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Allen Center Redevlopment


Triton

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Notice those rusty-looking three-piece steel sculpture thingies they have scattered about?  Those also show up in the 5 Allen Center rendering.  Probably they are supposed to indicate that the buildings are all part of Allen Center.  One would never know it from the architecture.  

 

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Notice those rusty-looking three-piece steel sculpture thingies they have scattered about?  Those also show up in the 5 Allen Center rendering.  Probably they are supposed to indicate that the buildings are all part of Allen Center.  One would never know it from the architecture.  

 

Yea, I noticed it too. lol. I think also that they are adding a new parking garage (in the first rendering on 5 Allen Center thread) 

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Plus there are plenty of near-identical ones in other cities. I've seen one in Dallas. It's like in the late 1960s there was some collective failure of architectural imagination.

I may be in the minority, but I like them. Not just a fan of the 60s-70s brutalist-style architecture, but the fact that they are simple, practical, and built to last. A glassy skyscraper or two is really nice but you can't overdo it (for an example of how this goes horribly wrong, look at Vancouver's skyline). On the other side of the "simple concrete" spectrum is crazy modernist buildings that cost way more than an equivalent building, have all sorts of engineering problems, and look dated even quicker.

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Notice those rusty-looking three-piece steel sculpture thingies they have scattered about?  Those also show up in the 5 Allen Center rendering.  Probably they are supposed to indicate that the buildings are all part of Allen Center.  One would never know it from the architecture.

Maybe we're getting some corten steel sculptures by Richard Serra.
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I realize this is just a proposal, but one thing that is interesting is the sunken plaza with waterfall between One and Two.  I'm assuming this is a large entrance to the food court and tunnel connections below.  There seems to be more interest in connecting the tunnels to street level.  I think this will be a major focus in the design of the Skanska Capitol Tower as well.

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 months later...

No updates on my part. I haven't talked to my source in a while now and he was more of a client of mine so I will have to wait. It's not someone I can text randomly about a project. Trouble is, I may have a different job in the next month with CBRE so we'll have to see what happens. Either way, there should have been something released. I'm guessing there's a delay. To answer Subdude, it sounds like there isn't just one architect designing this project. What I mean is, my source was from a local architecture company and was working on the new One Allen Center design. After talking to someone else on this forum a while back, it sounds like a strong possibility that Brookfield Properties is....diversifying their building designs. So there can certainly be something in the works for Two Allen Center as well but there's not any information I know of so I didn't feel like speculating about it.

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Although I don't advocate changing the facade, it really isn't my favorite design.  It is amazing how common that basic format was used back then.

 

 

Cullen Center

335827-Large.jpg

 

West Loop

WLoopS01_small.jpg

 

Greenway Plaza

view-on-greenway-plaza.jpg

 

Plus there are plenty of near-identical ones in other cities.  I've seen one in Dallas.  It's like in the late 1960s there was some collective failure of architectural imagination.  Of course future generations will probably say the same thing about our beige fake stucco of today...

 

None of this was from a lack of imagination it was simply a product of the times. This is textbook modernism. Everything from the monumentality, to materiality as an outward expression of the program inside. These types of buildings even had Houston climate in mind with all the windows sunken in to shade the interior, and to give the outside an exoskeleton superstructure aesthetic.

 

Architect's during this period wanted to stay as far away from "ornament" as possible and championed the crisp lines, geometry, and rigor modernism had to offer. These buildings represent the idea that the office is simply a machine to work in and so should look, feel, function like so. Now don't get me wrong, there are some good examples of this and bad examples of this. In my option it isn't a masterpiece of the time period, but I think it's a really great group of buildings of that period. Greenway plaza is almost a modernist ideal frozen in time. I think it's unique and should be preserved and not change "skin" to go with whats trendy at a point in time.

 

This goes for a majority of them, at least ones that have been well cared for. The ones at the Allen are ok and not spectacular. It's a shame they have to be changed, but if it means the building survives and sees fresh start then thats just fine. As long as the renovation isn't simply skin deep then it sounds fine to me.

