Museum Of Fine Arts Houston At 1001 Bissonnet St.

[danielsonr]

https://public.earthcam.net/MFAHPII/Museum of Fine Arts Expansion/MFAH Expansion - Work Zone Cam/View 1

[bobruss]

Drove by the corner of Main and Binz today and noticed they have started installing the outer shell. It appears to be some sort of acrylic individual half round column like panels that might be eight to ten feet tall. They probably stick out from the supports 9". It's going to be a very interesting undulating surface of glowing white light. Someone needs to get by tomorrow and take some pictures so everyone will see what I'm trying to describe. My description probably isn't very clear.

[jmitch94]

54 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Drove by the corner of Main and Binz today and noticed they have started installing the outer shell. It appears to be some sort of acrylic individual half round column like panels that might be eight to ten feet tall. They probably stick out from the supports 9". It's going to be a very interesting undulating surface of glowing white light. Someone needs to get by tomorrow and take some pictures so everyone will see what I'm trying to describe. My description probably isn't very clear.

 

 

Ill try to swing by if I can remember. 

[jmitch94]

A day late but here ya go. 

 

 

 

 

Some of the panels going up

 

 

Closer view of them. 

 

 

 

Shot looking into the inside of the building. 

 

[bobruss]

Thats great. Thanks jmitch94, for all of the great photos! They've made progress since I first saw them installing the panels. I cant wait to see those lights turn on. I bet the first night they test them there will be a crowd..

 It's going to be amazing. It will create a real buzz, because the landscape and overall master plan are going to make the whole campus connect and be a magnet for visitors,  that will drawn to the light! Are you ready?

[jmitch94]

44 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Thats great. Thanks jmitch94, for all of the great photos! They've made progress since I first saw them installing the panels. I cant wait to see those lights turn on. I bet the first night they test them there will be a crowd..

 It's going to be amazing. It will create a real buzz, because the landscape and overall master plan are going to make the whole campus connect and be a magnet for visitors,  that will drawn to the light! Are you ready?

 

Y'all keep an eye out for any update videos/pictures from the museum or contractor. I saw a guy in a hard hat and vest behind the fence with what looked like a drone controller. 

[hindesky]

Will the panels be backlit?

Earthcam.

[danielsonr]

Yes. From Steven Holl Architects website, here is a photo of what appears to be a mock up of the lighting...

Edited July 6, 2019 by danielsonr

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[bobruss]

I'm pretty sure the building will always be white. Let's save the colored lights for commercial and medical towers.

Museums should let the art stand for itself. They will have art sculptures and water features, on the outside of the building and it shouldn't have to compete with the building.

The white will not become boring its going to be beautiful.

[Naviguessor]

Please let it be a static tone.  The changing color LED lights have become a design cliché, which is way overused in my opinion. 

[Luminare]

On 7/6/2019 at 12:08 PM, bobruss said:

I'm pretty sure the building will always be white. Let's save the colored lights for commercial and medical towers.

Museums should let the art stand for itself. They will have art sculptures and water features, on the outside of the building and it shouldn't have to compete with the building.

The white will not become boring its going to be beautiful.

 

5 minutes ago, Naviguessor said:

Please let it be a static tone.  The changing color LED lights have become a design cliché, which is way overused in my opinion. 

 

Agree with both. Dynamic colors feels more commerical as its a type that needs as much attention as possible. A museum is already going to get that kind of attention. A museum wants to be more stately and calm. Plus its at a very prime spot in the district. Making it all kinds of crazy colors will just make it look like its trying too hard. "KISS" (Keep It Simple Stupid) isn't just for the military it also applies a lot to design.

EDIT: I will say, I'm holding judgement on the exterior for now. I was a bit put off by how wide these tubes initially looked. I really thought they were going to be a lot more slender. Right now they feel a bit...fat. Lets wait to see the full build out.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Luminare

[gene]

8 minutes ago, Naviguessor said:

Please let it be a static tone.  The changing color LED lights have become a design cliché, which is way overused in my opinion. 

 

amen to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it is just cheesy in my opinion...i always laugh when i see pools with changing lights...just looks cheap

and unfortunately the new lit/metal christmas trees along post oak will be changing colors...saw them out and testing them a couple of weeks ago!

i think plain white looks classy more than boring.

(edited to say that for events and holidays i do not mind a color element or multiple colors etc...but a static color as @Naviguessor said!)

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by gene

[Luminare]

2 minutes ago, gene said:

 

amen to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it is just cheesy in my opinion...i always laugh when i see pools with changing lights...just looks cheap

and unfortunately the new lit/metal christmas trees along post oak will be changing colors...saw them out and testing them a couple of weeks ago!

i think plain white looks classy more than boring.

