'Stonian

well since you asked.., How about an angle taken from Discovery Green that highlights the 3 or 4 story raised section with the curved roof on top. Yeah.., how about that one

Niche, that's just like you to go find and post the most unflattering angle of 5 Houston Center to make your point. I wouldn't expect anything less from you. We all know that pic is not a proper representation of 5-HC.

Red, I don't think I missed you by a mile. Although I rarely post comments, I've been reading this board for years and know your HAIF personality. Believe it or not I do appreciate the fact that you're a Houston Homer, because I am also! Hell I used to think I was the only one until I discovered this website. But please note: Not all of us homers live in H-town, some of us are out on location spying out the competition ;-) You defend Houston at all costs and that's commendable, but you also run the risk of not being taken seriously when you can never admit "OUR" faults. This town has a long history of being controlled by developers and allowing these same developers to throw up whatever type of hideous structures they desire to with zero regard for aesthetics just to save a buck. I'm tired of wasting gas having to drive round-about ways around town to avoid some of these abominations when showing off my hometown to friends/relatives visiting from out of town! When I take them to Discovery Green I don't want them asking "What the hell is that 'thing' on top of yall's Embassy Suites?" I'm tired of making up stories to justify some of this nonsense!! (i.e. I-10 Memorial Hermann bldg & Westin Hotel, Mercer, Legacy @ Memorial--you know the "new" ugly biege box that's now blocking downtown's "money shot photo", that recycling plant @ corner of SW Freeway 59/Fountainview, to name a few) And honestly that's what it seems you, Niche, and a few other HAIF posters are always doing...., MAKING UP STORIES TO JUSTIFY SOME OF THIS CRAP! But I know better and I'm not afraid to admit that sum of our buildings look like shyt!

Well VelvetJ I agree with you WHOLEHEARTEDLY!! (& I am sure of it!) Niche is "in"famous for spitting out a bunch of nonsense in most of his posts. One the one hand he agrees with you then, he goes off on some tangent about why the 56 story B of A ICON building is comparable to the 27 story 5 Houston Center. (BTW: I love 5 HOU CTR!) Most of Niche's posts leave me wondering if dude has any social skills or if he's one who just loves to hear himself talk. And don't even get me started on Red Scare.., He's never seen a building in Houston he doesn't like. He'd justify the architectural significance of the old dilapidated run down DAYS INN downtown if given the opportunity. He's the ultimate HOMER..., in Red Scare's mind developers in Houston can do no wrong as far he's concerned. Houston is my hometown as well, and to be honest, although I currently reside in Atlanta, I couldn't care less if Atlanta, Chicago, or Dallas throw up trashy eyesore buildings. I nitpick Houston's skyline because I CARE!!! No one said all of Houston sucks, but if I see another 1-sided Mercer go up then you better believe I'm gonna vent & raise a stink about it. Not that I can change anything to make the developers adhere to their renderings, but I'm certainly free to state my opinion on HAIF. Furthermore, I did not expect the Embassy Suites to be an architectural masterpiece, but even after only seeing the crayon colored cartoon-ish rendering I was pleasantly surprised that they had chosen a decent design only to be severely disappointed to see them cut out most of the features that made ES "decent". While most of the building is still covered under tarps as they complete the stucco facade, it is abundantly clear that this design is greatly altered from the rendering. At this point I'm just hoping the finished product doesn't turn out as awful as I suspect it will. It would have been better had they not even released the rendering and just built the crap as is, then there would have been no expectation that a decent hotel was going to be built right next to downtown's premiere urban park. Just my 2 cents Red & Niche..., You guys have put in quite a bit more than your 2 cents!