Edited by Luminare
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Interesting comments.  Subdude, your comment reminded me of something I hadn't thought about for years.  That of seeing myriad concrete rectangles being made ready to plug into place in complexes like Greenway Plaza.  I also like Luminare's comment about the crisp lines and geometry ... I appreciate that in the core Greenway Plaza buildings.  However, for some reason, I've never liked the earlier Hines building (nee "Control Data") on 610 as much, even though it seems quite similar.  I think that was an SOM design ... don't know about the GP buildings.  

 

I had a summer job in the GP underground in maybe 1970.  At that time, it seemed to be the ultimate in modernity, even though it felt rather sterile even at that time.

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I enjoy the simplicity and era they represent. It's a shame when developers want to erase the facades and turn them into something that's popular now. I don't get why they wouldn't just use that money to make the interiors state of the art, and really set it above the competition. Give the market something it's never seen before.

The styles we're seeing built (interior, don't get me started on the exteriors), around Houston are nothing new. Europe and the East Coast have had these for years now.

Maybe I'm ignorant so hopefully someone can shed some light on this for me. Are potential renters more concerned with how the building looks from the outside or from the inside?

Edited by Montrose1100
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  • 4 months later...

i guess Brookfield is trying to get out of Allen Center instead of pour more money in..

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2014/10/brookfield-reportedly-selling-a-stake-in-office.html

 

Did you even read the article?    They are only proposing to sell a minority interest. They are just trying to take a little money off the table, so to speak, perhaps even to "pour" it into Allen Center and other of their developments.  Hardly trying to get out of Allen Center.

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Did you even read the article?    They are only proposing to sell a minority interest. They are just trying to take a little money off the table, so to speak, perhaps even to "pour" it into Allen Center and other of their developments.  Hardly trying to get out of Allen Center.

lmao.. no, i just skimmed the article and saw parts about "them selling two downtown properties from their portfolio" and Allen Center being one of them.. didnt catch the minor percentage stake part.

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I don't follow the Allen Center / Brookfield threads very closely.  But ... from what I've read, I get the impression that they have been very indecisive ... and also, therefore, have missed many opportunities.  Frankly, I wish a less risk-adverse outfit had bought Allen Center.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Allen-Center-adds-energy-tenants-nears-full-5862849.php#/0

 

"We're up to 95 percent leased," said Paul Frazier, senior vice president of the Houston region for Brookfield. "We've brought in some new companies. We're planning on making some improvements to the complex."

 

Brookfield is coming up with a concept to redesign an expansive plaza between the three buildings into an inviting parklike area, Frazier said. The existing berms would likely be flattened out to open up the space and make it more visible from the street.

 

"When you think about all the residential construction that's going on downtown, it's going to be more of a 24/7 CBD (central business district) and we want to be ready for that," Frazier said. "We want to change that up and make the area more usable. We see people being able to enjoy it even on the weekends."

Brookfield also plans to enhance the retail amenities with more food and beverage options at its properties, which span 6.7 million square feet in Houston.

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  • 3 months later...

Not quite the super-sized bold "Allen Center" letter rendering, but that'll do pig... that'll do.

 

I always found the letters to be distracting!

 

Not to mention I felt that the design wasn't fully committed to either fully inside the buildings or bringing the buildings relationship closer to the street.

 

This design looks like a full commitment to pay respect to the street and creating some nice public spaces yet they are at a human scale.

 

This would be very nice if this gets built!

Edited by Luminare
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I always found the letters to be distracting!

Not to mention I felt that the design wasn't fully committed to either fully inside the buildings or bringing the buildings relationship closer to the street.

This design looks like a full commitment to pay respect to the street and creating some nice public spaces yet they are at a human scale.

This would be very nice if this gets built!

With all the new construction ongoing Downtown, their kind of at a point where they have to freshen up the complex. All the Art Guys exhibits in the world won't help this complex keep pace.

BTW - The Tunnel of Love exhibit was great only to scare folks as they leave lol

Like the reno plans. Better street presence.

Edited by tigereye
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