bachanon

i like the idea of the tallest "structure" in the world; however, and as i've said before our site was destroyed, i'd prefer a design by renzo piano or santiago calatrava with usable elements on the lower floors. say, 40 floors of office/residential/public space and then whatever additional height necessary to pull off the design and the title of tallest structure. groundfloor retail? of course. my personal idea is a conical shaped structure with an off center sphere in the upper 25% of the structure housing the obligatory observation deck and restaurant/bar (sky bar? no way! for houston the "space" or "moon" bar/centered and facing main street from the north). the wider side of the cone is at the earth's surface (upside down for you ice cream fans) and the sphere's outside diameter is tangential with the central spine of the building. it's an engineering nightmare, i'm sure. i guess the majority of the extended sphere would be unusable but would create a large open space enclosed by glass or merely a light weight structural element outside the cone. one more thing, the cone would have a slimmer sleeker pitch than an ice cream cone.

i remember seeing the hike/bike trails in chicago but i don't remember how wide they were. in the woodlands the trails are 6 feet wide or so. at the waterway they will be substantially wider.

Newest Parks Add to The Woodlands Appeal By The Woodlands Operating Company Five new parks and 32,500 linear feet of pathways were recently completed in The Woodlands, and more are on the way, according to Joel Deretchin, vice president of residential operations for The Woodlands Operating Company, L.P.

Pedestrian Improvements Scheduled for The Woodlands Waterway Room for Both Cyclists and Walkers By The Woodlands Operating Company - TWOC September 03, 2004 The Woodlands, Texas - Construction has begun on pedestrian improvements along the south side of The Woodlands Waterway from the turning basin at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion to Woodloch Forest, according to Daniel Kolkhorst, P.E., vice president of engineering and construction for The Woodlands Operating Company, L.P. (TWOC). Improvements include installation of a two-story elevator at The Woodlands Waterway and Woodloch Forest, extensive lighting, landscaping, irrigation and construction of a sidewalk with ample space for cyclists and pedestrians.

come on!! i love this building. it's a cube with perfectly square windows spaced apart in a perfect gridlike symmetry. it simple. each window, from the inside, makes each view look like a framed picture.

greenspoint mall itself could actually become a great mixed use location. the combination of residential, commercial, retail, north harris college, hotels, proximity to the airport, etc. is already represented in the area. with new urbanist type construction and a smart, affordable residential element added to the mall itself, a new breed of mall renovations could emerge. connecting the mall with the towers to the east via mall extensions and skywalks would further enhance a concentrated mixed use purpose.

lee brown road the coattails of idealists and the successful business people of houston. the main street coalition consisted of people such as ed wulfe, local architects, urban planners and business leaders. some of these same people were behind the cotswald project and now the buffalo bayou redevelopment. lee brown's legacy to our city is a corrupted crime lab and police force, red ink as far as the eye can see. he was an embarrassment to our fair city. light rail, along with all of the other positive things occurring would have happened without lee brown.

i went to a halloween party in this building several years ago. i'm not sure what floor it was on, it was a private club or something. the view was amazing. when the fog came in it became perfectly erie (sp?).