JPMorgan Chase Tower At 600 Travis St.

[kylejack]

Here's a picture I took of it 2 days ago. As you can see its still in pretty rough shape, and prognosis negative on getting into the Sky Lobby. Even Wells Fargo still has some boarded windows.

[longcat]

I am not absolutely certain, but I doubt if sky lobby windows were blown out. (1) The vast majority of the blown -out windows were on the east side of the building, while the sky lobby windows face south-ish. (2) The vast majority of the blown out windows were below the 45th floor. The sky lobby is at what, 60?

I can see that side of the tower from my office window and the sky lobby windows appear to be undamaged. I have no idea if you can get up there though.

[editor]

Here's a picture I took of it 2 days ago. As you can see its still in pretty rough shape, and prognosis negative on getting into the Sky Lobby. Even Wells Fargo still has some boarded windows.

Wow. That's pretty telling that a month later it still looks the same. I bet the insides took a good thrashing.

[HtownWxBoy]

Windows are still boarded up but the observation deck is open... my family was in town this past weekend and I took them up there.

[kylejack]

Wow. That's pretty telling that a month later it still looks the same. I bet the insides took a good thrashing.

Yes, I was downtown right after the storm before they had a police presence and there was paperwork, staplers, and yes even desks strewn all over the street in a million pieces. That's probably why the police had the street blocked off for so long, because I'm sure there were all kinds of corporate secrets laying all over the streets.

[Houston19514]

Wow. That's pretty telling that a month later it still looks the same. I bet the insides took a good thrashing.

I was talking to the manager of one of the other skyscrapers downtown (one with relatively very few windows damaged). He said it will take a long time (many months) to get all the windows replaced. Just takes a while to get those windows and get them installed.

[new major on the block]

I have no idea.

Well someone needs to clear this up and find out officially. Obviously the owners of the building seem to think its as tall as they say it is as well as the rumer about it being originally planned as an 80 story tower and such about the FAA. It seems to be up in the air. Until someone shows concrete facts about this building, and i mean like actual survey measurements or the actual blueprints or even an interview with I.M. Pei, i have no clue who to believe. If Hines is saying it then im gonna start to believe their facts seeing as they own it.

[VicMan]

I think the reason why there is a disparity in the height measurements is because there are many ways to measure a building's height.

* Do you include only what is above ground, or do you include what is below ground too?

* Do you include the antenna in the measurements, or do you not include it?

* Do you measure up to the last floor with office, retail, and/or residential space, or do you go beyond that?

[editor]

JPMORGAN CHASE TOWER AWARDED LEED® GOLD

Tallest Building in Texas Goes Green

 

(HOUSTON) – The Houston office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that JPMorgan Chase Tower has received Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® for Existing Buildings Rating System.

Chase Tower is a 1.6 million-square-foot, 75-story office building that was designed by I.M. Pei & Partners and was developed by Hines in 1982.  It remains the tallest building in Texas.

With a current ENERGY STAR rating of 91, the building is 46 percent more energy efficient and annually saves $1.48 per square foot in energy costs when compared to the national average office building.  This translates into estimated greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to removing 3,670 cars from the road.

Green features and programs include: reduction of indoor potable water use through low-flow fixtures; reclamation of non-potable water for irrigation; the use of energy efficient lighting with reduced mercury content; environmentally sensitive cleaning products; a comprehensive recycling and waste diversion program; green build-out guidelines for tenants; and the implementation of a comprehensive and ongoing retro-commissioning program, among other things.

Hines Senior Vice President John Mooz said, “JPMorgan Chase Tower represents Hines’ ninth LEED certification in Houston.  We are hearing a clear message from major tenants that LEED is a significant decision point in leasing.”

Hines worked closely with Kirksey’s EcoServices group, which played an instrumental role in managing the administrative aspects of the LEED certification process.

JPMorgan Chase Tower is 92 percent leased to a number of world-class companies, including: Andrews Kurth LLP; Cooper Industries; JPMorgan Chase & Co; LINN Energy; Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP; Morgan Stanley; Sanders Morris Harris Group; and Winstead PC, among others.  The property is owned by Texas Tower Limited and managed and leased by Hines.

 Globally Hines is responsible for 145 projects, representing more than 89 million square feet that have been certified, pre-certified or registered under the various LEED rating systems.  Hines was a founding member of the German Sustainable Building Council, and is active in the BRE Environmental Assessment Method program in the United Kingdom and the Haute Qualité Environnementale program in France.

In 2009 Hines was recognized by the EPA, for the second time, with the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award; Hines has 138 buildings, representing approximately 77 million square feet that have earned the ENERGY STAR label.  Twelve Hines development or redevelopment projects, representing more than six million square feet, have been designated as Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR.

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,111 properties representing more than 449 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.  Hines has offices in more than 100 cities in 17 countries and controls assets valued at approximately $22.9 billion.  Visit www.hines.com for more information.  To learn more about sustainability at Hines, visit www.hines.com/sustainability

[Simbha]

I've seen these two figures posted for JPMorgan Chase in Downtown - 1,002 ft and 1,049 ft. Which is correct?

