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Luminare

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Everything posted by Luminare

  1. Luminare
    The Chapel is way better with all natural light than the artificial light it used to have. Glad I took a quick visit while in town.
  2. Luminare
    I only went there because they had good margs, and nachos. If I wanted something else I would just go to someplace with more for a better price. Still a cool hangout place, and a nice patio.
  3. Luminare
    This site is absolutely enormous. Only drove a couple times around it. Not pics. Next time I visit I hope they have the spine finished, so I can get a better sense of scale of everything.
  4. Luminare
    While in Houston last week, I saw core drillers on site.
  5. Luminare
    I don't think any name can beat I-69....when I mean "beat" I mean....nevermind
  6. Luminare
    City Official 1: Hey. What's all this land doing between those houses and the railway. City Official 2: ROW we own apparently. We've had it for ages. Was supposed to be for that spur. City Official 1: I got an idea. Why not extend it to 610?! City Official 2: Why not? That is totally like a brilliant idea, and an excellent use to tax payer money to extend a spur by a few miles. You grab the plans. I'll grab the shovels!
  7. Luminare
    I've never understood the Paxton hate. He's probably one of the more milktoast Republicans out there. Oh no Ken filed an Amici brief with a bunch of other states in opposition to a president he doesn't like....oh noooo what a monster! Seriously people put way to much emotion into politics without understand what really moves politics. The only time emotion works is in getting out the vote...period. Other than that it just gets in the way or backfires. If Paxton runs for reelection he wins easy. I wouldn't put it past Hidalgo to run for mayor, but she is about a decade away from even accumulating the political tools, cash reserves, and power needed to even persuade the democrat establishment to support her, and I just think she is way to progressive to make it in Houston. That's just me though. I've stated in another thread before why I thought Turner has been a great mayor and its because of Turners overall pragmatic approach to city government, the general party divided in the city, and politics as a whole. Hidalgo hasn't yet exhibited any ability to pivot, reach across the aisle, or assure that business interests can trust her judgement.
  8. Luminare
    Will be in Houston next week. Really looking forward to walking this one.
  9. Luminare
    Definitely. I'm sure the roof design had a lot of back and forth between the Architect and Contractor. I'd imagine this will be a punch list item. Depending on the drawings (of which I don't have access too) if the architect doesn't believe that the contractor has built what is specified in the drawings then the contractor will have to fix any errors or deficiencies without additional compensation. At least this is what is typically stated in most contracts. Maybe this will be something addressed near or after Substantial Completion.
  10. Luminare
    That's about as correct an answer as you can provide without getting into the weeds. Good job!
  11. Luminare
    Those panels aren't supposed to be air tight. Aesthetic you don't want panels to be air tight either. Aesthetically its about gaps relative to the scale of the building. Those are massive panels and to get the definition of the edge that you want the gaps need to be pretty decently sized. As far as the assembly of the wall itself you need gaps between the panels 1) because metal will expand and contract, warp, etc... and you need room/tolerance for that 2) on the wall sides this is likely what is called a "rain-screen" system. In other words, the exterior we see is mostly aesthetic (though some metal panels systems do have insulation within them) then underneath you have a water barrier layer which keeps water out and air in as well as insulation (most likely rigid insulation) underneath that. If you look at prior photos before the metal was attached you saw the building as pretty boxy right? This is what I mean by the metal is mostly aesthetics. Its not performative on the building or its systems. 3) on the roof its sort of the same system of the roof, but instead whatever rain that gets through will fall onto a TPO Membrane, and then will slope toward internal drains. If you don't like the gaps between the metal aesthetically then I can understand, to each his own, but you really aren't going to be able to achieve gaps smaller than what is shown unless you go with an entirely different system with different materials, and because tolerances for gaps/spacing would be smaller you are also looking balooning the costs of labor and materials.
