tanith27 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Its pretty nice inside. Good views over Disco G from the main lobby. Folks are gradually moving in through August. Still construction going on though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Its pretty nice inside. Good views over Disco G from the main lobby. Folks are gradually moving in through August. Still construction going on though.Any word/rumors about what happened with the wind turbines?I've been looking all over the 'net for the information, but while I trust the explanation mentioned on HAIF, its always good to get additional verification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanith27 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I think its clear what happened to them in the past, but John Hess was adamant that they are to never return unless the builder can guarantee 100% this would never happen again. Last I heard, they are being re-engineered and will return, but I have nothing official, just whispers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatesdisastr Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 What a disappointment it would be if they didn't ever return. I think it is quite imperative that sometime in the next few years that they return. The building is quickly becoming an icon of south downtown and Houston's commitment to future renewable energy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I think its clear what happened to them in the past, but John Hess was adamant that they are to never return unless the builder can guarantee 100% this would never happen again. Last I heard, they are being re-engineered and will return, but I have nothing official, just whispers.Safety aside, I also wonder about the noise and vibration that is transmitted to the top floor of the building. When those turbines get going, they get LOUD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wernicke Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Seems smart to me. Not having a symbol of energy efficiency on top of your building sounds better than having a turbine fall off of Hess Tower and kill someone, with the liability and bad publicity that entails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 FYI:I noticed some work being done in the space where the turbines were. I am wondering if they are about start installations again. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrLan34 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 FYI:I noticed some work being done in the space where the turbines were. I am wondering if they are about start installations again. Anyone?would be awesome news! i'm outta the country for a while so pleae update if you get any more info. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I thought I saw something up there as well but I wasn't sure if it was turbine related or not. I sure hope so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Something is different, there's a stripe (shadow) across the middle. I didn't bring my glasses-for-distance today. What's his name Hess was quoted saying that unless they could guarantee 100% that it would not happen again, they would not be reinstalled. Maybe they found a gaping defect or installation error on the previous one that failed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Something is different, there's a stripe (shadow) across the middle. I didn't bring my glasses-for-distance today. What's his name Hess was quoted saying that unless they could guarantee 100% that it would not happen again, they would not be reinstalled. Maybe they found a gaping defect or installation error on the previous one that failed.The problem with his qualifier is that NOTHING is ever 100%. It irritates me that he made such a statement, what happens if they fail again because of weather or a hidden manufacturing defect a couple of years down the line? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanith27 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 what happens if they fail again because of weather or a hidden manufacturing defect a couple of years down the line?Then they dont get put back up. Not sure what the big deal is about it. If my name was on such a liability I'd make the same decision as would you. The blades were rated to withstand very heavy wind gusts. They came down in 40mph winds, something Houston sees quite regularly. Hess is leasing the building, so if it goes back up I'm sure the lawyers will be explicitly taking note of who will be to blame should this happen again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Then they dont get put back up. Not sure what the big deal is about it. If my name was on such a liability I'd make the same decision as would you. The blades were rated to withstand very heavy wind gusts. They came down in 40mph winds, something Houston sees quite regularly. Hess is leasing the building, so if it goes back up I'm sure the lawyers will be explicitly taking note of who will be to blame should this happen again.Obviously nobody knows what will happen before it happens so the 100% thing makes no sense. If he had meant it like that he would have flat out said that they weren't going back up. Things like this have been done before and it's definitely possible to build turbines that can withstand the kind of wind we get here so I think we'll see them up again at some point, but obviously we're all just speculating here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Here is a pic I took a few days ago. It LOOKS like they have done some work on it, but there wasn't anything being done on the day I took this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wernicke Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Probably buttressing to add stability to the turbines.I hate seeing that ridiculous crown on top of Embassy Suites. