGowen is the best location for their new clinic...

Just curious... but why?

[LTAWACS]

brian0123, on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 @ 9:41am, said:

Just curious... but why?

I would say it is further from their target demographic.

[musicman]

LTAWACS, on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 @ 10:42am, said:

I would say it is further from their target demographic.

go to that intersection...there're are PLENTY that need services.

[Jax]

I don't think the population living around that intersection are predominantly hispanic. I am not sure what Music Man means, but you do see random homeless people wandering around that part of town. Not sure what that has to do with the clinic though, unless it's for homeless people.

[musicman]

Jax, on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 @ 5:46pm, said:

I don't think the population living around that intersection are predominantly hispanic. I am not sure what Music Man means, but you do see random homeless people wandering around that part of town. Not sure what that has to do with the clinic though, unless it's for homeless people.

the facility also has literacy and counseling services.....

[UrbaNerd]

Recent topic on Swamplot:

http://swamplot.com/alamo-or-modern-which-...ose/2008-11-06/

Sordid, banal, vapid pastiche bastardization of a design:



vs

Modern design:



I certainly hope the latter is built, rather than the former.

[fatesdisastr]

i would love it to be the alamo style personally. add some more variation in there

[bkjones98]

UrbaNerd, on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 @ 9:47pm, said:

Recent topic on Swamplot:

http://swamplot.com/alamo-or-modern-which-...ose/2008-11-06/

Sordid, banal, vapid pastiche bastardization of a design:



vs

Modern design:



I certainly hope the latter is built, rather than the former.

I prefer the "[s]orid, banal, vapid pastiche bastardization..." I think the stone and terracotta fit more with the "San Jose" name. The design is warm and welcoming. The "modern" design looks less institutional and, consequently, less fitting for a hospital.

[LTAWACS]

fatesdisastr, on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 @ 11:58pm, said:

i would love it to be the alamo style personally. add some more variation in there

The former looks like any other strip center in town.

[Subdude]

UrbaNerd, on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 @ 10:47pm, said:

Recent topic on Swamplot:

http://swamplot.com/alamo-or-modern-which-...ose/2008-11-06/

Sordid, banal, vapid pastiche bastardization of a design:



vs

Modern design:



I certainly hope the latter is built, rather than the former.

"Modern" designs are just as frequently banal and vapid. Actually, I don't think the Alamo design is all that bad for a banal and vapid pastiche. The inset paned windows are a nice touch that designers usually overlook. I don't like the raised "hump" in the stone section of the facade, since it really does make it look too Alamo-ish.

[Talbot]

I personally would prefer the first rendering to the second one as well.

[Subdude]

I really think that the "best" architecture is determined more by context than by a modern or retro style alone. In this case, the Alamo design strikes me as more appropriate for a charity hospital near a residential neighborhood. The second one just seems cold and forbidding. It could be cheap ugly social service agency building anywhere.

[midtownuser]

This billboard inside the property shows the modern rendering. So it is most likely going to be that one.

Attached File(s)

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[musicman]

midtownuser, on Sunday, November 9th, 2008 @ 9:28pm, said:

This billboard inside the property shows the modern rendering. So it is most likely going to be that one.

yep, either way each is great for literacy and counseling, perfect for the corner.

[strickn]

#2 looks enough like the sheet-metal Sears that I don't think the neighborhood needs another one. Edgily staggered window slits aren't going to make the difference on this design.

[Captain Impossible]

strickn, on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 @ 3:50pm, said:

#2 looks enough like the sheet-metal Sears that I don't think the neighborhood needs another one. Edgily staggered window slits aren't going to make the difference on this design.

Are you kidding? This is a much more contemporary option, something that is real and fits into the time in which it was built. Do you really want a cheap Mediterranean/California knockoff with a parking lot in front? Let's start building things that fit into our time and don't try so hard to be something they never could be.

[Subdude]

Captain Impossible, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 @ 12:15am, said:

Are you kidding? This is a much more contemporary option, something that is real and fits into the time in which it was built. Do you really want a cheap Mediterranean/California knockoff with a parking lot in front? Let's start building things that fit into our time and don't try so hard to be something they never could be.

What do you mean by "something that is real" and "fits into the time in which it was built"?

Doesn't either design "fit into our time"?

