Discovery West: Mixed-Use Development Downtown By Skanska

[enriquewx91]

Chances this actual happens? low im guessing given current events

[LBC2HTX]

30 minutes ago, enriquewx91 said:

Chances this actual happens? low im guessing given current events

100% chance given that they have an anchor tenant

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

2 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

I suspect that BIG would not want to put their name on anything with a skybridge.

 

they put their name on this, so anything could happen.

[Triton]

10 hours ago, enriquewx91 said:

Chances this actual happens? low im guessing given current events

I am not usually certain about office projects but this one is a sure bet. Already has a major tenant.

[HoustonIsHome]

On 2/24/2021 at 10:57 PM, democide said:

So will this office building be connected to the tunnel system via a tunnel or skywalk? 

I hope not. I know of all the convenience of the tunnels (weather and all that)  but I am hoping for less of a reliance on all that. 

Would be nice if they were used only for times of bad weather but people use those things all time making downtown seem like it has 20 employees instead of hundreds of thousands. And we demand street level retail when three tunnels make it so that 95% of the people never have to walk at street level.

Houston employee base is huge. Having that many people walking around would definitely improve the street level retail. Especially if tenants had to cross the street or exit the building to get to their cars.

Again I understand the reluctance to EVER leave our climate controlled bubbles, or God forbid, run into a homeless person

 

 

 

[tigereye]

14 hours ago, Triton said:

I am not usually certain about office projects but this one is a sure bet. Already has a major tenant.

Fulbright we know of for Block 250. 

What is the confidence level of Block 251 tower? 

[HoustonBoy]

I love the steps, but I'm really not liking all the glass on these buildings 

[Big E]

On 2/24/2021 at 1:17 PM, Triton said:

Not sure why this one wasn't posted. This makes Phase 2 very distinct from the one we've already seen around Discovery Green.

 

Looks like there may be a third, taller building behind the wrap around in this pic (check out the very top of the building).

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

10 hours ago, tigereye said:

Fulbright we know of for Block 250. 

What is the confidence level of Block 251 tower? 

It's Skanska. 100%. Eventually.

[shasta]

21 hours ago, HoustonBoy said:

I love the steps, but I'm really not liking all the glass on these buildings 

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?

[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.