Luminare

3 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Oh, this is my "corrected for realism" version!

It kinda looks like a nice vase now. I think you should add flowers!

1 hour ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

I did the analysis on this one guys. Perspectives check out. Verticals are straight curved. But is this curved enough? Are you sure you are doing this right @MidCenturyMoldy I'm skeptical.

Oh the days when we all thought this was never going to get built. So much drama. So much speculation. We have certainly come a long way haven't we.

What's the next building we are all irrationally impatient about that has not started yet?

22 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Damn 10 to 15 years from redeveloping that lot with the older apartments!? Oh well, I'm glad they broke ground on the next parcel of land. 

10-15 years is corporate speak for, "We have no clue when, or what we are going to put there, so don't ask us for awhile." No company I know of plans that far in advance for anything especially a development, so its best to not think of that statement as a hard number. Market conditions always change, and for this development company they seem to blow with the wind easier than a leaf on the ground in fall. Time will tell if they advance on any of the others. Lets just be glad they developed a portion of it.

On 2/14/2022 at 11:11 AM, Montrose1100 said:

This building is ugly. The fine details are nice - I'll give it that. The glass curtain and curve are the only saving grace. Podium is oppressive. The west side is awkward. In fact the whole structure is. It's like unbalanced in the worst way. It's even worse when looking from afar. Squatty blank window cleaning crane utilitarian tower. 

Market Square Tower is boring but at least it blends in. 

I know you all love it but I'm super disappointed in this Hines project. It's exactly what Randall Davis' projects should look like. 

I understand what you are saying. My only question is what were you imagining this building to be or what would have been placed on this site? I went into this whole process have zero expectations, and instead of being disappointed I came out pleasantly surprised. Thats just me though.

From my point of view, I really like it. Its not a perfect building by any means, but from an architect-in-training's perspective I can admire the form and aesthetics given its constraints. With what they had to work with, this is actually a good way to handle it. Houston is also a weird city where we constantly are looking at buildings from 4 sides. This building is a good introduction to the 2 side or even 1 side view experience that you get in most densely packed cities. I mean for those who have been championing for "density", not saying that's you Montrose, but this is a result of higher density. You get backsides that are awkward, elevations that potential get a tad wonky, and form that has to make compromises.

I actually like the stone podium, but then again I'm into brutalism, and I'm very anti-curtain wall ground to top and everywhere. For me this is welcomed change of pace. I do agree that up close this podium probably feels intimidating. I'll have a look for myself in April. This is why I'm someone who wants to push architecture to more detail and ornamentation. I think that could have helped here. I also like the small detail with the stone where it separates a little bit to allow the metal canopy connection. That's a nice subtle detail I'm not sure others have noticed. Normally they would have just stuck the connection and bolts right onto the stone. 

16 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

In terms of size and big city vibe, Houston is really on it's own in TX. For all of it's mishaps and mistakes, this city boasts some of the most urban, densest, eclectic neighborhoods in the entire state. The presence of architecture firms this large and well known is something I feel a lot of us are forgetting or taking for granted. It's firms like these that basically put a city on the map at a much greater level in terms of being a "cool, socially accepted city." Whatever get's developed here is going to have a massive impact. 

I agree. Austin and Dallas were always going to get attention first because even though they are in Texas, the ethos of both of those cities is very similar to what exists in any other city. This is where our lack of restrictions will separate us from the pack, and if outside firms start building in Houston, and really explore this that will be very attractive, just it was for the big boys in Modernism, and the early days of Post-Modernism. Houston is a wide, eclectic, and interesting playground with a lot of potential. People just need to understand that Houston is its own animal, and has its own admirable qualities that are unique to that city. Once that happens, that's when things get interesting. If anything my hope is Houston not go the "safe", or "socially accepted" route, because its been doing that for a long time. Instead it needs to once again embrace this mentality that its different, and it does whatever it wants whenever it wants. If Houston can get back in touch with its old cowboy Cavalier attitude, but with a touch of southern sophistication then that's a combination very few will have.

EDIT: When I mean Austin and Dallas being similar in ethos, I should probably clarify what I mean by this. Austin has a very similar ethos to capital cities and smaller cities in the East, while Dallas is very similar in ethos with something like LA. Not like they are the same as their contemporaries, but they are similar in how each city is structured and run.

On 12/1/2021 at 8:41 AM, Amlaham said:

https://www.oma.com 

Is this the OMA that's going to be the architect? If so, I think we have a really good chance that this is going to be significant! They even did the architecture for POST! Side note, does anyone know roughly when we can see this moving forward?

Its never a good thing to just 100% trust anyone, but OMA has a really stellar reputation. Even their worst stuff is really good in comparison to others. They are probably one the most serious architecture offices around. I'm interested to see what they do now that they have done Post, how do they approach the Houston market? Not sure honestly. Its weird talking about firms like OMA and BIG in regards to Houston, but this should clue in people to how much bigger Houston is going to become, and impact of people moving from other places to Houston this will mean. Both firms regularly like to position their work/themselves in "emerging markets" or what they perceive to be so.

