Aga Khan Foundation: Islamic Community Center

[Yoda]

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:

 

 

[tangledwoods]

Looking at google earth, there is a clear shot from May of 2020 in which the buildings laid out??

 

 

[tangledwoods]

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

[BeerNut]

I keep coming back to this thread thinking someone finally posted the renders or the model.

[hindesky]

 

[Luminare]

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:

 

[apendido]

If this ever gets built I will be so shocked you can call me Chaka Khan. 

[wilcal]

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:

 

Looking very cool! I like using the full site.

[wilcal]

Hard hats onsite when I went by Saturday afternoon

 

 

[hindesky]

These blue columns behind the work roll off are either for a mock up or a sign for the workers on the project. I'm leaning on the former since it has a concrete base.

Edited October 31, 2020 by hindesky

[hindesky]

What I think might be the future mock up columns have been moved.

[tangledwoods]

geotech drilling rig on site today.  Now I'm really confused about their schedule.

[Triton]

I have a feeling this is going to be incredibly beautiful.

[DarklyMoron]

 

3 hours ago, Triton said:

I have a feeling this is going to be incredibly beautiful.

Me too. With the MFAH's Kinder building complete, I think this will become my new obsession.

[X.R.]

23 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

geotech drilling rig on site today.  Now I'm really confused about their schedule.

 

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

[tangledwoods]

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....

[phillip_white]

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.

[hindesky]

Soil spoils drum all over the site.

[hindesky]

I look over here every time I'm driving down Montrose and occasionally see some vehicles over here but the only visible progress I see is that they repainted their work trailers.

[tangledwoods]

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.

[HNathoo]

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.

[hindesky]

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

[BeerNut]

5 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.

[phillip_white]

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:

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.

[shasta]

Still no renderings?

[tangledwoods]

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.

 

[hindesky]

Red is a big portion of their logo, so it's for advertising their brand.

[HoustonBoy]

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

[hindesky]

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.

[Urbannizer]

Quick search and tada- first look thanks to someone from the landscape side of this.

https://issuu.com/cthogge/docs/210221_hogge-portfolio-pages

[Montrose1100]

It's a beautiful garden, but the structure is huge disappointment. 

[wilcal]

Structure not crazy, but I kind of like it! And the gardens are great. Interesting that the structure will be in the middle.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

Deleted by request. 

Edited April 13, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[Texasota]

I like the structure just fine, but that's clearly not the focus of this document, so hopefully we'll get more details soon.

What I like even better is that they're showing commercial buildings facing Dallas.

[EllenOlenska]

I think this Structure/Gardens has some synergy (pardon the term) with the Houston Endowment's new building and refurbished Spotts Park. 

[tangledwoods]

FWIW, I saw survey stakes yesterday on site.  Not sure if they are just shooting site corners or starting to layout the building.  It might be happening???

[shasta]

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 April 7, 2021 by shasta

[Montrose1100]

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.

[EllenOlenska]

Folks acting like gardens don’t count 

[hindesky]

The tool boxes look so much better with new paint job.🌟

These are obviously part of the build, I wonder if they are buiding or walkway stones?✨

[Skyboxdweller]

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. 

Edited April 11, 2021 by Skyboxdweller

[MidCenturyMoldy]

15 hours ago, hindesky said:

These are obviously part of the build, I wonder if they are buiding or walkway stones?✨

I would think they're part of the building. Here's a look at part of the Ismaili Centre in London. 

[hindesky]

Fence gates were open so I rode in hoping to talk to someone but they must have been in the construction trailer in the corner. No progress yet but I'm hopeful.

[hindesky]

This looks like a future mock up. 3 vehicles on site like just about every weekday.

[hindesky]

18 wheeler backed up and saw the workers doing work on what I suspect is the mock up.

[emmanume]

shout out to @hindeskyfor watching this site (and many others)🥰 like a hawk

[hindesky]

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. 

 

[hindesky]

These 2 mock ups look done but 3 others facing toward the north, wish I could see them.

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by hindesky

[Urbannizer]

Looks like backsplash options for a kitchen remodel. 

[shasta]

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!?!?