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Aga Khan Foundation: Islamic Community Center


torvald

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48 minutes ago, mollusk said:

 

Having a grocery store within walking distance is dandy, but not necessarily something to be "enjoyed" on a daily basis as a park like environment would be.

 

IMO the whole of Buffalo Bayou from Downtown to Shepherd is a park, or park like environment, which is one of the major selling points for the multiple developers who are currently building apartments and mixed use in the area. (The Allen, Regent Square, Hanover Autry Park, and Alta River Oaks) 

 

My thoughts on nicely developed mixed use in the area are as follows:

Animated GIF

 

 

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On 11/27/2019 at 1:10 PM, wilcal said:

I'll bet the lines in the grass are for the layout of the site.

 

Anyone got a drone that they want to send up?

 

Looking at a zoomed in version of them holding the model, it looks like a BUNCH of trees. Like 50-70?

 

And 2 or 3 structures. Largest one along the western edge and two smaller ones along the eastern edge. 

 

 

I tried to tell y'all!

 

On 10/16/2020 at 2:01 PM, tangledwoods said:

first upload was hard to see, i colored over the lines so they stand out:

Google Earth.JPG

 

Looking very cool! I like using the full site.

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Quote

What does that mean? That they are taking samples or something else? 

 

 

Typically this means the client or design team have retained a geotechnical engineer to provide a report that the structural engineer is then able to use to develop their foundation design.  It is not very common for a general contractor to mobilize before that work has been done which is why I am confused on the schedule.

 

They could have been out there for other reasons (subsurface water testing, or supplementary testing) but it is weird and a bit out of sequence.

 

My worry is that they had McCarthy "mobilize" to help with fundraising or for PR purposes, not to actually start construction....

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18 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

 

Typically this means the client or design team have retained a geotechnical engineer to provide a report that the structural engineer is then able to use to develop their foundation design.  It is not very common for a general contractor to mobilize before that work has been done which is why I am confused on the schedule.

 

They could have been out there for other reasons (subsurface water testing, or supplementary testing) but it is weird and a bit out of sequence.

 

My worry is that they had McCarthy "mobilize" to help with fundraising or for PR purposes, not to actually start construction....

 

They did initial soil sampling last year. This may just be to get additional data points.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • The title was changed to Allen Parkway At Montrose
  • 2 months later...
  • The title was changed to Aga Khan Foundation: Islamic Community Center, First In U.S
3 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

imagine paying a general contractor 100-200k per month to sit in their office trailers while you scramble for funding.  The apartments across the street will likely finish before this one gets out of the ground.

I doubt any GC is being paid that much for the work being done right now. The cost to rent trailers is a few hundred per month, and they'll cover any labor cost plus an admin fees, which I would imagine are pretty minimal given the site activity.

In regards to fundraising, the group running this is incredibly well capitalized - Money isn't the issue.

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45 minutes ago, hindesky said:

3 trucks and the workers are hard at work applying tape to the tool boxes so they can paint the white portion.

 

39 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

ryan reynolds hd GIF

If I had to guess, the red tops add visibility for forklifts and crane ops. Also, I see two ice machines so at least one of those containers is a break room. I would guess this gets kicked off before the end of April.

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Quote

 I doubt any GC is being paid that much for the work being done right now. The cost to rent trailers is a few hundred per month, and they'll cover any labor cost plus an admin fees, which I would imagine are pretty minimal given the site activity.

In regards to fundraising, the group running this is incredibly well capitalized - Money isn't the issue.

No GC will mobilize on a jobsite without MONTHLY fee which includes staffing.  Minimum staffing would be a Superintendent and maybe a PE.  There are 2-3 McCarthy trucks on that site every day and have been for a couple months.  Trust me, they are burning cash.  Hell they even had a truck load of timber delivered that is sitting around waiting to be used.

Painting your connex box is a prime example that McCarthy is just burning hours.  they dont need to do it (no crane is going to run into a connex on the ground).

Hopefully they will break ground soon, but it is hella weird to have staff onsite with nothing but busy work.

 

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Have they in recent years painted their trailers to advertise their company? If not, maybe they're "advertising" their company because of how grand the cultural center is going to be and they want their name associated to the institution. Glass half full

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5 minutes ago, HoustonBoy said:

Have they in recent years painted their trailers to advertise their company? If not, maybe they're "advertising" their company because of how grand the cultural center is going to be and they want their name associated to the institution. Glass half full

Most companies rent trailers but they obviously own these. Almost all the bigger construction companies using fence signs with their names on them.

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Perhaps the building is a placeholder since this is the Landscape Architect's scope. Maybe they didn't want to steal the spotlight from the Architect.

 

It is odd that the Architect would not have a big reveal for a project as high profile as this.

Edited by shasta
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15 hours ago, tigereye said:

Per C Thomas Hogge, these are competition drawings and are not updated. 

Phew. 

We've waited so long... for this? A beautiful garden & plaza with the most underwhelming worship center. La Luz Del Mundo or even the Chong Hua Sheng Mu Holy Palace would look better here.

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The building reminds me of the entrance to the Shah's palace overlooking the great square in Isfahan. one of the treasures of the Safavid era. I was last there in 1977 , but I remember an elevated open air terrace under a roof supported by tall thin columns facing the irrigated gardens in the center of the square ( more of a rectangle ). The fractal geometry of the tile work and  niches and other decorative elements were at least  impressive those one might find on a Gothic cathedral in Western Europe. It's nice to see the continuation and modernization of an architecture that has historical resonance with this religious sect. 

Palacio_Aali_Qapu,_Isfahán,_Irán,_2016-09-20,_DD_58.jpg

Edited by Skyboxdweller
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So the 18 wheeler trailer must have had the stuff they needed to start the mock up. Boss man in the blue shirt came over to me asking what I wanted, I was outside their gates.  I was kind of hoping he would so I could ask him when this would start and he said he hoped soon, and he confirmed that was the mock up. Someone tagged one of the construction trailers. :angry2:

fcLZ7z4.jpg

qsrdFEg.jpg

v206XxX.jpg

 

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Still no formal renderings released?

Odd that they are being so secretive about what was promised as a high profile piece of architecture. It will also be a tourist magnet for the organization to get their message out so why are they not using this time to keep the public informed....and excited about the project!?!?

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  • The title was changed to Aga Khan Foundation: Islamic Community Center
  • The title was changed to Montrose Blvd. At W. Dallas St.

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