1 hour ago, samagon said:

it's true that a lot of vaporware doesn't happen, but a lot of it does happen.

calling it vaporware doesn't mean I don't think it won't happen, it means exactly what it means, that the project is by no means a guarantee. and even if it does happen, it might be a much longer timescale than anyone ever imagined. if that makes me a skeptic and cynic, so be it, I guess.

anyway, I hope that if the various levels of government can agree on the outcome of the NHHIP that all of the potential cap parks are approved, paid for and completed as soon as possible once TXDoT gives the greenlight for them to start construction of said cap parks.

If there is anything I'm skeptical about its the timeline. This will more likely than not take longer than forecasted. If the Big Dig in Boston is any indication. More important than anything I just want them to get start, so people whos lives will be effected can get a jump start on making plans with how to adjust themselves to the situation. Indecisiveness from any government or institution, I think we can both agree, will only hurt regular people. They really do need to get a move on with this. These institutions only have a finite amount of political will and time to get this going.

9 minutes ago, samagon said:

the definition from most sources on the internet of vaporware is...

you may personally have a different connotative definition of the word, but the denotative (and I would challenge, the most common connotative definition) definition is exactly what this is.

Fair. To me that definition is too broad even if its the accepted definition. Its basically the most cynical way to portray a proposed idea or concept without giving it a chance. Lets be real, that definition is not ever used to look at anything favorably, but is instead applied when one is skeptical or even cynical of what is being proposed (which is how that definition came to be in the first place). By the way, not saying one shouldn't be cynical/skeptical.

Now are there people that are immediately buying this cap park idea and think its going to happen because they like the pretty pictures and it goes with their bias how this project is going to be all good with no downside...yeah probably, but the same can be said for the other side who cynically and immediately think this is all downside with little to no upside. Right now its an idea. Its a proposal. If you want to say vaporware, then okay. I don't agree obviously. I think it would be better to use more neutral terms. That's just me though.

23 hours ago, samagon said:

the easiest way to put it is that the cap parks are vaporware at the moment.

I get what you are saying, but one can only say something was vaporware in hindsight. If these promises were made now and never fulfilled and its ten years down the line, then I would agree with you that its vaporware. If we were to take the images above and compare them to any proposed project with renders of a hypothetical future then by your definition they would all be vaporware because they are promises of the future or announcements of the future which have yet to happen.

In this industry anything is technically possible given enough time and money. Time is still up in the air, and money has yet to be fully committed to anything because construction has yet to start. If your opinion, and I'm not saying it is, but if your opinion is that this won't happen then thinking this is "vaporware" is a bias don't you think? I'm not saying the cap will or will not happen. We just don't have enough info to really know what's going on in the first place. Calling this thing DOA is a bit premature from where I'm standing. Its certainly an optimistic future, but its not impossible.

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

From the Houston Business Journal...

"The company confirmed it has completed the project’s mat foundation pour, which will enable it to start building the first floors of the building."

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2022/02/08/skanska-vertical-construction-1550-on-the-green.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=ae&utm_content=ho&ana=e_ho_ae&j=26641729&senddate=2022-02-08

Did they give you credit for the field work @hindesky?

2 hours ago, Andrew Ewert said:

God, what a space suck GRB is

This is one of the biggest reasons I support this part of the I-45 reroute. I know I know I know, we shouldn't go too far off topic with this as it has its supports and detractors. Lets leave that to that thread. All I'm going to say is with a buried highway it really opens up a lot of new possibilities with our conference center. I personally think it would be amazing to have that middle part of the conference center become a breezeway type space which would allow one to walk from Discovery Green to the other side. Wow would that change the feel of this part of town. For now, its just a fun dream.

I would like to ask to work in the "H-Town" warehouse please?

has a site plan been posted for this one?

22 minutes ago, samagon said:

nothing at all hilarious in any of it. murder sucks.

I suspect if your original statement didn't start off with the bolded, it might not have received as much negative feedback.

I don't think you were trying to make light of the memorials, and memories, just an unfortunate selection of words.

You're probably right. I'm not perfect. I certainly have been known to do this at times . I've tried to be much less of this as the years go on. I also come from a background of gallows humor and sarcasm which I know not everyone is from. I personally believe the only way we can move forward is by laughing, poking fun while learning about our mistakes. The only way myself and my family have gotten through tremendous tragedy is to laugh at it, or develop humor associated with it.

I also believe some are selectively reading what I said here. They read the first sentence stating being "hilarious", then read "memorial", and then depending on what one believes or what their bias is they come to a certain conclusion. I really have no control of that. I make it clear in my post that what would be hilarious is not murder of anyone, but a specific situation that visually would be something you would see in a comedy poking fun at something. A gag no less. People will take this however they will. That is up to them. I do appreciate you seeing where I might be coming from.

