Jump to content

marc

Full Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    490

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by marc

  1. marc
    Very Nice. Some times i think this tower gets overlooked because of the Williams Tower and former TX Commerce Tower. Like other posters, i think it adds great distinctiveness to Houston's skyline. I tried to go to the observation deck back in Dec. when i visited Houston, but it was closed. Is this still true? I would love to be able to see some of the posted vistas first hand. m.
  2. marc
    Thanks everyone for your comments. It seems what you all have said is exactly the response i got from my friends. Some hate it.........others love it. I had noticed even the Hyde Park area is undergoing changes. It also seems, like some of you said, that the trend for most large potential filled cities is to become even larger.........the nature of the beast. I often wonder in cities like Austin, thanks to the communications revolution, the concept of "downtown" may be reworked. What i mean is that DT is no longer for large corporations when satellite offices located throughout a city are just as effective. In fact, CEOs can even work from their own home. SO, like in so many other American cities, if the trend for the next generation will be to turn DT into hyper-culture centers full of living spaces and the ammenities residents will require? If this is the case I wonder what that will mean for the DT look?? Maybe more mid-rises rather than supertalls. m.
  3. marc
    Very Cool. I was in Austin this past spring and had not been there since 2000. What an amazing difference! The Frost Tower alone has reshaped the skyline. I like that it seems city planners and developers think very long and hard before just throwing up a building in our capital city. Most have a distinct "flavor" to them. I hope that trend continues with all the massive development. As a local, how do you feel about the explosion of growth and development? I have some Austinite friends and the reviews are mixed. Half love the development, half are afraid it will lose its charm by becoming a Dallas or Houston. Like either of those cities do not have charm? Interesting take on it...to me. But then again, I am orginally from Houston. m.
  4. marc
    I think it is a difficult- but not impossible- task to incorporate old and new. I do agree (having been there several times) that European architects make that there mantra. OR...like in Paris or Moscow- the new is separated from the old. London has been, in my opinion the most successful with incorporating old and new styles and still maintains her charm. I think the 80's (i know we keep going back to that) really helped define Houston. It was build, build, build for the sake of office space to house the oil industry and subsidiaries thereof - and although there was great care taken for creative designs- it seems the goal was to show off the power of the industry, which i think was very successful. Perhaps Houston is trying to redefine herself. Where does she fit in? Although TX has been making a name on not only the national level, but internationally too, and of course it is now know as the Third Coast- it seems much of the kudos still goes to big D. Yet, obviously, Houston has wealth, opportunity and most importantly, affordable housing. My point is that I wonder if there is a quagmire regarding what Houston "should be". I wonder if leaders often pose the questions of: How do we maintain Houston's character but not seem like a has been city? So many of our US cities, like Detroit and Cleveland, give off the impression of decay and an era gone by. SO, how does Houston balance her rich historical "seediness", yet look like a 21st century urban utopia? Visionaries more intelligent than myself will have to come up with solutions to that one. m.
  5. marc
    I would have to disagree- i think spires will always attract the eye. It sort of points our focal direction up. Yes, Atlanta has an overabundance of them, and although i love Chicago's skyline, they could lay off the double spire/antenna business for the next few highrises. But, just picture it, in the middle of downtown, a nice glistening building (glass, stone and shining metal) with a spire on top???? No? You can't see that? Give Houston a new image for a new millineum?? That sort of stuff. Maybe, say, a 1000ft tower with a 200ft spire?? No? m.
  6. marc
    I agree. Like Austin, I think that Houston (albeit) has great designs showcased in many highrises, could use a giant spire or two. Just to get it out of the flat top look. m.
  7. marc
    Cool yes, but looks like something from the Sims game. m.
  8. marc
    (818)?? that is my neck of the woods! Is the company based in LA? m.
  9. marc
