Discovery West: Skanska Downtown Mixed-Use Development

[H-Town Man]

27 minutes ago, shasta said:

I agree..it's looking very 80's...... and in a bad way.

A glass curtain wall is ok but I'd like to see a little variety up the building..something.

Looks like they thought they did this by stepping it up and throwing trees up there.

The monolithic glass element reads as a solid .

 

I'm also still trying to understand what is going on with their renderings...are these different phases or different schemes?

Yeah, I think the trees are the main innovation these days, kind of like all our glass buildings are hitting puberty. Also the sculpture of the design is more "deconstructionist" than glass buildings of the 80's, where the architect was usually trying to either make a design evoking historical architecture (e.g. Transco Tower, Norwest Tower in Minneapolis) or else create an abstract sculpture that was still usually symmetrical and appealed to psychological feelings of order and aspiration (Pennzoil Place, Fountain Place, Wells Fargo). Kind of like atonality in music, the geometry of BIG or Rem Koolhaas seems to want to be unconventional and not quite pleasing.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

Is it safe now for me to admit I hate it? 😄

[West Timer]

I'm just here for the renderings.

[EllenOlenska]

I think it's safe. Something is offputting. 

And yet, I must admit I like it. I'm a sucker for the international style. I like particularly black glass. Two Houston Center for me is still a relatively unsung building. Even with the construction. (I'll admit, I personally have my fingers crossed that this begin soon.)

I'm actually interested in the trees? I've heard there are problems with trees on buildings beyond their unsubtle voguishness and ubiquity. Not only that they need so and so much steel and concrete to keep hoisted up there, but that they begin to die immediately. How true is this? 




 

Edited February 28, 2021 by EllenOlenska

[MidCenturyMoldy]

22 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Is it safe now for me to admit I hate it? 😄

I would prefer a less disjointed curve with a horizontal pattern instead of this building's vertical. Not necessarily exactly like the buildings in these photos, but something along these lines. The Skanska design looks blocky to me...like, literally lining up blocks in a curved pattern. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[shasta]

I'd be OK with something like those above.

They are still glass dominant curtain walls but the subtle details make them more interesting and less monolithic.

 

Let's hope the renderings are just initial studies and they challenge themselves to  work on the final orientation and detailing as the project moves through the design phases.

Edited February 28, 2021 by shasta

[TheSirDingle]

Discovery West > those towers. By FARRRR. 

[MidCenturyMoldy]

Looking at the façades on other BIG projects just makes me go "WHAAA???" with Discovery West.  https://bit.ly/3bNnIdJ

Edited February 28, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[swtsig]

20 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Looking at the façades on other BIG projects just makes me go "WHAAA???" with Discovery West.  https://bit.ly/3bNnIdJ

It's decisively their least "BIG" project, that's for sure.

[j_cuevas713]

Anyone know timeline?

[H-Town Man]

On 2/28/2021 at 2:14 PM, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Looking at the façades on other BIG projects just makes me go "WHAAA???" with Discovery West.  https://bit.ly/3bNnIdJ

A lot of those honestly make me lose respect for them. Too much of the "looky-there!" school of architecture, where the goal is just to show off some gravity-defying feat made possible by the use of steel, or some other magic trick. Looky-there! - a building that leans outward! Looky-there! - that one twists! Looky-there! - it's like a stack of blocks, and the blocks are going to faaaaaalll - no wait, they didn't!!

Probably the most famous Texas building in the "looky-there!" school is the JPMorgan Chase tower in Dallas, the one with the hole in it. Texas Heritage Plaza in Houston might be a contender for this school (an old-looking building sticking out of a new-looking building). Kids like these buildings.

Edited March 2, 2021 by H-Town Man

[MidCenturyMoldy]

2 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

Kids like these buildings.

Well, I guess that means my taste matches my advanced age then because Heritage Plaza (no ‘Texas’ in the name) is a hideous monstrosity and the building with the hole in it in Dallas is... thankfully in Dallas.

[Houston19514]

13 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Anyone know timeline?

Skanska plans to announce the construction timeline for 1550 on the Green after it receives all of the required permits. Records filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation show that construction of the building could begin as early as June 1, with an estimated completion date of May 1, 2023. 

[Montrose1100]

8 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Well, I guess that means my taste matches my advanced age then because Heritage Plaza (no ‘Texas’ in the name) is a hideous monstrosity and the building with the hole in it in Dallas is... thankfully in Dallas.

