TMC Helix Park: Texas Medical Center Bio Research Campus

[CaptainJilliams]

The new design isn't bad by any means, but it's a little bit of a let down considering how the original design actually had the building shaped as the double helix versus just walkways. I love some of the new design features from the 3 new images, but I really want to see some renderings showing more detail of the total structure itself.

 

Still a win for the city of Houston considering what it will bring.

[Response]

It looks so "Logan's Run". All that's missing is "Carousel".

[Luminare]

20 minutes ago, CaptainJilliams said:

The new design isn't bad by any means, but it's a little bit of a let down considering how the original design actually had the building shaped as the double helix versus just walkways. I love some of the new design features from the 3 new images, but I really want to see some renderings showing more detail of the total structure itself.

 

Still a win for the city of Houston considering what it will bring.

 

I'm sure at some point discussions came to this question: What is this central double helix building going to be for? Is it flexible enough and robust enough for us to use this building as a collaboration space? Is this just a cool building just for the sake of being cool? Don't get me wrong. I liked the original building, but it was clearly a concept to simply get the conversation started. This new version seems to be using the same idea, but instead of having the double helix be a form, instead its a void. I mean look at my quote in my signature. "When you are looking for a solution to what you have been told is an architectural problem--remember, the solution may not be a building." The answer to the previous questions that were probably asked was the center doesn't need to be a building to bring us together to this one location. Its the space itself symbolically that does. At that point the central building can disappear and now more resources can be decentralized from one building to many.

[intencity77]

Solely basing on these three renderings, it is not groundbreaking like the original design was. Definitely has lost its edge.  And personally, other than that awesome Houston freeway map on the ceiling, I dislike it. 

[Highrise Tower]

 

[lockmat]

The area it lies within is not super griddy, but is anyone else disappointed by the lack of streets incorporated into the design? Looks like a massive suburban project to me. Although this area could be argued it is more suburban than urban already. hmmm

 

Where is the parking? Are there garages underground? Or will it all be podium style?

[Luminare]

4 minutes ago, lockmat said:

The area it lies within is not super griddy, but is anyone else disappointed by the lack of streets incorporated into the design? Looks like a massive suburban project to me. Although this area could be argued it is more suburban than urban already. hmmm

 

Where is the parking? Are there garages underground? Or will it all be podium style?

 

Completely opposite. This is very Urban in concept. More streets and more parking would making it look like the suburban campuses of old. It looks like large urban developments i've walked through while in Germany. Particularly my last trip where I visit areas like Europaviertel in Stuttgart. From the description it seems like its going to be all underground. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire campus has two levels of underground parking to cover all future expansions. think underground parking like under the park near Jones Hall.

[nate]

Keep in mind that the existing use of this property is two massive surface parking lots for TMC employees who are shuttled into other buildings. Those parkers will have to be accommodated or relocated to another site.

 

Underground parking for the TMC3 site alone would be astoundingly expensive. We shall see.

 

At least OST and Braeswood are pretty big roads that should be able to handle the extra traffic.

[cspwal]

Maybe a new parking garage at Smithlands station?

[j_cuevas713]

Houston Exponential posted a beautiful render on Instagram for their plans for the research campus. Does anyone have any way of posting that? I'm having toruble

Edited May 1, 2019 by j_cuevas713

[Highrise Tower]

Different rendering from tmc's website.

https://www.tmc.edu/news/2019/05/a-leap-forward-for-tmc3/

 

[lockmat]

3 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

Completely opposite. This is very Urban in concept. More streets and more parking would making it look like the suburban campuses of old. It looks like large urban developments i've walked through while in Germany. Particularly my last trip where I visit areas like Europaviertel in Stuttgart. From the description it seems like its going to be all underground. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire campus has two levels of underground parking to cover all future expansions. think underground parking like under the park near Jones Hall.

