tangledwoods

not to split hairs, but that is architectural precast concrete not stone.

I am really enjoying the trend back to more reflective glass.  its almost like someone figured out that looking into a building and seeing a ton of mechoshades at different heights is ugly...

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We lost a tower crane.

And it looks like that was the crane for the office building.  I guess that means its on hold?  

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^^^ maybe it's just me, but this particular edifice appears to be being constructed in some place like INDIA/BANGLADESH.  it just seems a bit shoddy construction... WOW!

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You're looking at a flat slab post-tensioned parking garage....  FYI this one is being done by the second largest concrete contractor in town (Keystone Concrete).  The re-shores and formwork system they use may appear to be janky but they are highly engineered.

i am absolutely shocked / confused as to how the project wasn't put on hold.  Did they land a tenant that none of us know about???

building question of the day:  why plywood sheathing?  it looks like there are brick lintels and on some of the photos fluid applied waterproofing.  I wonder what drove this decision over typical sheathing. 

not sure where their pricing was at but yall do know that Cristacurva down in Mexico makes plenty of curved glass....  

just an FYI for the non-construction folks out there.  we have seen an increase in RFP's and RFQ's coming out of the City and County.  Public money is still flowing right now and the last of the approved school bonds are all bidding.

There is definitely a fall of in the hospitality side, many projects are getting put on hold or are back with the architects for "design refinements".

that is some extremely vanilla curtainwall. 

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You mean the ones running straight through the I-beams? I'm sure it's fine.

im sure the architect and engineer are planning castellated beams....  or they wanted to highlight the extensive floor to floor height....  or they just screwed it up.

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I'm not an architect, so I wondered if anyone can answer this question. 

"When the developer says"

You don't have to be an Architect to answer this.  All developers are liars, they lie to themselves and the world around them constantly.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, great buildings wouldn't be built without their ego.  When in doubt, assume the developer is lying and you will be better for it.

Wow, this is a bonkers waste of money.  They clad the garage in clear glass and then went reflective on the occupied levels???  Typically if you are going to go with the premium of enclosing the garage you try and hide the vehicles inside.

They paid a HUGE premium for nothing...

wow, I am going to have to file this one under the "economical" parking garage category.  I cant remember the last time I saw a parking garage so plain.  Hopefully they will cover that NE corner with advertising for shows / performances....

Could someone share some other major Skanska projects? 

• Reliant Stadium (minority partner)
• 3009 Post Oak
• Capitol Tower (now BOA)
• Large development jobs in Boston and Seattle
• LaGuardia Airport
• Met Life Stadium
• World Trade Center Oculus Hub
• https://www.usa.skanska.com/what-we-deliver/build/

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Speaking of Houston Club and other places - Be cool if before they knock down some of the landmarks if they let pickers go in and take a piece of history - a nice marble counter - an iconic sign - some decorative doors etc - a sort of urban garage sale.

Before the Houston Club closed, they held an auction in which they tried to sell damn near everything they could.  When Skanska took over the property, the only think left was Asbestos, Mold, and years of neglect.

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Wow this got super off topic fast.

Here I was thinking that I provided some cool information about how modern elevators work.......  

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I wouldn't like this if I worked for them. Waiting for the elevator should be a supremely casual, leave-me-the-eff-alone experience. Unless I desire to interact with someone else on my own initiative. As with driving, I require no assistance to make my ride on the elevator.

Elevators like these use a destination grouping scheme to reduce wait times.  When you scan your badge it tells you which elevator to go to (because it know what floor your work on).  That way all the people going to floor XX during the morning rush go stand in front of elevator YY.  For elevator banks that do not have badge access, there is a centrally located call station where you enter the floor number and it tells you which elevator to wait at.

Skanska used this system on their 3009 Post Oak building.  There are a number of newer buildings in Houston that use this.

Developers like these systems because on tall / large buildings they can actually reduce their elevator count due to the decrease in loiter times.

If you want to learn more:

Kone - Destination Control

where do you get the 5 story limit from?  Mass timber / CLT framed structures are not bound by the typical fire code that stop balloon frame apartment bldgs.

This "developer" has experience in desert style hotels, nothing taller than 2-3 stories.  My guess is this was a EB-5 money play.  It seriously looks like a money laundering or a Ponzi scheme.

There are 1,000 more economically viable developments in the area that any real investor would rather put money in. 

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A beautiful building and a dog turd of a sign...  That might be one of the worst signage pedestals I've ever seen.

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To anyone who has been to one, does it smell like anything or odorless? 

This might be my favorite question in a long time.  I have been to a lot of concrete pours and had to think for a bit about what is smells like!  Like Tumbleweed_Tx said, it certainly smells like diesel exhaust, each pump has a big diesel engine running and there are typically 4-10 trucks lined up at each pump.  there could be up to 50-60 concrete trucks around the site at any given time.

The actual concrete doesn't smell like much, think about wet beach sand or how a road smells right after it starts raining.

The concrete curing process is exothermic and does generate heat, but most of that is lost during the evaporation process or held deep within the mat.  There wont be any noticeable temperature changes with the pour.

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I am not a fan of the tunnels at all so any attempt to make them more appealing does nothing for me. 

Well i am sorry, you are not a Houstonian if you dont like our magnificent tunnels!!!

i wonder if they are still doing the illuminated crown that was shown in a lot of the early renderings.  If it ends up looking anything like the BHP tower in uptown then it will definitely stand out more at night.

yeah, because below grade infrastructure makes so much sense in Houston......