 

11 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

A lot of those honestly make me lose respect for them. Too much of the "looky-there!" school of architecture, where the goal is just to show off some gravity-defying feat made possible by the use of steel, or some other magic trick. Looky-there! - a building that leans outward! Looky-there! - that one twists! Looky-there! - it's like a stack of blocks, and the blocks are going to faaaaaalll - no wait, they didn't!!

Probably the most famous Texas building in the "looky-there!" school is the JPMorgan Chase tower in Dallas, the one with the hole in it. Texas Heritage Plaza in Houston might be a contender for this school (an old-looking building sticking out of a new-looking building). Kids like these buildings.

Does 2 Houston Center just absolutely do it for you two?

We have the most boring and safe architecture. The rest of the world gets something new and exciting and we here in Cowtown yell at it to get off our lawn. DARN KIDS.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

14 minutes ago, Montrose1100 said:

Does 2 Houston Center just absolutely do it for you two?

Not me. I'm the one who posted the link to BIG's more interesting work. I'm continuously disappointed (when not disgusted) by the timidity of Houston architecture. But Heritage Plaza is still awful.

Edited March 2, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[H-Town Man]

42 minutes ago, Montrose1100 said:

 

Does 2 Houston Center just absolutely do it for you two?

We have the most boring and safe architecture. The rest of the world gets something new and exciting and we here in Cowtown yell at it to get off our lawn. DARN KIDS.

Did anything in my post suggest I only like boring and safe architecture? One can have bold, innovative architecture without resorting to silly tricks and gimmickry. 

 

9 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Well, I guess that means my taste matches my advanced age then because Heritage Plaza (no ‘Texas’ in the name) is a hideous monstrosity and the building with the hole in it in Dallas is... thankfully in Dallas.

My post was obviously intended as a criticism of those buildings and I don't see how you could have possibly read it otherwise.

 

[MidCenturyMoldy]

25 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

My post was obviously intended as a criticism of those buildings and I don't see how you could have possibly read it otherwise.

I didn't. I was merely relieved that my taste is not that of a kid. (I'm being somewhat facetious, here.) Though, I must admit, I personally think even BIG's most gimmicky projects beat Heritage Plaza hands down.

 

Added note: My post with the link to photos of other BIG projects was specifically referring to their façades and not necessarily to the designs of the structures themselves.

Edited March 2, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[H-Town Man]

16 minutes ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

I didn't. I was merely relieved that my taste is not that of a kid. (I'm being somewhat facetious, here.) Though, I must admit, I personally think even BIG's most gimmicky projects beat Heritage Plaza hands down.

 

Added note: My post with the link to photos of other BIG projects was specifically referring to their façades and not necessarily to the designs of the structures themselves.

Ok. I did like some of the buildings in the image results you linked to. But some of them were gimmicky.

 

[Response]

3 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

 

Does 2 Houston Center just absolutely do it for you two?

We have the most boring and safe architecture. The rest of the world gets something new and exciting and we here in Cowtown yell at it to get off our lawn. DARN KIDS.

Cheer up. It's not all bad. On 2nd thought, do whatever you want. I'm just here for the photos and renderings too. Ya'll can keep the blah, blah. 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by Response

[Montrose1100]

1 hour ago, Response said:

Cheer up. It's not all bad. On 2nd thought, do whatever you want. I'm just here for the photos and renderings too. Ya'll can keep the blah, blah. 

It's really all bad. The Palm trees are brown, the recycled designs are boring, and the security guards of Houston Center are arguing with me on IG.

I'm mostly playing around. I'm Houston's biggest fan and hater. 

[hindesky]

https://realtynewsreport.com/cbre-leasing-new-tower-developed-by-skanska-in-downtown-houston/

 

[TheSirDingle]

A lot of speculation coming up.
 

I'm betting the tower behind 1550 is one of the residential towers, just looking at the floor height/count screams residential to me. It looks to be a little taller than 1550, but with about 10+ more floors. I'm counting in the range of 43-46 floors, so it might be around as tall as The Brava. I'm betting in the range of 360-390 units on this tower if it is purely residential, although it might be mixed-used, condos, or a mix of condos/rentals. Overall imo, I like the tower and its stairway to heaven ground floor, definitely gonna be a great addition if they hopefully build it.