[texas911]

Yea since we're not in spanish colonial times, why build a building that looks like a it came from that time. That's as ridiculous as buying a new Ford car that looks like the Model T. I don't understand why people can accept, computers, cell phones, TVs, cars, planes, electronics that are contemporary but when it comes to buildings they want to build crappy "stylistic" charactatures from the past.

[memebag]

texas911, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 @ 8:41am, said:

Yea since we're not in spanish colonial times, why build a building that looks like a it came from that time.

But the 2nd rendering looks like it was built in Belgium in the 70s. Houston has a long tradition of spanish colonial architecture, and I'm guessing all of it was built after Texas was no longer a Spanish colony.

[NenaE]

bkjones98, on Friday, November 7th, 2008 @ 9:39am, said:

I prefer the "[s]orid, banal, vapid pastiche bastardization..." I think the stone and terracotta fit more with the "San Jose" name. The design is warm and welcoming. The "modern" design looks less institutional and, consequently, less fitting for a hospital.

I agree with bkjones98.

[LTAWACS]

Captain Impossible, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 @ 12:15am, said:

Are you kidding? This is a much more contemporary option, something that is real and fits into the time in which it was built. Do you really want a cheap Mediterranean/California knockoff with a parking lot in front? Let's start building things that fit into our time and don't try so hard to be something they never could be.

You mean like... a transformer?

[Subdude]

texas911, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 @ 8:41am, said:

Yea since we're not in spanish colonial times, why build a building that looks like a it came from that time. That's as ridiculous as buying a new Ford car that looks like the Model T. I don't understand why people can accept, computers, cell phones, TVs, cars, planes, electronics that are contemporary but when it comes to buildings they want to build crappy "stylistic" charactatures from the past.

Well, buildings last longer, and I think for whatever reason that building designs are "processed' differently than how we think about mobile phones and TVs. That's why there are a lot of online architecture forums. Besides, people have re-used old styles for most of human history. I don't see any particular moral virtue in using a modern style simply because it is more fashionable at the moment. It's not like the builders are betraying the trust of the Zeitgeist.

Again, it is more than a simple matter of style. Appropriateness for its use is also important, as is the context of the neighborhood. Should modern designs be planted in old neighborhoods simply because they are newer?

[texas911]

That's the thing though. Contemporary design is not a style. Maybe that's why people don't like it, they think its a style.

Anyway, America is full of people who left their countries for a better life. Why then, hold on to those old styles from their old countries?

[musicman]

texas911, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 @ 7:28pm, said:

Anyway, America is full of people who left their countries for a better life. Why then, hold on to those old styles from their old countries?

LOL heights residents watch out!

[memebag]

texas911, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 @ 7:28pm, said:

That's the thing though. Contemporary design is not a style. Maybe that's why people don't like it, they think its a style.

Design is always a style, and at some point, all design was contemporary.

texas911, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 @ 7:28pm, said:

Anyway, America is full of people who left their countries for a better life. Why then, hold on to those old styles from their old countries?

Spanish colonial isn't from an old country. It's from Spanish colonies (like Texas).

[brian0123]

Frankly, I could care less what the thing looks like. All I care about is that they are going to be dropping $18 million dollars on an empty lot in Midtown, and that they will be providing beneficial services to people that need it. Sounds pretty awesome to me.

[Subdude]

texas911, on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 @ 7:28pm, said:

That's the thing though. Contemporary design is not a style. Maybe that's why people don't like it, they think its a style.

Anyway, America is full of people who left their countries for a better life. Why then, hold on to those old styles from their old countries?

Which begs the question, in what sense is contemporary design not a style? What is it then?

[Montrose1100]

Fantastic architecture. Simply fantastic. Go Midtown!

[UrbaNerd]

Subdude, on Saturday, November 8th, 2008 @ 3:41am, said:

"Modern" designs are just as frequently banal and vapid. Actually, I don't think the Alamo design is all that bad for a banal and vapid pastiche. The inset paned windows are a nice touch that designers usually overlook. I don't like the raised "hump" in the stone section of the facade, since it really does make it look too Alamo-ish.

The spanish style looks too much like the hundreds of new strip centers going up everywhere, which is something that we don't need more of in Midtown IMHO.

But hey, I'm glad they're going with the newer lines.

[Jax]

The last time I drove by it looked like there was a lot of activity on the lot. Anybody got any updates or photos?