 

I don't know the areas you've been to in Germany, but based on your description, it sounds like a pre-modern urban utopia where no cars exist, which is the exception to urbanism. Other than your description of Germany, I can't think of an urban city that doesn't have vehicular streets, except maybe Florence. To me, streets/grids and urbanism go hand in hand. I only see two streets winding around this development, which to me, reminds me of a suburban development....lots of buildings but no streets.

 

I'm not calling for parking lots. Ideally there would be a huge underground parking garage. I just want some thru streets.

[Luminare]

59 minutes ago, lockmat said:

 

I don't know the areas you've been to in Germany, but based on your description, it sounds like a pre-modern urban utopia where no cars exist, which is the exception to urbanism. Other than your description of Germany, I can't think of an urban city that doesn't have vehicular streets, except maybe Florence. To me, streets/grids and urbanism go hand in hand. I only see two streets winding around this development, which to me, reminds me of a suburban development....lots of buildings but no streets.

 

I'm not calling for parking lots. Ideally there would be a huge underground parking garage. I just want some thru streets.

 

The difference between what is suburban and urban isn't the number of streets. There is way more that goes into it than that. I also in no way mentioned any kind of utopia, and just because something is in the past doesn't mean it was better, nor should we look at the past in such a romantic way. You seem to have some very superficial/preconceived notions of what constitutes urban and suburban, and that is, by the way, no insult or say that you are stupid, but instead I mean that your definition of both are incredibly low-res and vague to which we won't be able to go into the matter nor be able to come to a sensible compromise on the subject because our frames on what is urban vs. suburban clearly vary wildly. Again I don't want this to come off as if either of us is right or wrong, or as if this is some kind of take down, because it isn't. There are simply enormous gaps here and you are making incredible assumptions that do not make sense.

[CaptainJilliams]

3 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Different rendering from tmc's website.

https://www.tmc.edu/news/2019/05/a-leap-forward-for-tmc3/

 

 

An additional rendering from the website that includes a helix structure shading the green space. I can kind of get behind this design a little more.

 

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[lockmat]

1 hour ago, Luminare said:

 

The difference between what is suburban and urban isn't the number of streets. There is way more that goes into it than that. I also in no way mentioned any kind of utopia, and just because something is in the past doesn't mean it was better, nor should we look at the past in such a romantic way. You seem to have some very superficial/preconceived notions of what constitutes urban and suburban, and that is, by the way, no insult or say that you are stupid, but instead I mean that your definition of both are incredibly low-res and vague to which we won't be able to go into the matter nor be able to come to a sensible compromise on the subject because our frames on what is urban vs. suburban clearly vary wildly. Again I don't want this to come off as if either of us is right or wrong, or as if this is some kind of take down, because it isn't. There are simply enormous gaps here and you are making incredible assumptions that do not make sense.

 

I think that some people's utopian idea of urbanism is one without cars. I'm not saying you want this utopia, so please pardon me if I implied it.

 

But this design is essentially car-less, unless one counts the presumed parking garages we think might be below.

 

What assumptions am I making that do not make sense? I've never been to an urban place without streets. Usually the more streets, the more urban. This place has a ring around it, which to me gives the feel of a faux-urban suburban development like Market Street in The Woodlands. Sure, it's pedestrian friendly once you get there, but so is the Exxon campus and even that is half-baked urbanism.

[Highrise Tower]

Disappointed in the public park getting scrapped.  Would have been so cool to have an elevated park above the helix structure.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Houston-Medical-Center-redesigns-massive-TMC3-13809669.php

 

Quote

In the previous design, the collaborative building was to be capped with an elevated park with gardens and trails designed by James Corner, the landscape architect behind New York’s High Line. Now, the landscape architecture will be under the direction of Elkus Manfredi.

 

Maureen and Jim Hackett, former chief executive of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., planned to launch a $60 million philanthropic campaign to fund the park. Since that part of the plan was scrapped, the couple is no longer fundraising.

