Lowbrow

most excellent. i have alot of confidence in this project. i think that corner there at crawford and elgin is going to be pretty nice once this project is done and the collective finishes up (course they have to start it dont they).

euro leagues would laugh at us for canceling a soccer game due to rain.

That is great. Although I swear they said 300-350 million on the radio this morning.

A commentator on NPR yesterday was saying that now is the perfect time for something like soccer to move up into the main stream with the NHL in gridlock. Thats fine with me. I just hope the NHL recovers or another hockey league rises up.

Jobs r jobs r jobs.

Yeah the parking lot area over by the bar-b-q place is so under-utilized. The parking lot looks as if a big box store was supposed to occupy that spot but instead its all little shops, a few restaurants and a video store. BTW that tuesday morning store there is a great place to buy all kinds of weird odds and ends. I bought my daughter her vanity there. I eat at Kasra about once a week due to its convienence to my office. I usually get the lamb shank but most everyone else I know gets the shishleek.. which is very good. Read the reviews on Garsons and you may be hooked. Fadi's is a houston favorite but I'd call it mediterranean rather than middle eastern... I know people blur the lines on any place that serves hummus.

Sure thing. Garson's is definately a diamond in the rough. Its next to that Tony's Flying Pizza ... which is actually decent itself.

I like Cafe Lili on westheimer and Bering. It is a little stripmallish but great food and wine. For better ambience Id go to Garson's on Hillcroft. Its one of my favorite places for a more upscale lunch. The chicken laforet is to die for.... creamy dill rice, grill chicken in a sherry and crawfish sauce. They have definate french undertones but its middle eastern. Kasra at westheimer and gessner is ok too. Its next to that new Yao chinese restaurant that our local Rocket is building. Cant wait for that place to open. I'm sure someone would say Fadi's but it is more cafeteria style.. so that kind of kills ambiance. http://www.b4-u-eat.com/ is a great resource.

It would be great if they moved downtown. Geez, what a resume.. Enron and Halliburton. I want to party with this guy. Think he gets crap for his last name?

Its building number 7.

Smart and Lean Machine by Mark Lam, AIA PROJECT School of Nursing and Student Community Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston CLIENT The University of Texas Health Science Center ARCHITECT BNIM Architects with Lake/Flato Architects CONTRACTOR Jacobs Vaughn, Inc. CONSULTANTS Jaster Quintanilla & Associates (structural); Carter Burgess, Inc (MEP); Clanton Associates (lighting); BNIM Architects (interior design); Supersymmetry (energy); Epsilon Engineering (civil); Coleman & Associates (landscape); Apex Busby (cost consultant); Rolf Jensen & Associates (code); Philo & Wilke Architects (lab consultant); Pelton Marsh Kinsella (AV and acoustics); Worrell Design Group (food service); Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, Rocky Mountain Institute, and Elements (sustainable strategies) design team (BNIM) Steve McDowell, FAIA, project designer; Kimberly Hickson, AIA, project manager; Chris Koon, AIA, project architect; and David Immenschuh: (Lake/Flato) David Lake, FAIA, project designer; Greg Papay, AIA, project architect PHOTOGRAPHER Hester + Hardaway Each facade responds to its solar orientation, therefore the western facade features minimal glazing. Steel structures visible on the roof will be outfitted with photovoltaic array. Windows on the eastern facade are shaded with vertical canvas sails above the tree line, while windows below the tree line offer unobstructed views toward adjacent Grant Fay Park. Four decades after the heyday of the hippie, the aesthetics of 1960s counterculture are emerging in the unlikeliest of places, including university campuses where today's additions to the built environment often reflect our society's "what you see is what you get" sensibilities. The new architecture is decidedly more relaxed and less contrived in comparison to earlier eras. After all, today's corporate CEO, college dean, and facilities director just may have been yesteryear's radical environmentalist, commune dweller, or free-spirit iconoclast. So maybe it should not come as a surprise that they might challenge prior notions of appropriateness by demanding projects designed with natural materials, exposed systems, and unambiguous expressions of function. Generous glazing brings sunlight deep into the building's core. The recently completed University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing and Student Community Center firmly claims its place among the non-descript structures that comprise Houston's Texas Medical Center. With its fabric sunscreens and saw-toothed roof combining to form a curiously detailed silhouette, the new eight-story structure creates a conspicuously visual tension with the neighboring huddle of status quo. The central stair connects the "vertical campus," reinforcing the school's sense of community. Exterior stairs promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging student use. ...continued...

Ok my favorite quote from the link above, "Pearland is really growing," says Colliers International broker Charles Herder, who represents Memorial Hermann. "The intersection of 288 and 518 now looks like the corner of San Felipe and Voss. Big Boxes are all fighting for a position in that area." LOL. There must be a San Felipe and Voss in another city he is talking about. 288 and 518 is the intersection of a highway and a country road with open ditch drainage.

Hmm, if you triangulated those three locations youd be right on top of my residence. Pearland has built up so much lately. The only thing lacking that I can think of off the top of my head is a good bookstore. (am I always talking about book stores?... geez what a nerd) The Big Box stores at 288 and 518 are all built up. Movie theatre is next. Sugarland part deux. SuperTarget Walmart Kohls Linens'n'things Best Buy Circuit City Pier One PetSmart (or Petco... whatever) Home Depot Ross (or Marshalls.. hmm I think Ross) Bed Bath and Beyond HBJ article from April 2003 << Talks about Memorial Hermann looking into the sight aswell. While I don't plan on living in Pearland much longer but it does look like my ex is going to stay there and therefore my little girl is going to be raised there. My main wishes for the area are sidewalks and buses down 518.

This is very true. I have 3 items keeping me from living in dowtown atm and this is one of them. Also on the list are lack of stuff to do downtown during the day (for adults this time) and my commute to westchase (anyone know what it looks like about 7am?). Grocery store isnt that important to me since I only do it once a week.

No, I believe $500/sf is right on the money.

Oh, I'm there!! I love this hotel, I really hope the do something great here. I still haven't been to the Icon or the Derek. I did stay at the La Colombe D'or on montrose one weekend for a getaway. That was nice.

On a similar note, I heard that little parking lot on Franklin across from the Franklin Lofts, designated for jurors I beleive, was slated to become a green space. Pretty damn small green space, but I'm not complaining.

I was just wondering the other day what was going to happen to those properties.

Yeah, parking was the issue I had heard about that sight. I think the lot adjacent to it will only hold 15 or 20 cars. I wouldnt mind seeing something like a museum or something of that nature at that location. I'd like to see more reasons to go downtown during the day.

Days Inn c/o emporis

Yeah the Dakota Lofts are great. Part of the last Art Crawl went through there. They are catty-corner to that Sterrett Street project talked about in another thread.

They actually keep the grounds up over there pretty nice. I think they should go condo! I love the fake windows on that building.

I stayed at the Golden Nugget once... I was less than impressed but overall Las Vegas has a tough time impressing me.

I did the Alley theatre on tuesday (Arthur Miller play) and walked around this area after the show. Ate at the Market Square Pub or Bistro or whatever it is. It was cold but very enjoyable. Wanted to pull my cohorts around and tell them about all the plans for the area but funny how I'm rather alone in my excitement. Oh well... was fun.

Very cool. I hadn't seen the plans for the TMC heart and vascular building. Funny how the SE building and the woodlands building are mirror images of eachother.