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River Oaks Plaza Redevelopment: Multifamily High-Rise At 1414 Waugh Dr.


dbigtex56

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The headline to Lisa Gray's recent article in the Houston Chronicle regarding the alterations to River Oaks Plaza says it best: Beige, Blotchy and Bland.

Quote:"The snappy black-and-white buildings are turning beige. Fake stucco and more of that blotchy sandstone are covering the nifty old bricks. Above the building's canopies, new, taller parapet facades screw up the once-low-slung center's proportions, and allow more room for bigger, brighter signs."

I'm with you, Lisa, and am stunned that anyone feels that this botched-up job is in any way an improvement.

 

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The headline to Lisa Gray's recent article in the Houston Chronicle regarding the alterations to River Oaks Plaza says it best: Beige, Blotchy and Bland.

Quote:"The snappy black-and-white buildings are turning beige. Fake stucco and more of that blotchy sandstone are covering the nifty old bricks. Above the building's canopies, new, taller parapet facades screw up the once-low-slung center's proportions, and allow more room for bigger, brighter signs."

I'm with you, Lisa, and am stunned that anyone feels that this botched-up job is in any way an improvement.

(If there's an existing thread on this topic, please merge.)

It is really hard to watch people actually working on making something ugly, and it really is ugly. Like someone intentionally parking an elegant classic car on the rail road tracks.

Unfortunately, Ms. Gray fails to mention the tacky heart-works scattered across the property and featured at the formerly prominent entranceway.

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It is ugly.. but i think demolished would be worse.

Unfortunately for us.. this particular architectural gem that we love is a retail store. Not a museum, not a church, not a house... just a string of stores.

Retail is business and signage and rents really do matter to landlords and tenants, more so than style. So that leaves us out of luck for having loved the wrong piece of architecture.

River Oaks is a lost cause. It will have ceased to be special once the transformation is complete.

Will that stop me from shopping there occasionally.. no.

Is ugly, boring, and a reminder of a beautiful center better than gone.. I think so.

Edited by Highway6
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  • 1 month later...

I think that e-mail must have gotten to her for her to write a follow-up article about it. It's unfortunate, since the e-mail mixes a bad premise - that all discussion of architecture and the urban environment should be left to owners and developers - with schoolyard-type bullying. Stuff like that doesn't deserve a second thought.

I do wonder who these people are, who act as unpaid cheerleaders for corporations focused on the bottom line and shareholder value. Are the board members at Weingarten breathing a collective sigh of relief now that some local economic freedom fighter has voluntarily written a letter to a Chronicle arts reporter taking up their cause?

And then of course there's the question, why am I giving it a second thought? I guess because, as dismissible as something like this deserves to be, it can't be ignored, simply because there are too many people in Houston who think like the e-mailer, and it has a real effect on the city. To be more specific, there are too many people who associate public opinion and influence on architecture and urban development with the end of Freedom and the American Experiment, and some sort of descent toward Stalinism. Their arguments aren't very learned or logical, but they're loud, and they have influence.

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The headline to Lisa Gray's recent article in the Houston Chronicle regarding the alterations to River Oaks Plaza says it best: Beige, Blotchy and Bland.

Quote:"The snappy black-and-white buildings are turning beige. Fake stucco and more of that blotchy sandstone are covering the nifty old bricks. Above the building's canopies, new, taller parapet facades screw up the once-low-slung center's proportions, and allow more room for bigger, brighter signs."

I'm with you, Lisa, and am stunned that anyone feels that this botched-up job is in any way an improvement.

(If there's an existing thread on this topic, please merge.)

You know, I struggle to understand America's obsession with beige buildings. Go out to the suburbs and there are entire communities of beige houses. Has there ever been an era in architectural design so dominated by one color? I am convinced that when architectural historians look back on our time they will label it 'The Age of Beige'.

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Their arguments aren't very learned or logical, but they're loud, and they have influence.

Sounds like every other mainstream movement in the course of human history. You name it. The acceptance and backing of the bottom quartile is a prerequisite to becoming relevant.

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You know, I struggle to understand America's obsession with beige buildings. Go out to the suburbs and there are entire communities of beige houses. Has there ever been an era in architectural design so dominated by one color? I am convinced that when architectural historians look back on our time they will label it 'The Age of Beige'.

Here it's hardly noticeable. I just got back from Jordan, where every building actually is the same color - beige. I tried to find some beauty or even interest in it, but by the time I left I decided it was just completely depressing.

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Maybe in the future, someone with some sense will reverse this travesty when it is time to renovate the exterior again....in about another thirty years.

Think Midtown Sears and the strip center at Westheimer & Montrose. They were once art deco beauties. It will never happen.

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  • The title was changed to River Oaks Plaza Developments
  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...
  • The title was changed to 34-Story Multifamily High-Rise At 1414 Waugh Dr.

  

2 hours ago, cityliving said:

Yes, I saw that, looks like the River Oaks plaza will be torn down?



Should this be merged with the River Oaks Plaza topic?

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/24988-river-oaks-plaza-developments


 

River Oaks Plaza's address is 1414-1576 W Gray St. From the provided documents, the owners of River Oaks Plaza are building a mixed-use development with residential in its place.

http://camdensec.com/portfolio-items/river-oaks-plaza/

Edited by IntheKnowHouston
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  • The title was changed to 34-Story Multifamily High-Rise At 1414 Waugh Dr. (River Oaks Plaza Redevelopment)
  • The title was changed to 34-Story Multifamily High-Rise At 1414 Waugh Dr.

I really like the service alley and the separated garages so everything facing Waugh serves people rather than cars. The building itself is reasonably handsome though a bit too officey looking. If it werent for the balconies it would just be an above average office building. But it's not bad.

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  • The title was changed to River Oaks Plaza Redevelopment: 34-Story Multifamily High-Rise At 1414 Waugh Dr.
  • The title was changed to River Oaks Plaza Redevelopment - 34-Story Multifamily High-Rise At 1414 Waugh Dr.

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