  12. Luminare
    Turner has certainly been one of Houston's most practical and pragmatic mayors and its why I've always thought well of him. He understands that Houston is strictly a workers/business city, and must be open to business and friendly to businesses at all times, but at the same time he clearly is an establishment Democrat. Turner is what blue cities should be running as candidates. Even though Turner knows how to cater to Progressives, I don't ever get the feeling his is very ideologically driven, and yet at the same time he is very pro/hands off in regards to business, but does take the other side when it comes to certain issues. He's been a great mayor in my opinion. While others have gone completely wacko, or run their cities to the ground, Turner has been maintained a steady hand in a world that seems like its full of clowns. He's growing the city, he's firmly behind Houston's ethos of no zoning. He is pro-development. He is pro-expanding city services in areas that are achievable with the political will he knows he has. He also seems very independently minded. I do agree with some on here, the only chance a Republican will become mayor in Houston again is if Houston takes a drastic turn for the worst like what happened to NYC decades ago which lead to Republicans running the city in the 90's, or you get a centrist/populist type who rides a wave due to some escalation of social issues. The old country club Republican is basically extinct politically and never really matched Houston very well unless you were part of the Big Oil hegemony. With that force meaning back gradually to the average as other industries expand, I've always thought Houston is a city dominated by business interests and depending on what direction the cities business interests lie is not only where the city will go politically, but where it will also find its next mayor. I wouldn't be surprised just like we had mayors connected to Big Oil, at some point we will have Big Space interests or Big Pharma/Big Biomed interests and then you will get candidates that reflect that.
  13. Luminare
    I can agree to a point. The last election overall saw a swing in suburbs from one party to another. It stands to believe, if one believes the latest polls and general trends, that suburbs potentially will swing the other way. The Dems definitely have a stranglehold on anything within 610. Outside of that is where things get a bit fishy. Remember I'm no Republican or Democract, but looking at trends from last election Republicans are growing minorities, especially among new asian immigrants and Latinos (look at counties like Zapata for reference). Harris County being blue no matter who is not a done deal, not when Houston is atypical of a bunch of American cities where a substantial portion of the county is still suburbs which traditionally have been a Republican stronghold. We will know this upcoming election if 2020 was an outlier, or the start of a new trend. Even the latest polling on left leaning sites show Republican surges in nearly all key demographics with the only lagging demographic being white college educated women. Thats it. Everywhere else the R's have made substantial gains. While Hidalgo might be saved by just having a D in front of her name, or popular with the Progressive wing on the party, if Progressives and their policies are losing in popularity country wide then it stands to believe that Houston will see a major reversal. I don't see Houston being one that bucks current trends. In fact I see Houston as being one which heavily reinforces trends. Again we will have to see. It will be interesting to see what happens.
  14. Luminare
    Depends. Does your regular layperson really read about these indictments? If I were to do a poll, and asked first if you even heard about any of this, I'd imagine many would say that they didn't. Then if I asked further questions ranking issues of the day in combination with these indictments, which would be pooled into "general corruption", it would rank very low. What will get Hidalgo out is if people see that her actions have contributed to larger issues of concern. She was a huge advocate for lockdowns and various covid restrictions. If the opposition wants her out then they need to assign blame for aspects of inflation to her. Will they? I don't know. Is that a reasonable thing to do? I haven't done enough digging to know if accusations like these would be valid, but from a political tactical standpoint the one side does this all the time. Its a tool of political intrigue. Its nasty and not fair, but it is what it is. Personally I didn't like Lina Hidalgo when in Houston. Full disclosure, for many years I'm a registered independent or "unaffiliated voter". Overall all I'm glad straight ticket voter is a thing of the past. It only encourages polarization, tribalism, furthers the two party divide of which I detest. It has seen terrible Republicans and Democrats get into office and only survives to maintain whatever parties hegemony, or artificially inflate ones success if the message is right. To me Lina Hidalgo rode a wave, and even though I don't like career politicians, for every rule there is an exception, and Emmett was one of those exceptions. I don't like placing overly charged statements like "she is out of her league", or "she should have stayed in her lane" because I don't like when people do that for me. My dislike of Hidalgo comes from her actions in office. I didn't like how she rode the wave, but observed if it was deserved, and over time she hasn't really done anything that tells me she either deserved it or needs another term to prove herself. If the right issues stick to and those that want her out are strategic with their approach to get her out then she will get out, but I wouldn't be surprised if she remains because people forget to replace positions that actually matter and only focus on the "important seats".
  15. Luminare
    Yes. Through extensive geopolitical analysis (analyzing a photo for 5 mins) its clear that Skanska has indeed encircled the Embassy Suites, taking a move out of the playbook of the Ottoman Empire who successfully encircled Constantinople. Embassy Suites does have one ally, it seems, in this fight who could render them aid (keep their block underdeveloped for views of Embassy Suites), and that is the power company one block over with their substation. Clever maneuver because attaching ones self to a long lasting authority in the region will ensure its continued safety (visibility)
  16. Luminare
    Interesting little project. A great example of a project with probably a very limited budget, where they went with the most afforable materials possible, but you can see where the found places to go the extra mile to make moments a little more interesting, such as the general massing, the railings, etc...
