MidCenturyMoldy

3 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

This picture made my day. I have not generally liked this building so far, as I fear the march of glass and concrete into the Historic District. But at ground level, this is pivotal for downtown Houston. We have not, since before World War II, seen a Class A office building that devoted such attention to the ground level, sidewalk experience. Texas Commerce Tower had ground floor retail as a nod to Main Street, but it was in the parking garage building. BG Group Place turned a cold shoulder to Main. 609 Main has ground floor retail but it's sort of an afterthought architecturally; the emphasis is increasing but it's not really there yet. But this building (1) sharply differentiates the first two floors from the rest of the building, (2) puts the retail on the best street frontage, Texas Avenue, (3) makes the office entrance secondary to the retail - a total revolution for downtown, and (4) adds a canopy as a significant architectural component, in the tradition of the Rice Hotel, acknowledging the climate and the needs of pedestrians, i.e., people who are not necessarily tenants of the building (!). I mean, you literally have to go back to the days of the Gulf Building, 1929, to see this kind of recognition of the street and the public domain in a Houston office building. Obviously the Houston Center reno gives similar attention, but that's a renovation. This is the most premium product from the most premium developer in Houston. A century has gone by and the circle is complete; an era has finally ended, a new one has begun.

 

In late August of 2019 I decided to go check out Understory for lunch. I was walking along the building on the Rusk Street side wondering what-the-eff is wrong with this city that no one builds arcades or some sort of shade devices to protect pedestrians from the killer sun. This building is a welcome change. But is it the beginning of a trend? I personally just can't muster that much optimism. 

15 hours ago, db650 said:

The London House location, like the Paramount, is off a busy street. But in my option the LH has a better location than the Paramount.

I can't decide which location I would like more. Paramount would have been a block away from Central Market and pretty close to Costco and also near Highland Village and River Oaks District (Central Market being most important). And though I don't like that stretch of San Felipe much, and am especially not overly smitten with Shepherd Drive, being closer to Downtown and near(ish) to Buffalo Bayou might afford some great views from the northeast side corner of the building. Plus that neighborhood behind it would be great for dog walking.

3 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

I'm unfamiliar with the Red Bag girl.
Is she a popular meme or stock photo?

She's everywhere! 😆

https://littleredridingbag.tumblr.com

https://www.nonarchitecture.eu/2020/01/16/girl-red-bag/

https://architizer.com/blog/practice/tools/the-art-of-rendering-7-mistakes/

2 hours ago, Luminare said:

Thats actually really good work on the shadow. As someone who uses photoshop everyday, I can certainly appreciate it.

Thank you. I just created a duplicate layer of her. Completely darkened the underlying layer using Levels. Skewed that layer into something approximating a shadow cast in the same direction as that of fence post. Decreased the opacity. Nudged the shadow around a bit to better align with her feet. Flattened the image and resized. Easy-peasy.

The direction's a bit off and I could have blurred it a bit but I was in a hurry. Plus her feet still look like they're floating.

Maybe the owners of the townhouses can sell to some nice mole people. 🙄

Yeah, I know what you meant. Except it's the morning sun that will be blocked by this. Afternoon sun is already blocked. And that morning sun will be blocked 365 days a year, not just in August. And let's not forget that the first 40 feet or so up from the street is (what seems to be) unadorned parking garage. 

ETA: If I lived in those apartments across the street, I'd be thinking of moving when the lease is up. Especially when construction starts. If I owned one of those townhouses, I'd be depressed.

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

...is sunless really so bad most of the time in Houston?

Sunless = lightless.

That view from Waugh and Dallas looks great but... oh man, is Rosine Street ever going to be a sunless, parking garage hellscape when it's finished! 

Google street view of Rosine Street: https://bit.ly/3kImrKQ

I like that Women's Center building. 😕

Finlets

2 hours ago, mollusk said:

And for people who really, really have to park out in the sun or rain or whatever Nature has to offer.

Signs like this should keep those weirdos at bay. 😁

It's possible that tiny bit of parking is for H-E-B's curbside pickup. 

21 minutes ago, kennyc05 said:

 

I just looked it is one in downtown San Antonio but it's not a urban one.

They have a nice small "market" on South Flores Street just south of the main part of Downtown. It's kind of like a small version of the Dunlavy store. For the most part, H-E-Bs in San Antonio are not that exciting... easy to be that way when you're the only game in town. 

3 hours ago, kennyc05 said:

I think they have one in downtown San Antonio.

Not that I know of.

On 8/31/2021 at 11:27 AM, gene said:

this development looks so strange to me and not sure exactly why! maybe how different the lower stainless steel tupperware container building looks compared to the base and angled supports on the taller adjacent tower?...who knows haha! but everytime i ride my bike by it i find myself staring at it in wonder so i guess that is a good thing 🤪

 

The renderings on their website show the base of the tower looking like stainless steel tupperware, too. 🤷‍♂️https://residencesattheallen.com

1 hour ago, mattyt36 said:

What was here 30 years ago?  Was walking through the neighborhood last night and realized I have no memory.  

No townhouses, that's for sure. If memory serves, older single family homes, small apartment houses, empty lots and, I think I remember TIRR (The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research) had something on the block this is being built on.

4 hours ago, kbates2 said:

Plus, this way you get pool view or downtown view and so more of the building is desirable.

Yeah, that makes sense. Must be that I'm too old to still care much about the pool.

Has it been mentioned that it's odd that the pool deck and all those surrounding windows and balconies are facing away from Downtown? Seems like a major waste of a spectacular view. I guess they think having afternoon sun is more important. 

10 hours ago, KinkaidAlum said:

 I remember being held up at knife point walking to my car from Some one night!

Ahhhh! The good old days! I remember them well!

On 2/29/2020 at 7:17 PM, hindesky said:

 

 

I really wish I hadn't looked in this thread. 😢