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H-Town Man

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Everything posted by H-Town Man

  1. H-Town Man
    Careful there.
  2. H-Town Man
    You are correct. I think if we wait til everything on the boards now is built, the bar will be raised and something better will go here than could go here now. Might be what the owner is thinking too. The other mystery block for me is Block 45, aka northeast corner of Main and either Preston or Prairie. Really nice parking lot currently.
  3. H-Town Man
    This is a theory - like I said, can't prove it. But, I think in shorter buildings you tend to have clients who are more sold on the neighborhood and more interested in walking around it. Whereas in taller buildings, at least on the upper floors, you tend to have clients who want the view, want to sort of be aloof from the world, and aren't so interested in the neighborhood. Also, I said before that I think the difference is greater the less existing buildings there are around. So, if three short buildings are built in an area where there's no buildings already (like southeast downtown), the people are more likely to walk around because there's other buildings. The place feels more settled and there's more to look at on a walk. Whereas if it's just one tall building standing alone in a concrete moonscape, people are less likely to venture out into no-man's land.
  4. H-Town Man
    I don't think it's turned into that. I think we're all pretty excited about this building. And... I don't think you're reading the posts very well.
  5. H-Town Man
    I think most of us are arguing that shorter buildings are better. Did you read?
  6. H-Town Man
    They also absorb more than twice the market share of 20's, so that more people are bottled in the same building, deadening neighborhood life. All else being equal, I believe (can't prove) that two 20's and a 10 produces more people walking around on the street than one 50 will, and the difference is greater the less surrounding buildings there are. That said I think a 50 at some point would be good simply for the prestige and the advertisement it makes for the area.
  7. H-Town Man
    Are you Houston Jack from the old forum, about ten years ago?
  8. H-Town Man
    Living space!
  9. H-Town Man
    Funny that a developer would care about the surrounding area. It's as if they had some strange idea that by making their building work synergistically with its surroundings, they could improve the total environment of the area, which would in turn enhance their building and its marketability.
  10. H-Town Man
    Of course then, you risk losing all of downtown Houston.
  11. H-Town Man
    I can't believe those last couple floors are still hanging on. You'd think they could just bring in Chuck Norris or something at this point; he's only two hours away.
  12. H-Town Man
    We must follow the drang nach osten and build parks along the eastern end of Buffalo Bayou, from downtown to the turning basin. Eastward the course of empire takes its way.
  13. H-Town Man
    Another factor is that residential towers might tend to climb higher if they have a shot at being the tallest or second tallest building in town. If the Austonian were built in Houston, it would not soar above the buildings around it like it does in Austin. If you can't make a huge skyline impact, you're more apt to go with the economical height of 30-40 stories.
  14. H-Town Man
    I too think that school rivalry comments don't belong on an architecture forum, and I hope that Texas can continue to fill seats in their stadium now that they've been surpassed.
  15. H-Town Man
    Going out on a limb, but I don't think OSHA existed in the early 30's either. Lots of extra rules, safety practices, standards, etc. Dubai right now can build skyscrapers the way New York did back then.
  16. H-Town Man
    Looks better. Justbuildit.
  17. H-Town Man
    If they just put that drive up entrance on the west side on Austin St then they could keep the mature oak trees along Texas and not cut through the sidewalk. Texas probably has the second most potential after Main downtown as a walkable urban street. Shame to see it mistreated.
  18. H-Town Man
    Do you enjoy being you?
  19. H-Town Man
    I think what he meant was, it's surprising that such an almighty oil company kept their top Houston offices in such a neglected part of downtown for so long. Kind of surprises me as well. Then again, their top brass were in Irving, with a nice green field outside the hq, The aspiring upper management man (or woman) who saw the Days Inn out his (or her) window could eventually hope to make it to the big office and see the field.
  20. H-Town Man
    Maybe they can get the Marriott to build a skybridge to Discovery Green, depositing people right on the little hill. Then no one will have to cross a damn street.
  21. H-Town Man
    All the "light rail doesn't spur development" people better get their licks in now, clock is ticking...
  22. H-Town Man
    Well, I think if we're at the point where your post begins by telling me what "my problem" is, this is not going to be a productive conversation. I will say that I think urbanism is a success in downtown Austin, most businesses and residents are quite happy about that fact, and your preference for keeping N. Lamar Blvd. downtown a nice suburban environment may not last forever.
  23. H-Town Man
    Source? Is it closer to happening?
  24. H-Town Man
    Now now swtsig, let's not get too heated here. You're right, there is a small parking strip in front of Waterloo, my error. I wouldn't really call either of these "suburban" environments, especially not Lamar Blvd. in Austin's core - I would rather say they're in a transitional period, "urbanizing" you might say. Some of us want them to urbanize more, and hence complain about setbacks for parking; other people I suppose want them to stay in more of a Highway 6 paradigm, since it's convenient. Are you saying that the business owners along Congress Ave. in Austin would love some setbacks for parking lots? That if I walked into one and casually said, "Don't you wish there were parking lots all along this street and you guys had some breathing room?" they'd be like, "Yeah man, this urban environment stifles us! Instead of staring across at the windows of other businesses and sidewalks full of pedestrians, we need some concrete with cars on it!"
  25. H-Town Man
    You kind of went from saying "No one complains" to saying that you didn't complain when you were there. Do you wish Waterloo music and all those other buildings around there had parking lots in front? Would Congress maybe be better if the buildings were set back behind parking lots?
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