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Broadfoot Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hello, My name is Andrew ind I would like to know as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 well, I did notice ONE new thing that was changed. From what I've seen, they have changed the type of lights that are up there. They kinda' look like LED's, I'm not sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 I'm sure this discussion can probably be moved to somewhere else but since this is the only thread about Hess Tower, are they ever bringing the turbines back? Would be cool to have before the Superbowl begins. http://swamplot.com/pieces-of-wind-turbine-fall-onto-street-from-top-of-hess-tower-downtown-blades-on-lockdown/2011-01-13/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasta Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 I'm sure this discussion can probably be moved to somewhere else but since this is the only thread about Hess Tower, are they ever bringing the turbines back? Would be cool to have before the Superbowl begins. http://swamplot.com/pieces-of-wind-turbine-fall-onto-street-from-top-of-hess-tower-downtown-blades-on-lockdown/2011-01-13/ They are NEVER bringing the turbines back. They tried to do something a little different but the turbines proved to have a malfunction and presented a HUGE risk to the developer. The small reward, in aesthetics, is not worth the risk...especially if that risk turns out to be catastrophic (which it almost was). They are never coming back....that ship has sailed a long time ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate4l1f3 Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Wow I never knew about these. I just looked at the video and those things are pretty cool, it's a shame they are gone, you would think they could find a way to secure them to make sure they wouldn't detach 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
democide Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 This makes me lose faith in our developers and engineers who can't fasten turbines to a building so that they won't fall during normal operation. Now them falling off due to a hurricane is understandable and acceptable, but on a typical windy day? We've tackled much greater challenges than this, this is just pathetic in my opinion. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 in this particular instance, it was the turbine that had a catastrophic failure. it wasn't that it wasn't attached to the building properly, but lousy design of the turbines themselves. i wish they'd find a way to engineer them properly so they could be reinstalled. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 This makes me lose faith in our developers and engineers who can't fasten turbines to a building so that they won't fall during normal operation. Now them falling off due to a hurricane is understandable and acceptable, but on a typical windy day? We've tackled much greater challenges than this, this is just pathetic in my opinion. I'm sure they could be engineered to not fail. There is no reason to spend the money required to do that. Wind turbines like this were just a stupid stunt designed to impress the gullible. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brijonmang Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) I know this building has been around for a while but I thought this was a cool photo from earlier today after the storms. Hess Tower after a storm by brijonmang, on Flickr Edited October 13, 2014 by brijonmang 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 i agree. great pic, beautiful tower. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChannelTwoNews Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Great photo! I remember walking across this lot when it was still used for parking and had just been roped off. One Park Place was only a few stories high and Discovery Green was still under construction. During the last boom, I tended to follow this tower the closest since it was terribly easy to shoot down into the pit from the sidewalk and just watch everything come together. Even easier once the park had opened and the building had started to gain height. While it isn't the tallest or most spectacular, and the turbines were less than successful, it's still a nice structure. Generally quite pleased with how it turned out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Great photo!I remember walking across this lot when it was still used for parking and had just been roped off. One Park Place was only a few stories high and Discovery Green was still under construction. During the last boom, I tended to follow this tower the closest since it was terribly easy to shoot down into the pit from the sidewalk and just watch everything come together. Even easier once the park had opened and the building had started to gain height.While it isn't the tallest or most spectacular, and the turbines were less than successful, it's still a nice structure. Generally quite pleased with how it turned out.I still think about the wind turbines not being there but honestly, even at its height, it's a great tower. The lighting effects at night are what make this tower stand out. Right now it glows a large pink hue (for Breast Cancer Awareness Month) that can be seen from many miles away. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWW Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I still think about the wind turbines not being there but honestly, even at its height, it's a great tower. The lighting effects at night are what make this tower stand out. Right now it glows a large pink hue (for Breast Cancer Awareness Month) that can be seen from many miles away. Speaking of lighting, can someone explain the flashing lights on some of the upper floors that occurs nightly? Looks as if a fire alarm is going off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxtethogrady Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Maybe it's a disco. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post brijonmang Posted January 31, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 31, 2015 I just really like taking pictures of this building: Hess Tower by brijonmang, on Flickr DSCN0319 by brijonmang, on Flickr 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 Hopefully they stay at the Hess Tower. "Chevron agreed to buy Hess for $53 billion, a deal aimed at boosting production growth as the U.S. oil industry bets on an enduring future for fossil fuels." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/chevron-hess-acquisition-guyana-oil-18441906.php 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 7 hours ago, hindesky said: Hopefully they stay at the Hess Tower. "Chevron agreed to buy Hess for $53 billion, a deal aimed at boosting production growth as the U.S. oil industry bets on an enduring future for fossil fuels." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/chevron-hess-acquisition-guyana-oil-18441906.php I wouldn't bet anything important on that. These mergers tend to reduce the back office headcount at the acquired company by 90 percent. I don't know if Hess has offshored a lot of jobs, but Chevron certainly has, and will replace US Hess folks with people in other countries that cost 25% of what Americans cost. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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