It's my understanding that the former is the height from street level and the latter is the height from the sunken plaza. If that's correct, then it seems to me that 1,049 ft is the right height for the building. I recognize that building heights are measured from 'street level' but what does that actually mean? I'm 6' tall. I don't suddenly become 5'8" just because I take one step down a set of stairs.

I'd like to better understand this from others who are better informed.

I suppose my interest is in the bragging rights: Do we have the tallest building in the US outside NYC and Chicago?

[Houston19514]

I've seen these two figures posted for JPMorgan Chase in Downtown - 1,002 ft and 1,049 ft. Which is correct?

It's my understanding that the former is the height from street level and the latter is the height from the sunken plaza. If that's correct, then it seems to me that 1,049 ft is the right height for the building. I recognize that building heights are measured from 'street level' but what does that actually mean? I'm 6' tall. I don't suddenly become 5'8" just because I take one step down a set of stairs.

I'd like to better understand this from others who are better informed.

I suppose my interest is in the bragging rights: Do we have the tallest building in the US outside NYC and Chicago?

What sunken plaza?

[RedScare]

What sunken plaza?

The one next to Wells Fargo Tower. Somehow, it makes JPMC Tower taller.

[TheNiche]

The one next to Wells Fargo Tower. Somehow, it makes JPMC Tower taller.

If you had watched the video, you'd know how to adjust for the distance of testicles from the base by now, and you'd know that it does not make the tower taller.

[Simbha]

What sunken plaza?

The one next to Wells Fargo Tower. Somehow, it makes JPMC Tower taller.

Oops, I meant lobby. I haven't been there in over a decade, but I believe there are several stories underground, no? Or, am I remembering things incorrectly?

Regardless, I've heard both figures for the tower. Which is correct?

[Montrose1100]

Both JP Chase tower & Wells Fargo have tunnel entrance lobbies. However, Wells Fargo has their sunken plaza outside the doors of the building as well as in the building.

[LTAWACS]

I believe it is 1,002 ft.

[towerjunkie]

I'm sure most of you know about the tallest tower in this magnificent city, right? Well I was just wondering. Would it be a good or bad thing if the JP Morgan Chase tower was redeveloped. Similar to the 800 Bell redevelopment and the Mickey Leland Building renovation. So would it be a good thing to renovate or just remain the same?

 

 

[jt16]

It's a pretty modern building as is. What exactly needs renovation?

[Subdude]

I'm not sure that redesign to update buildings is always a good idea.  In the 1960s a lot of buildings downtown were "modernized", and it mainly served to destroy their character and architectural integrity.  I would leave the Chase Tower be.

 

 

[Montrose1100]

Absolutely not. Renovate the interior if anything, but it has a timeless look, so NO!

Remember when they were going to redo the Sears Tower to be a lighter grey? Awful! There is no reason to redo a facade to update something. I know it's not a favorite building for most people but I absolutely love it's design and I think it's a very unique building.

It's color also blends nicely in our pallot of a skyline.

Erasing history is not cool, and maybe a 100 years from now, it will be as much appreciated as it should be. I mean, this building was the first +1,000ft skyscraper outside of New York and Chicago in the entire world when it was built. And do what with it? Turn it into another blue glass boring facade?

[strickn]

It has somewhat perturbed me that I.M. Pei put a hundred thousand square foot sheet-glass wall on the west facade of Texas Commerce Tower.  It appears like a move absent-minded at best, considering the glare that will blare through the floorplates of the offices inside.  

Why, too, plant the parking block on Main Street and the pedestrian plaza facing the permanently dead travertine windowlessness of Jones Hall, instead of vice versa?  Here is what I learned.

 

 

After Hines signed on to the project in 1977, he made a list of the architects he thought were most capable in the world of giving "a real gift to Houston", as the president of Texas Commerce Bank said to his friends.

 

-- in part from Texas Monthly/May 1980;  p. 117

 

 

Minoru Yamasaki (Troy, Michigan)

Romaldo Giurgola (Philadelphia)

Hermon Lloyd (Houston, Lloyd Jones Brewer & Associates)

J. V. Neuhaus III (Houston, 3D/International)

Cesar Pelli (New Haven)

I. M. Pei (New York)

"Tiny" Lawrence (Houston, CRS Group)

 

-- in part from Texas Monthly/May 1980;  p. 253-4

 

 

Property acquisition had begun ten years before with the site of the old Montgomery Ward at the corner of Travis and Capitol, and continuing across from the Rice Hotel.  Jesse Jones' Houston Endowment had built Jones Hall in 1966 to buttress the north end of the business district as development threatened to move suddenly south.

