shasta

On 10/7/2021 at 5:50 PM, hindesky said:

The Aga Khan, a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad, is the spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect of Shia Muslims.

Maybe Aga Khan is waiting for Arc Angel Gabriel to also visit him  with a message to BREAK GROUND!

I still am shocked how much they VE'd this project from the original design and layout. This project is right up there with the downtown Embassy Suites level of ruined projects, if you ask me. maybe even worse because it will continue to get worse. It looks really bad.

It went from a collection of architecturally different buildings and interesting urban streetscapes to a cheap looking ruin of the mill monolithic apartment building . Even the retail is cheap looking..I drive by it everyday and shake my head of what could have been!

At least we have City Center and the River Oaks district for developers that understand what quality mixed use developments are supposed to look like.

Too bad because this one has the best location and the potential to be the best new project in all of Houston. What a colossal disappointment.

In 10 years, this project will be considered so low quality that it might be well below market rate apartments.

This might be the most confusing project ever.

Announce that this will be the first of its kind in the United States of America. Hire a rising international architect to work on the project and have our Mayor proudly boast that this will be very HIGH profile project and a new symbol of Houston's diversity...and then...

NOTHING!

No updates, no teasers, no presentations, no news, no renderings, nothing...

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!?!?

Yes, there appears to be a ton of activity going on behind the scenes right now. A lot of capital had been tied up because of the uncertainty of the pandemic but there is a light at the end of the tunnel now and real estate is an investment type people have been waiting to invest in. Especially before the interest rates tick back up.

We may see a flurry of new project proposals this summer. Let's see how many break ground!

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.

Still no renderings?

I'd be OK with something like those above.

They are still glass dominant curtain walls but the subtle details make them more interesting and less monolithic.

Let's hope the renderings are just initial studies and they challenge themselves to  work on the final orientation and detailing as the project moves through the design phases.

21 hours ago, HoustonBoy said:

I love the steps, but I'm really not liking all the glass on these buildings 

I agree..it's looking very 80's...... and in a bad way.

A glass curtain wall is ok but I'd like to see a little variety up the building..something.

Looks like they thought they did this by stepping it up and throwing trees up there.

The monolithic glass element reads as a solid .

I'm also still trying to understand what is going on with their renderings...are these different phases or different schemes?

So what is the official name of the developer that is putting this together? I know it is Astros related but I'm thinking they have a development company running it.

Any renderings?

Why did they change the name to Brava, from The Preston?

The Preston worked better with the historic Market Square area.

3 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

That's a downside of the street grid system layout. The buildings alternately obstruct each other and leave gaps due to the sight lines.
One of the reasons Lower Manhattan's skyline is so impressive is that it was constructed within a disorderly jumble of streets. Almost every gap is filled and every building is visible 

2 things here..

The only part of the New York that is jumbled is the old Dutch and English parts at the tip of Manhattan. The rest is as rigid of a grid as you get, thanks to the 1812 plan. We've all seen the photos of the 'Canyons and Valleys" of Manhattan streets.

On Houston, it's a matter of perspective- Views from 288, 45, and 59 have views that are not straight on.

On 8/29/2020 at 1:33 AM, Stone said:

I took this photo back in June and was intrigued with the apparent “spider web” like pattern highlighted by the sun within the translucent tubes. 

 

Something has always looked off to me as the stacked vertical tubes meet - the abutting seams just look dark and unfinished. Could there actually be a film covering the clear glass tubes? 👀

 

I doubt it, but it’s interesting speculation nonetheless.  

Let's wait and see.

2 hours ago, monarch said:

 

^^^ those CLEAR GLASS TUBES have left me STUNNED!  what is the significance of that particular area of this edifice?  why are they in that particular spot?  you mean to tell me that this particular design element was a possibility from the start?  why couldn't the architect utilize this gorgeous CLEAR GLASS TUBING design element all over this burgeoning edifice?  was this particular design element much too costly?  thank you to @hindesky brilliant photography for showing these glass elements side by side of each other.  the overall appearance/difference is simply astonishing!  not to mention quite STUNNING!  one can only imagine if this particular design element was utilized throughout the entire edifice, along with very subtle LED lighting design affects throughout.  the end result could have resulted in the most beautiful modern day MFA in the world.  my goodness gracious, what on earth is happening here...?       

........or they all will be like that and this was just a mock-up portion. the rest could be covered in protective film that they will remove before completion. 

2 hours ago, Twinsanity02 said:

I love La Defense. It is visually pleasing.  Glad its where it is. Just wish tour Montpanasse was here instead of it sticking out in the older parts of the city. Paris is a gem of a city. An expensive gem at that.

Great Charming City! I was there last November/early December (Pre-Covid) and I found it surprisingly very affordable. I guess they raise the prices in the summer..so go in the fall!

11 hours ago, jmitch94 said:

 

It’s still somewhat important but no one goes New York for the main purpose of sitting across the river in New Jersey and looking at the skyline. Most great cities are not great because they have nice skylines. For example Barcelona and Paris have next to no iconic skylines outside of a single structure in each. 

Have you not seen the skyline of Paris, called La De'fense?

On 7/30/2020 at 9:30 AM, Bassclef said:

I have a feeling mcnair is going no further than a thought.

Just like his football team has done since......2002

Does someone have a rendering of what is being constructed now vs. the additional phases to be built out later?

Does that master plan exist?

30 minutes ago, LBC2HTX said:

It's at least a 1.5 year build-out. And if the franchisee of the W already obtained financing then you might as well start now, especially since the city likely attached a time-frame to the tax incentives. 

Plus very low interest rates that make the project MORE feasible!

Poor Regent Square- they were all set to begin construction in 2009 then the Great recession happened. Then they strategically decided to table the master plan and start with a stand-alone apartment tower missing out on a decade of boom time in Houston n which this project would have incredibly successful. Then they scale back their master plan and begin construction and then a pandemic throws the retail market into limbo. 

Maybe Cal will name Bill O'Brien as the General Contractor on this project!

3 hours ago, Naviguessor said:

McNair may be dead...I doubt that the project is. 

You have to remember, this the McNair family we are talking about. If they approach this project like they do their football team, it will be mediocre AT BEST.

I hope not...but the fact they continue to drag their feet on this one echoes how they run the Texans.

Do we have a rendering for the buildings in this project?

On 1/29/2020 at 12:42 PM, bobruss said:

They might have purchased the land many years ago, but they just named an architect to design the project a year ago. 

 

Didn't they have a public event with scaled models of the whole site? This thing has already been schematically designed...we just need them to release the design to the public.