Well it was my understanding that the City did give a tax abatement/incentive for this project because it was within 4 blocks of the GRB convention center, however I'm not sure (& seriously doubt) that the C. of HOU entered into a covenant to control design changes. This argument that a city becomes "unfriendly" if its planning dept. requires certain features/aestethics is pure hogwash to me because obviously the overwhelming majority of cities demand improvements. Otherwise how would such great projects CONSISTENTLY get built in those places? I mean why would developers elsewhere (Atlanta, Seattle, Chicago, NY etc.) include the added expense of aesthetic upgrades if they were not required or at the very least encouraged to do so? I'm not advocating that Houston start strong-arming developers into conforming, but something has got to be done to change this "Take-whatever-we-can-get" mindset that has infiltrated my hometown in the last 20 years. Now this is not to say that Houston has not added any cool projects recently (MainPlace, Enron 2, Discovery Tower & OPP come to mind) but they are too few & far between! The majority of recent projects are strictly ulititarian especially many of the bland boxy mid-rises out on I-10/Energy Corridor. I can live with these mundane functional structures out in the suburbs, but I believe our urban core (downtown, med center, uptown) should be held to a higher standard. Development in general is inherently risky, but I would not single out downtown Houston as any more risky than any other city for that matter. In fact, right about now, Houston is probably one of the safer bets in the country. Here in Atlanta we are so overbuilt with new hotel, condo, and office towers that it will probably be another 5-7 years before we see another crane dotting the skyline. Although Downtown Houston has more than a few absolutely stunning architectural gems , I believe its still overun with a lot of the run-of-the-mill 20-40 story unimaginative towers. Therefore (IMHO), every new building constructed should add a distinct architectural element (as well as serve form/function) to break up the monotony. Again, just my opinion, but after such initial promise, this Embassy Suites is turning out to be a real disappointment!

Hey guys, I'm afraid this Embassy Suites building is turning out alot like the 35-story Memorial Hermann MONTROSITY out on I-10. After studying the renderings and the recently updated construction photos here showing the installation of the ES logo "Containment Box", I've figured out the discrepancy in floor count from the original announcement of 22-stories to the later 19-story references. I could be wrong but it seems to me that ES will indeed be ONLY 19 stories. These jokers have scrapped 3 of the top 4 recessed floors (the ones with the circular balconies) and have instead placed the architecural box and "spire" (hopefully it's still in the plan!) directly on top of what appears to be the 18th floor hence forming the 19th floor!!! I count the base of the building to be 2 floors with 16 standard floors of hotel rooms topped with 1 penthouse/mechanical floor above totalling 19 stories. I'm extremely disappointed that this hotel will not stay true to its rendering because I think this new design is a considerable "step down" from an architectural standpoint. IMO the recessed floors on top made the entire design attractive even considering its rather smallish stature next to OPP & Discovery Tower. Now we're going to be left with a cheap flat-roofed stucco-clad building that looks like the whole crown/spire thingy was placed on top as an afterthought similar to the control tower contraption the top of Memorial Hermann Tower on I-10. The only consolation prize (according to today's Houston Business Journal) will be that the ES Logo Box will be lit up as a beacon at night...., but overall still a disappointment nontheless! I will admit that appreciate the night-time lighting on the Memorial Hermann complex but actually I'm pissed about ES-Downtown..., I know Houston is notorious for having limited zoning (I say "limited" because I beleive any sort of developmental ordinances is a form of zoning), but does the City of Houston atleast have an Architectural Controls Committee that approves building designs and subsequent changes during construction. I mean who lets these developers get away with this shyt just to save a buck or two?? ..., & Niche I realize 3 entire floors cost considerably more than "a buck or two", but you get my point!

Hey guys I browse this site weekly however this is my first ever post! When I lived in Houston's Post Midtown Square 8-9 years ago I prayed that "Midtown" would eventually get developed into this true urban oasis that many Haif'ers (like myself) crave, but when I would come back to visit 2-3 times a year I would notice that "Midtown" was at best slow to develop and half of the new development was disappointing to say the least (i.e. both new suburban style CVS stores). I live in Midtown Atlanta right in the mix of everything and would always wonder why Houston's "Midtown" couldn't get their act together. My neighborhood is vibrant, eclectic, and walkable with numerous newly developed and older highrise and midrise condos above retail. When visiting Houston back in June of this year I finally realized that "Midtown" is really not comparable with Atlanta's Midtown in terms of demographics, economics, and development focus. For years I had been comparing apples and oranges. However what I did observe is that Houston does have an "Atlanta-like" midtown area but it's just not called "Midtown". In fact I'm not sure if it really has an identifying name at all. I'd say the area west/southwest of downtown extending pretty much all the way out towards the River Oaks/Uptown area is Houston's true "Midtown"! The blighted area south/southwest of the CBD between downtown and the medical center has potential to be this great urban utopia, however I believe the attention of developers has always been the area more west of downtown for obvious reasons (demographics, median household income, population etc.)