Business Districts

[Montrose1100]

I would like to compare a few of Houston's Business districts. Particularly, Greenspoint, Westchase, Greenway Plaza, and The Medical Center.

Do you think a collection of Buildings that look relatively the same in a group (Westchase, Greenspoint) appeals better then a collection of Buildings that have a but more diversity of designs (Greenway Plaza, The Medical Center)?

Greenspoint - Besides a few buildings west of I-45, Greenspoint has a dark, green skyline. The green lines on the highway interchange are also touching. The wyndham hotel is easy to recognize with its sharp rectangular roof, and its a bit lighter then the rest. All of the buildings are postmodern, and it doesn't help that they have christmas lights at night.

Westchase - Pretty much all of the buildings look turn of the century, light color, lots of light blue glass on a white facade. Goes will with the clean looking Toll Road.

Greenway Plaza - Nicely mixed up, a few modern, a few postmodern, looks like a real skyline.

The Medical Center - Mixed up too, but I think alot of the buildings' facades are light. I think the new ones going up will go nicely with everything there.

your opinions?

[Jeebus]

I'd love for someone to create a rendering of what Houston would look like if there was zoning, and all the highrises were closer together. I wonder if a consolidated skyline could then compete with Chicago?

[Deut28Thirteen]

I have always liked Greenspoint skyline just because of the Wyndham Hotel. They may look like Christmas lights but it fits Greenspoint because it is not a huge skyline. Greenway plaza is another one I like because of Phoenix Tower. I think we would be able to compete with the Windy City because Downtown is the 7th largest Business district and Up Town is the 14th largest and is comparable in size to Downtown L.A. With the TMC and all the other ones we could really compete.

[houstonmacbro]

I would like to compare a few of Houston's Business districts. Particularly, Greenspoint, Westchase, Greenway Plaza, and The Medical Center.

Do you think a collection of Buildings that look relatively the same in a group (Westchase, Greenspoint) appeals better then a collection of Buildings that have a but more diversity of designs (Greenway Plaza, The Medical Center)?

Greenspoint - Besides a few buildings west of I-45, Greenspoint has a dark, green skyline. The green lines on the highway interchange are also touching. The wyndham hotel is easy to recognize with its sharp rectangular roof, and its a bit lighter then the rest. All of the buildings are postmodern, and it doesn't help that they have christmas lights at night.

Westchase - Pretty much all of the buildings look turn of the century, light color, lots of light blue glass on a white facade. Goes will with the clean looking Toll Road.

Greenway Plaza - Nicely mixed up, a few modern, a few postmodern, looks like a real skyline.

The Medical Center - Mixed up too, but I think alot of the buildings' facades are light. I think the new ones going up will go nicely with everything there.

your opinions?

I like some of the twins in Greenway and some of the condos that have similar architecture.

[moni]

I don't know about comparing Chicago's skyline to Houston's. For one thing, Chicago has a great many old skyscrapers. They are pretty, but very different from the gleaming Houston skyline. More density, but a lot of that is made up of very old buildings that are not all that tall, 12-30 stories. Chicago has that gorgeous view along the river with all the bridges and now the taller skyscrapers going up. It is hard to beat that view, but if Houston wanted to, they could follow Buffalo Bayou with lines of tall buildings. I would prefer a nice river-walk like San Antonio. Michigan Avenue is very dense and is where most tourists gravitate to. Something like downtown Houston going on out to the Gallaria area with a nice wide street. But really, why try to imitate another city? Houston is great just being Houston. I can't imagine people in Chicago saying "should we try to look like Houston?".

[texas911]

I like the Med Center Look. Bland fill in buildings with a few signature Architecture.

[houstonmacbro]

Greenspoint always reminded me of 'Future World' or something. Kinda like a destination business district like Las Colinas or something. It's seen better days, but apparently, there are a lot of things in the works for Greenspoint (and not just the mall).