3 hours ago, toxtethogrady said:

With Exxon Mobil coming to town, it's entirely possible Chevron could be next. Also, oil's almost $90 a barrel this morning, with forecasts of $100 a barrel being speculated about.

As someone who dabbles in investing, probably biggest missed opportunity was to long the price of oil. I wouldn't be surprised if other commodities also go up. Not a financial advisor. This is just my opinion from what I've been seeing. We should probably expect oil to go higher.

18 hours ago, Luminare said:

Would be kind of hilarious if on the other side of the bayou on Jail Island they did another memorial, but for all the cops killed by criminals. If you think about it would be perfect. You get one side about what happens when the State over reaches, but yet at the same time on the other side you get the perspective on what happens during times of lawlessness. Both sides should be presented.

For future reference this comment was addressing a hypothetical idea or situation related to a new memorial regarding the story and person in this thread. See original renders for it in here:
 

I understand why this was moved as it goes off topic. I'm simply establishing context. I've never said this person story shouldn't be told, or that this memorial shouldn't be a thing. If people want to know more about this person, his tragedy, and subsequent memorial then they really should do so. I'm sure there is plenty of relevant info out there, and if you want to support efforts for this story to be more widely known then do so. I'd certainly won't stop you.

As for my previous comments. I stand by them because I did nothing wrong. If you don't like my comments or wish to be offended by them then you have every right to do so. If you want to critique a hypothetical idea or situation that isn't actually happen and think its wrong for me to even think it in the first place then you are fine to comment further, criticize, roast, or do whatever you wish. Its a free country after all.

1 hour ago, mattyt36 said:

Nope, you said it would be “kind of hilarious” and that “both sides should be presented.” Cuz that’s the point of memorials, of course.

Well at least you quoted me correctly, though out of context. Honestly, what I said isn't even controversial. History is messy business. Memorials are supposed to help facilitate conversation as much as remembering past events. I'm merely stating a scenario that yes would be hilarious as a juxtaposition and it would present the messiness which is the very entity that is required to maintain law and order, is also an agent that can become corrupt who blindly follows the rules which can lead to brutality because the state has a monopoly on violence. Plain and simple. If people want to pearl clutch about this, you know what, that's them. I don't care about pearl clutchers on the Right for cops, and I don't care about pearl clutchers on the Left for [insert martyr of the week I'm supposed to care about, but don't]. Also what's ironic is the very state that committed such an act is now trying to convince people that they are somehow different and not like those in the past because they are recognizing an event from 50 years ago which they clearly didn't care about until it became politically expediate for them to do so. The memorial itself, I like, but what I don't like is the state pandering to a current zeitgeist type issue who are clearly trying to buy votes. "See See we care about police brutality, Look we made a monument to it, Now vote for us in the next election." But hey maybe they really have had a change of heart and doing this because they truly believe in reform...which they aren't doing.

2 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

You're a little late there, Bubba. 
The Houston Police Officers Memorial (2100 Memorial Drive) was dedicated more than 30 years ago. 
 

Never said one didn't exist. Merely stating that the juxtaposition would be interesting.

Would be kind of hilarious if on the other side of the bayou on Jail Island they did another memorial, but for all the cops killed by criminals. If you think about it would be perfect. You get one side about what happens when the State over reaches, but yet at the same time on the other side you get the perspective on what happens during times of lawlessness. Both sides should be presented.

20 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Found a couple more pics of the newer rendition.

Yep. Definitely preliminary. Honestly, not terrible massing. Does one site really need 3-4 highrises? It was a bit optimistic from the beginning. This revised plan is actually a lot more practical and balanced.

10 minutes ago, Naviguessor said:

While in the Museum district, you shouldn't miss the Menil Drawing Institute and the Rothko Chapel, Visitor Center and new landscaping.  

Yes, Rothko was still closed before I left. I actually was at the grand opening week for the Menil Drawing Institute, but will be doing a walk through my old hood (Montrose).

On 1/27/2022 at 11:12 AM, hindesky said:

Community Impact has an article about the topping out of the hotel and condos but they include a picture of the now totally different look of the other buildings.

https://communityimpact.com/houston/heights-river-oaks-montrose/development/2022/01/26/new-luxury-condo-hotel-project-tops-out-on-allen-parkway/

Just a hunch, expect this to go through many more changes. With how different the building on the right is from the left this might be a simple model to study massing and volume. Notice how design elements from the previous two buildings have yet to be carried over to the next phase. My bet is the conversation from the client was something like this. "(Architect) you know that revised layout we just discussed last week? I know the design has yet to be finalized, but we have shareholders or stakeholders who wish to get an update on their invest. Would it be any trouble to put something together just so we can present what could be expected with the latest plan changes?"

Then again I could be wrong. Not associated with this project. I'm merely looking at this with my professional goggles, and saying to myself...yeah its not there yet, but at least I know where they are going with this now.

6 minutes ago, downtownian said:

Have you seen the Kinder MFAH? Think it opened late 2020

Completely forgot about that one. There hasn't been any recent posts. Definitely will put that on my list.