Now onto this picture:

Quote

I might be reaching or going stupid, but this looks like the Dallas lot @La Branch St facing the Toyota center (this might of been pointed out already). I'm thinking this is a ground floor rendering of the Dallas lot tower, behind the MIPS lot. It looks to be following the general aesthetic of this Skanska development, but it's hard to tell what type of tower it is, although it looks to have a really good ground floor interaction. Now, one of the big things I noticed about this shot is the plaza/park in the foreground. 

I'm thinking they're about to shut off that portion of Dallas and making it a park/plaza, and they might even expand it towards the Marlowe lot?!?!?! I wouldn't say it's totally impossible, as presented by the renderings, but we'll have to wait and see. I also have a feeling they might of bought the rest of the Dallas lot, also we might be seeing a ghost of this tower behind the 1550 and Austin tower renderings.

Now the lot we haven't seen anything about is the Marlowe lot, I'm pretty interested in what they're going to put there considering the other renderings. Anyway, whatever they put there is better than what they have there right now, but the fact that it's this huge, great looking mixed-use project is one of the best things we could of hoped for. 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by TheSirDingle

[Brooklyn173]

I have found that early architectural renderings are seldom reality.

[toxtethogrady]

On 3/2/2021 at 12:05 PM, Montrose1100 said:

We have the most boring and safe architecture. The rest of the world gets something new and exciting and we here in Cowtown yell at it to get off our lawn. DARN KIDS.

The folks in Tel Aviv complain about their architecture all the time. Last time I looked, they had 200 skyscrapers going up and all variations on a theme....

 

[Response]

I get it. People just like to b¡tch. I realize that this is the exclusive purpose for which the internet was created. But it's odd that there would be a forum dedicated to Houston Architecture if EVERY building in Houston was safe and boring. Even odder to want to be a moderator of that website.

It would be like a homophobe moderating a gay booty call site.
Fascinated and disgusted at the same time?

⚢🏳️‍🌈

But i'm not judging. Everybody has bad days and over reacts every now and then. Except me. Just kidding. I over react all the fcking time. 🙃

I like this building just fine. No it isn't perfect. But the pluses far out weigh the negatives IMO. 

1. Adds some height to this part of DT

2. Completely covers up the worst side of the Embassy.

3. I happen to love glass buildings ever since I first saw the Towering Inferno burn up when I was a baby. 

4. Makes DiscoGreen just that much nicer. 

5. Roof (whichever building) has multi levels and/or slopes. Not all flat like most. This building has at least some drama to it. 

 

Now look at who's posting blah blah. Don't read this.

Edited March 12, 2021 by Response

[Montrose1100]

1 hour ago, Response said:

I get it. People just like to b¡tch. I realize that this is the exclusive purpose for which the internet was created. But it's odd that there would be a forum dedicated to Houston Architecture if EVERY building in Houston was safe and boring. Even odder to want to be a moderator of that website.

I'm just kidding around Response. I'd much rather Houston have a healthy stock of safe and boring than sad and ugly.

[Response]

Obsessed? If I was really obsessed, wouldn't I have responded to you a week ago? LOL. 

As Marie Barone once said on Everybody Love Raymond reruns, "It's not obsessed if you love someone." 

[HoustonBoy]

5 hours ago, Response said:

I get it. People just like to b¡tch. I realize that this is the exclusive purpose for which the internet was created. But it's odd that there would be a forum dedicated to Houston Architecture if EVERY building in Houston was safe and boring. Even odder to want to be a moderator of that website.

It would be like a homophobe moderating a gay booty call site.
Fascinated and disgusted at the same time?

⚢🏳️‍🌈

But i'm not judging. Everybody has bad days and over reacts every now and then. Except me. Just kidding. I over react all the fcking time. 🙃

I like this building just fine. No it isn't perfect. But the pluses far out weigh the negatives IMO. 

1. Adds some height to this part of DT

2. Completely covers up the worst side of the Embassy.

3. I happen to love glass buildings ever since I first saw the Towering Inferno burn up when I was a baby. 

4. Makes DiscoGreen just that much nicer. 

5. Roof (whichever building) has multi levels and/or slopes. Not all flat like most. This building has at least some drama to it. 

 

Now look at who's posting blah blah. Don't read this.

If you squint, tilt your head to the right, spin around three times, hop on one leg, and say "Hines" four times into a mirror it sort of looks like there's a supertall peeking out from behind the building. One can dream.

[jmitch94]

Sorry no pictures and I didn’t get a great look since I noticed at the last second but I saw a large bobcat loading stuff into a dump truck. I might be able to swing by later and get a shot. 