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by ekdrm2d1

[pablog]

3 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Disappointed in the public park getting scrapped.  Would have been so cool to have an elevated park above the helix structure.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Houston-Medical-Center-redesigns-massive-TMC3-13809669.php

 

 

The park is still there, just underneath the helix canopy at ground level. I kinda like this a little more for some reason. 

[cspwal]

I can't tell from the renderings, but will there be mid-block East-West connections?  That's the biggest issue for big super-block developments - you can't get out of them easily except at a few designated entrances.

[Brooklyn173]

I'm disappointed that a 5 million sf project is being considered without a single word about transit access. So some school busses will be thrown in after everything is built as sort of a metaphorical band-aid.

[H-Town Man]

19 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Different rendering from tmc's website.

https://www.tmc.edu/news/2019/05/a-leap-forward-for-tmc3/

 

 

This still looks very conceptual. Sort of like, "Here is a building that could be built with our helix layout." I wonder if they are planning this thing like a subdivision and selling lots off to institutions who can build whatever they want on them. The aerial visual being what it could look like if everyone built something amazing, but not necessarily what it will look like.

 

[Houston19514]

From the TMC website: 

 

Notably, the updated plans call for an elongated green space promenade—known as the “DNA necklace”—that spans the entirety of the TMC³ campus. A series of lens-shaped green spaces will be interlaced with a walkable and drivable street grid, allowing for easy access.

“The most memorable things on many college and university campuses aren’t the buildings but the spaces,” Manfredi said. “We wanted to make great, open spaces that will attract people not just from the Texas Medical Center, but from the entire city of Houston.”

The project will include individual lab buildings and mixed-use space on the ground floor. Situated along the green space will be collaborative facilities, retail and residential opportunities and a hotel and conference center. Parking will be housed underground to optimize the street-level space for walkability, amenities and communal interactions.

 

https://www.tmc.edu/news/2019/05/a-leap-forward-for-tmc3/

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[Original Timmy Chan's]

On 5/2/2019 at 11:26 AM, Timoric said:

Flooding?

Relatively easy to prevent water from getting in, by raising the driveways/penetrations into the garage.  Imagine an elevated levee around the perimeter of the garage, and a driveway going over the levee.

 

As long as the top of the "levee"/driveway is high enough, no concern for surface water pouring into the garage.  Of course, like any levee, it can be overtopped at a certain point.

[H-Town Man]

Some background on things like why they paused for a year and a half and how they're allowing for-profit institutions in. Nothing said about when construction will happen.

 

https://product.costar.com/home/news/593844335?tag=8192

[Highrise Tower]

This month TMC Pulse magazine.

 

https://www.tmc.edu/news/tmc-pulse/

[H-Town Man]

A groundbreaking date - early next year! Immediately following financial close. Underground parking structure will begin sooner.

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/looped-in/

 

Phase I:

Hotel/Conference center/Residential tower (funded by Majestic Development out of L.A.)

Baylor building

Texas A&M building

UT building

M.D. Anderson building

TMC3 Collaborative building (est. $240-250 million)

Industry building

 

9 buildings constructed simultaneously over 2.5 years.

 

Eventually with future phases will comprise 5 million SF over 37 acres.

Edited May 29, 2019 by H-Town Man

[Houston19514]

17 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

A groundbreaking date - early next year! Plus details of which buildings are going up in Phase I (quite a lot):

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/looped-in/

 

"Several residential towers"! 

[Highrise Tower]

 

7 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

A groundbreaking date - early next year!

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/looped-in/

 

 

 

Great podcast. Thanks for the write up. 

 

He also mentioned the Shell building down the block. He said TMC leased it for a decade.  Building parking there as well? 

[DiligentDesign]

I think overall this is wonderful!  Sorry Gensler, maybe think outside the box?!! Overall, the new team is friendly to steel, the old team did everything in concrete, “cause it’s houston”...bringing on an east coast flair!