 

 

Yeah, but thats Post Oak. That screams I WANT ATTENTION. It matches for that area. We aren't a Dallas that is flashy (which I appreciate). However, I'm tolerant of having one area in town that has that flashy identity. Museum district should have a calmer and more stately vibe.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Luminare

[thatguysly]

I think it'll be white 95% of the time, kind of like The Post Oak diamonds. Then for major events or something they can be changed. The Post Oak went red for Rockets playoff wins.

 

The only changing LED colors I support are the arches on 59/69. It adds a lot to an otherwise barren "canal" on the highway. Of course it looks bad when some of the lights go out or don't change correctly.

[htownproud]

I think white will get boring, but I agree totally flashy is not needed.  Perhaps keep all the tubes the same color, but have them change color once an hour (e.g, white from 9:00 to 10:00, blue from 10:00 to 11:00, green from 11:00 to 12:00, and so on).  

[Naviguessor]

I always believed that the concept of the lit structure was to backlight the big Live Oaks around the property, which I thought was a very nice move as it respects the existing beauty of the area as well as provide a gentle light to the streetscape. I just don't think that this subtle effect would work with anything other than white.    

[H-Town Man]

1 hour ago, Luminare said:

 

Yeah, but thats Post Oak. That screams I WANT ATTENTION. It matches for that area. We aren't a Dallas that is flashy (which I appreciate). However, I'm tolerant of having one area in town that has that flashy identity. Museum district should have a calmer and more stately vibe.

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Angostura]

On 7/6/2019 at 10:26 AM, danielsonr said:

Yes. From Steven Holl Architects website, here is a photo of what appears to be a mock up of the lighting...

 

 

This will look great until the back lights start burning out. It doesn't appear to be designed for easy maintenance.

 

[jmitch94]

31 minutes ago, Angostura said:

 

This will look great until the back lights start burning out. It doesn't appear to be designed for easy maintenance.

 

 

I'm sure a nearly half billion dollar project like this will think of maintenance.  

[H-Town Man]

41 minutes ago, Angostura said:

 

This will look great until the back lights start burning out. It doesn't appear to be designed for easy maintenance.

 

 

Or the white surfaces start getting stains, esp. from rainy weather.

 

[danielsonr]

6 hours ago, Luminare said:

I will say, I'm holding judgement on the exterior for now. I was a bit put off by how wide these tubes initially looked. I really thought they were going to be a lot more slender. Right now they feel a bit...fat. Lets wait to see the full build out.

That was my initial reaction as well. The building renderings suggest more slender tubes. But, the renderings are also from a different perspective than the photos of the actual installed tubes.

[Urbannizer]

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6551842492801658881/

 

 

 

 

[jmitch94]

The roof is very Frank Gehry looking and I like it. 

[H-Town Man]

On ‎7‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 9:33 PM, jmitch94 said:

The roof is very Frank Gehry looking and I like it. 

 

It is indeed. People viewing this museum by helicopter will feel their knees wobble and their jaws drop. People visiting it on the ground will have to rely on photographs for the full effect.

 

[bobruss]

No, those people on the ground will be able to walk up a flight of stairs to the top of the Glassell and get pretty much the view.

[Luminare]

7 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

It is indeed. People viewing this museum by helicopter will feel their knees wobble and their jaws drop. People visiting it on the ground will have to rely on photographs for the full effect.

 

 

Lets just wait till we see the interiors of those spaces. At that maybe we can throw ropes from those helicopters to pull people up 'action hero' style.

[X.R.]

6 hours ago, bobruss said:

No, those people on the ground will be able to walk up a flight of stairs to the top of the Glassell and get pretty much the view.

 

Shhhh, its like the best kept secret of that area. I go up there 8pm-ish and theres barely that many people, while theres still a bunch of people milling around and looking at the statutes below. 

 

But that will be a fantastic place to see it. It looked like they had a decent part of the portion facing montrose up already, might try to snap a pic today or tomorrow.

[bobruss]

The views up there are spectacular, but I won't tell a soul.

[clutchcity94]

14 hours ago, X.R. said:

 

Shhhh, its like the best kept secret of that area. I go up there 8pm-ish and theres barely that many people, while theres still a bunch of people milling around and looking at the statutes below. 

 

But that will be a fantastic place to see it. It looked like they had a decent part of the portion facing montrose up already, might try to snap a pic today or tomorrow.