  17. Luminare
    Yes...Yes. The plan to cover up the Embassy Suites is going according to plan!
  18. Luminare
    This has been my thoughts on park development of late. Its just the times we are living in. Its not even the ratio of green to concrete. I would prefer to call this a plaza instead of a park. If that were the case the ratio would be more forgivable. I do agree that at the moment designers are place way to much of a priority on "amenities". I see this with landscape design for apartment complexes all the time. Sometimes simple is best. Sometimes just a hill in a corner with a nice view of a long green lawn is best. It really depends on the goals of the area. You could easily look at simple park planning like Herman Park, but you can also see success with Discovery Green and Memorial Park. Both heavily programmed, but work in their situations and context.
  19. Luminare
    To be as fair and balanced as possible, while I agree to an extent, we should also not be so utilitarian to simply call this a "large drainage ditch". The other side has a point as well. Houston is continuing in an upward trajectory to being a world class city. Its still far away from that goal. With that comes expectations that when under going a significant project such as this the city shouldn't just do the bare minimum. I for one have been very underwhelmed by latest efforts at Brays Bayou. I guess thats a regression to the mean even if that means the mean (or the average) has trended upward with time, but you would think after the success of Buffalo Bayou they would seek that same approach with Brays Bayou. Instead they went very very utilitarian, and are only doing standard bridge replacement (greatly needed, and thankful that they are doing so. Credit where credit is due.), but they could have done a lot more considering all the redevelopment that has happened near TMC. Again @Big E I agree with you, and with projects like these I typically lean more utilitarian, but the other side does have a point, and if the city holds public comments regarding amenities, then these are people that should give input to take this project from just utilitarian to something special.
  20. Luminare
    Ah yes. You are learning the number one rule above all rules. If you are a big enough person, client, company... people will bend over backwards to serve your wants and needs. This is just how the world works. If you are a small development why would any city approve a lane closure for you, but if you the Aga Khan...now thats different.
  21. Luminare
    I don't really understand what the fuss is about. If you go to the website the renders were produced by SWA Group which is one of the best planning groups / landscape architecture firms in Houston. They have done many projects large and small. By the way, they are the ones behind all the conceptual renders for NHHIP (including the highway caps). This render looks pretty schematic to me. With that being said I'm fine with the way its being conceptualized right now. Keep it simple. As some have said the primary reason for this project existing is completely utilitarian. Some of these other examples from other cities are waterways which have existed for years and are in prime downtown locations. This is being built from scratch and probably with a very limited budget. I would warn people to keep their expectations low. Just getting this built in the timeframe presented would be amazing. If this is has a design timeframe of 24 months then this is going to change quit a bit, and a lot can change with this being in conjunction with other large plans around it. If we get more than what is initially conceptualized here then count that as a plus.
  22. Luminare
    I can understand how some are getting impatient, but if you are in the game or orbit it, then you understand how long it takes to even get a shovel in the ground. I have yet to work on any highrises (it remains one of the few main project types I have yet to work on), but I have worked on large schools, and the planning/design phases alone is around 6-8 months and those were typically CM@R (Construction Manager @ Risk) and packages could go out in pieces. I'd imagine they would do the same delivery method for a project like this, but with how many uses and floors would be in this I'd hedge a bet that the design phases alone would be 8-12 or even 14 depending on various approvals, and complications. Then add in city review which for Houston isn't that difficult, but even with an expediter I've seen small houses take a couple months. Then if you don't have comments (doubt it) then you can pull permits. Also as you said in another post, tenants just left mid last year, and they just finished demo. With all this being said (again this is speculation, but one based on my professional experience) we probably won't see anything happen on this site until 2024. Maybe we see some schematic design renders in the summer. EDIT: I should probably add that this timeline is only possible if an Architect has been chosen already (No clue if this is the case). If they haven't then either they still need to find one, or solicit RFP/RFQ's which then adds more time onto what I just said. I also didn't factor time to bid because it seems to me that Skanska builds with their forces? Thats also more time as well.
  23. Luminare
    "BEDQuarters" is such corporate cringe...that's weird enough to place in Montrose. Make it happen.
  24. Luminare
    Have you ever watch "Shiey" on youtube? That guy is a true renegade.
  25. Luminare
    Now we definitely know what this site is destined to be....a Mattress Firm distribution center haha
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