Jones' National Bank of Commerce, headquartered in the Gulf Building - which he had built - had a financial interest in remaining at the center of the exchanges of money and contact, whereas its larger rival First City National Bank had an interest in pulling the center of power away from it.  First City National kept a crucial lot tied up for years adjoining Montgomery Ward's.  I suppose that National Bank of Commerce (after a 1970 amendment to the federal acts about bank holding companies, it would gobble thirty or forty local banks into Texas Commerce Bancshares) could have built a taller tower around the holdout to get the same square footage with a Main Street address, but at the time they were focused on a shorter, full-block edifice.   By the time the invitation went out to eight architects (one named nowhere above), focus had shifted a block to the northwest, where we find the tower today.  A full block lot was available there, and some say the tunnels had shifted downtown to the west.

 

Each designer was given an honorarium whether or not they elected to present a model, and was given a month to examine the site.  Then everyone met in an auditorium at the Gulf Building for a marathon session of deliveries.  Pei "talked almost as much about Jesse Jones and Jones Hall as he did his own building... and he spoke of Jones Hall as a civic monument in almost reverential tones."  He would leave an acre of open space immediately opposite the concert hall and would "also face Pennzoil Place, at a 45 degree angle to the street grid, thereby reflecting light in a different direction from any of the other skyscrapers and providing a line-of-sight link between the Gulf Building, the monument of Jones' life, and Jones Hall, the building erected after his death.  The enormous space created by the one-acre plaza would not only avoid the canyon effect of adjacent skyscrapers but would also serve as a natural gathering place for downtown pedestrians."  The lobby would stand with the right vertical dimension to match Jones Hall's.

 

--mostly from Texas Monthly/May 1980;  p. 254-5

 

 

 

"Gently, persuasively, he asked me one day: 'What do you think are the greatest cities in the world?'  I responded, 'London, Paris, Rome . . .'  I. M. interrupted.  'Stop right there. Have you ever thought that the reason you consider them great is not because of their solids, but because of their voids? Why don't we leave a void--an open space--in this site?  Downtown Houston architecture is impressive, but it has one weakness. Most buildings are built sidewalk to sidewalk.'

 

Then he proposed, 'Let's allocate three-quarters of the block for a beautiful plaza enhanced by a major sculpture, Bartlett pear trees, fountains, and benches for people.'  And so we did." 

 

- Ben Love:  My Life in Texas Commerce (TAMU Press, 2005)  p. 211

 

I would here interject for Love and Pei to think whether the reason they consider those voids great is not after all due to edges more than their interiors, and in Houston none of the expense went to perforating or activating the edges, so it failed.

 

 

"But whether this is great art or simply a piece by a great artist, whether the plaza will become a notable void or simply a void, I think you just have to like this thing and admire the audacity of the conservative businessmen who put it there.  It is colorful, eccentric, funny[, the Miro] -- all qualities in short supply in most business districts -- and it represents the daring, playfulness, and determination to undermine self-importance that are among the most appealing characteristics of Houston.

 

In addition to all this, the sculpture shows that one of the ancient motivations for monumental art--self-commemmoration--has not entirely disappeared.  After Miro had painted the model and it was ready for viewing, Pei, Roff, Hines, Love, and their wives visited the artist at his studio in Majorca for the unveiling [of Personage and Bird].  The three amorphous shapes at the ends of the chair legs stuck to the head were painted red, blue, and yellow.  In the enthusiasm of the moment, Ben Love said, 'I want to be the red bird.'  He had been a St. Louis Cardinals fan as a boy.  Hines wanted to be the yellow bird, and Roff became the 'blue bird of happiness.'  And the correct name of the sculpture at the corner of Milam and Capitol is Personage and Birds.  Plural."

 

--Texas Monthly/June 1982;  p. 6

[strickn]

"Note the way the panels alternately overlap - by exactly 2  37/64 inches - at the edge."

[infinite_jim]

To take a look into what Gensler is trying to do with this existing plaza from across Capital St. The lobby executes a couple of public design initiatives, first by opening up the streetscape into the tunnel system and by using the sunken lobby to frame a view of the Miro sculpture. It reinforces the bldg line set by the Houston Club bldg which in turn helps frame out the void carved out by plaza. This is one of main reasons folks have to excited about this project going up, it's solid interstitial design that pays complement to some very monumental yet standoffish bldgs by being their pedestrian hub. 

Edited September 16, 2013 by infinite_jim

[ChannelTwoNews]

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/10/downtown-observation-deck-getting-new-look/

 

[Montrose1100]

Oh no... The carpet just took the design 30 years in the opposite direction.

[mlyoung83]

Looks like the ceiling is being updated as well to something more modern.

[Triton]

Uhhhh... Okay.

[fatesdisastr]

The only thing I ever thought that it needed were places to sit and view, everything else seemed fine to me the many times I was up there.

[nativehoustonion]

I thought the observation deck was on the 60th floor not the 75th floor?

[Houston19514]

I thought the observation deck was on the 60th floor not the 75th floor?

 

LOL   You noticed that too, eh?  

 

(It is on the 60th floor, not "atop the 75 story building" as the Chron would have you believe.)

Edited October 23, 2013 by Houston19514