[tangledwoods]

Skanska has a prebid meeting on May 3rd.  you might see some more renderings if you attend.  Just make sure you tell them you are a contractor interested in bidding not a nosy internet forum troll.

 

https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E22AQHOmYBT7rHhfg/feedshare-shrink_2048_1536/0/1619122278382?e=1622073600&v=beta&t=ZvCqgdqJipRD60diV9pJUPT01X_NeS86-cw2DZ9jjfw

Edited April 23, 2021 by tangledwoods

[Response]

Can't I be both?

[BeerNut]

7 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

Skanska has a prebid meeting on May 3rd.  you might see some more renderings if you attend.  Just make sure you tell them you are a contractor interested in bidding not a nosy internet forum troll.

 

https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E22AQHOmYBT7rHhfg/feedshare-shrink_2048_1536/0/1619122278382?e=1622073600&v=beta&t=ZvCqgdqJipRD60diV9pJUPT01X_NeS86-cw2DZ9jjfw

[hindesky]

[TheSirDingle]

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

Tie Backs (for reinforcing retaining walls) and Soldier Piers (For load spreading for the foundation I think)

Air Rights:

List after April 1st 

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

[HNathoo]

12 hours ago, TheSirDingle said:

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

Tie Backs (for reinforcing retaining walls) and Soldier Piers (For load spreading for the foundation I think)

Air Rights:

List after April 1st 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen air rights be referenced on a Houston permit. Why would that be a thing without zoning? 

[Nate99]

The concrete posts around the perimeter of the hole here are the "soldier piers" correct? 

 

[Nate99]

[Texasota]

That detailing actually looks more interesting than it seemed in the renderings.

[MarathonMan]

Quick question:  Are these mock-ups required to be displayed?  If so, why?

[Triton]

Oh that's what they've been building? It's been there as an open square since last week but my wife and I thought it was going to be an art installation or something.. Pretty cool this is a sign of this project moving ahead after all.

[texan]

9 hours ago, MarathonMan said:

Quick question:  Are these mock-ups required to be displayed?  If so, why?

I think it's something done to validate designs onsite. Essentially to make sure the designs work if there's any strange lighting or odd conditions at the site that weren't accounted for in the design process and could affect how the building looks.

[tangledwoods]

Quote

Quick question:  Are these mock-ups required to be displayed?  If so, why?

 

Mockups fall into two categories 1) visual 2) performance.

1) Visual mockups are for the owner / designer to approve colors, details

2) Performance mockups are for the designer and contractor to figure out waterproofing / weird details that are tricky.

Many contracts will also require a mockup on site during construction that can be compared back to for quality control assurance.  

 

[hindesky]

[Paco Jones]

Project:

1550 on the Green

 

Address:

1550 Lamar St.

Houston, TX 77010

 

Architects:

Bjarke Ingels Group (Design Consultant)

Kendall/Heaton Associates (Architect of Record)

Michael Hsu (Interior Architect)

 

Information:

Block 250 (aka 1550 on the Green) is located across discovery green in downtown Houston. The current design includes a 28 story cast-in-place concrete structure (level 13 is skipped) with curtainwall and metal panel facade. This project consists of a 2-level garage basement, parking on levels 3-8, office levels on levels 9-28 and terraces on levels 12,20 & 28.

Total Garage Area:   214,337 SF

Total Office & Terrace Area:   454,259 SF

Start Date:   June 15, 2021

Completion Date:   November 29, 2023
 

 

 

[JBTX]

2 hours ago, Paco Jones said:

Very polite of BIG to leave a cut out for Embassy Suites' signage. 

[tangledwoods]

1. this is going to be a tricky building to build
2. that floor plan makes sense but hot digidty that is about 13lbs in a 10lb bag
3. skanska stock is at pretty much an all time high, they got money so might as well pump it into houston
4. I wonder if part of their underground work will be future connectivity to their other block to the north

[X.R.]

They have put together an all-star team of design, hopefully this bodes well for what they think of the Houston market and any other holdings they have *ahem* Montrose *ahem*.

The design, given the space its working with (can it be any tighter?), has been growing on me and I'm at the point now where if they choose the right glass it could be stunning. 

[j_cuevas713]

I feel like Embassy Suites is going to remodel their facade soon. They’re going to be the ugly kid on the block if they don’t do something. 

[JBTX]

1 minute ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I feel like Embassy Suites is going to remodel their facade soon. They’re going to be the ugly kid on the block if they don’t do something. 

"Going to be" as opposed to "is?"