 

Being up there is one of my favorite places in the city to relax. My house is only a 10-minute walk from there and I bought the house in Montrose two years ago when Glassell was still under construction, so this public space has been a particularly great amenity for me - wasn’t even a selling point when we bought!

[jmitch94]

17 hours ago, bobruss said:

The views up there are spectacular, but I won't tell a soul.

 

 

I often take dates up there and it always amazes them with the views. Great pace to talk and stare off into the distance.  Funny story I once took a date there after going to a wine bar but didn't realize that you cant walk up there after a certain hour so I tried to bribe the guard but he stayed true to his mission. She liked the gesture. 

[H-Town Man]

1 hour ago, jmitch94 said:

 

 

I often take dates up there and it always amazes them with the views. Great pace to talk and stare off into the distance.  Funny story I once took a date there after going to a wine bar but didn't realize that you cant walk up there after a certain hour so I tried to bribe the guard but he stayed true to his mission. She liked the gesture. 

 

"Oh yeah? Closed, you say? Well... let's see if Abe Lincoln makes you say otherwise!" (side wink at girlfriend)

 

"Umm, sorry, the roof really is closed."

 

[bobruss]

I know some were upset with the scale of the tubes compared to what they had seen in the model, but I was looking at the model and those tubes in scale are just about exactly the same as the ones in real life. I also think that once the whole building is clad and you have floor to rooftop tubes they won't look so wide. I know through experience that anytime you look at something that is unfinished, it many times looks wrong or you don't get the effect that was intended until it's finished. If that makes sense.

[Luminare]

33 minutes ago, bobruss said:

I know some were upset with the scale of the tubes compared to what they had seen in the model, but I was looking at the model and those tubes in scale are just about exactly the same as the ones in real life. I also think that once the whole building is clad and you have floor to rooftop tubes they won't look so wide. I know through experience that anytime you look at something that is unfinished, it many times looks wrong or you don't get the effect that was intended until it's finished. If that makes sense.

 

Typical with anything design wise. The whole process one continuously doubts oneself until it all suddenly clicks and comes together. Every render/visualization I ever construct for a building is exactly this. Somehow it just comes together at a point. I'm still trying to figure it all out. Its a headache yet beautiful process.

[hindesky]

[Luminare]

34 minutes ago, hindesky said:

 

Oddly enough. Its almost as if this is a reflection of the previous Glassell School with its all glass block facade.

[DarklyMoron]

While obviously different materials, I'm seeing a kindred spirit in CAMH's cladding.

[H-Town Man]

31 minutes ago, DarklyMoron said:

While obviously different materials, I'm seeing a kindred spirit in CAMH's cladding.

 

Yeah, it also reminds me of the metal-sided townhomes in 4th Ward and elsewhere. I'm trying to withhold judgment on this. I am a person who likes permanent materials, like stone. I know, I know, stone isn't permanent.

 

[bobruss]

I'm not sure if anyone has posted this before but if they have I apologize. 

This is a link to the MFAH new campus. It's an overview of the project and I found it informative and fun to watch.

I hope you enjoy.

https://www.mfah.org/blogs/futuremfah/watch-a-glimpse-of-the-futuremfah

Edited July 27, 2019 by bobruss

[hindesky]

From Reddit,  u/butterbuns_megatron wrongly said this was a view of downtown Houston. I corrected him/her.

 

[danielsonr]

Interesting perspective. I assume this is from the scaffolding on St. Paul's bell tower?

[bobruss]

 Are they repointing the stone at St Pauls?

[MarathonMan]

1 hour ago, danielsonr said:

Interesting perspective. I assume this is from the scaffolding on St. Paul's bell tower?

I think this is the scaffolding on the MFAH site.  Northeast corner along Main St.

[hindesky]

Light diffusing panels going up on the Main St. side only.

 

[hindesky]

 

 

Looks like pieces of granite/marble.

 

[hindesky]

Slowly wrapping around the building. Now working on the north side in the first pic.

 

 

 

[hindesky]

North side.

[hindesky]

Tower crane on Main St is coming down right now.

https://www.mfah.org/about/campus-redevelopment/

[Sunstar]

I can’t wait to see this sucker lit up. It’s going to look great!

[hindesky]

According to a McCarthy worker I talked to during the tower crane removal, the other cranes will come down toward the end of the year and beginning of next year. McCarthy will finish around October 2020 and turn it over to the museum. He showed me a couple of pics of a test lighting of the glass panels. There won't be lights behind every single panel but just portions of them. For those worried about colored lights he said they would only be white lights, no gimmicky colored lights since it's a classy museum not a circus.