    Even though I am a screaming liberal, I have a special affection for The Donald. His perseverance; rise and fall.........amuses me. And yes, sometimes, he does "design" some of his buildings.....but usually, in my opinion, those he has are awfully gawdy and have his name plastered all over them. Shameless self promotion. But thank you for affirming what I thought to be the truth. The Donald is a developer, not an architect. m.
  10. marc
    Donald Trump, to my knowledge, is only a developer. I think he has some say in how he wants his towers to look, but i believe he hires architects to create his vision. m.
  11. marc
    I just wonder if the Donald would even consider developing a highrise hotel/condos in the Uptown area? He seems to be everywhere these days. I have been reading the posts. Is the plain truth this?? There really isn't a market for residential/commercial highrises right now? I mean a really tall one like Trump tower in Chicago, or Tampa, or Miami, or Las Vegas?? Give me hope...........somebody m.
  12. marc
    Yes, I haven't thought of that place in years....... my elementary class used to go there..........when i was, i think, in about 3rd-4th grade........i remember, they played the Star Wars theme all the time...... What about Peppermint Park? m.
  13. marc
    Too bad, i really like the Riva look. but right now almost anything would be a great addition. Does anyone know what the market is like concerning potential commercial developement? In other words, yeah, build the complex, BUT will it be used or sit half empty? m.
  14. marc
    Exactly, too bad SL developers cannot take a leap of faith and build something akin to the Williams Tower in SL.........not as big and tall, maybe........... but a 30-40 storey building right in the middle of the low-rise developement......what a monolithic type beacon for that area. m.
  15. marc
    This is nice. I hope it actually gets built. Maybe, being built in the Galleria area will prompt the Light Rail to speed up plans to extend to that area....... THEN........maybe midtown will see the success of such a prestigious complex and build something REALLY nice there........ I would love it if this would spark a friendly (who can build the more beautiful complex) war between Uptown and Midtown. How fun..........and pleasing to the eye........and fantastic for the Houston economy. m.
  16. marc
  17. marc
    Yeah,...............honestly, I agree. Having more mid and low rise buildings fill in Uptown would be great......... and having a 70+ storey stucture in the DT area would be a feather in the Houston cap............. But..who would fund such a deal? any thoughts? m.
  18. marc
    ahh, got it. Thanks. Do you think there are any future plans (near future, I mean) for another tower in the Galleria area.............either residential or commercial? Or will the tower formerly known as Transco, be the icon for several more years.....maybe even decades? I just wonder.......if under the table...........or even above the table........there is some sort of unspoken rule for developers in that area........ "Nothing Supercedes the Williams Tower"........ Anyone know anything??? m.
  19. marc
    The NEW TexecoChevron Tower?? Enlighten me. m.
  20. marc
    You probably all know this...........but.............just FYI................Hines is behind much of the First Colony expansion. Also.............overseas?..............where?.............. and why? thanks. m.
  21. marc
    Maybe he would consider building another one for the 21st century??????? or is he now bankrupt. You know how the 80's were. m.
  22. marc
  23. marc
    Check out the Sugar Land Chamber of Commerce website. I think you will be pleased with the goings-on in the next few years. This may be a rumor..........BUT.............i heard that the investors who had been backing a monorail type train for the Golden Triangle (Houston, Dallas and SA) had come very short of the projected $12 B needed for the project. BUT...... I guess they have given Houston's light rail project a nod............they seem to have $4 B raised............... any news about that. AND yes, it would be nice to run the light rail to the Galleria, then through Sharpstown.........all the way to Sugar Land. m.
  24. marc
    Wouldn't it be cool to put a very tall 500'+ condo high rise right there? One of the many things i LOVE about Houston is the liberal zoning laws. It is sort of cool to have a skyscraper next to a cow pasture. Something very Texas....... cool. Not that the area has cows anymore.....but I think you get what I mean. Even a 30 storey tower would stand out.......like Williams Tower does around the Galleria area. (64 storeys with nothing even close in heighth nearby) . Your thoughts?
  25. marc
    What is going to replace Towne and Country Mall?
×
×
  • Create New...