VelvetJ

Operating costs are well below revenues. HCTRA takes the surplus money and puts it toward more rapid system expansion. Doesn't really bother me too much.

So basically money from the toll roads is being spent on the building of NEW toll roads? This bothers me much. Tolls from toll roads should be used to pay for themselves, then removing or reducing the tolls once that is done. Why should the toll I pay from 249 to Westheimer ($6 round trip per day + gas) go toward a new toll road on 288? I don't use 288. Why should the tolls my parents pay on the South Sam Houston tollway go to the accelleration of the expansion of the Katy Freeway, a freeway that neither of them ever use?

The HCTRA is out of control and something needs to be done.

Just a fyi, there is a full page advertisment in this weeks Time Magazine for Titan. Randall Davis has gone national with this one.

So, who is this Houston fellow of whom you speak? I would like to meet him, as he seems to control everthing that is built in the city.

I will venture away from my rule Redscare.

For those who do not realize it, there is no single person who controls everything built in Houston, and I find it quite interesting that some (not only you Redscare) can't seem to figure out what my reference to "Houston" is. It's all about tones. It has been my experience that different cities have different tones and those tones have a tendency to reflect themselves in not only the people but in the city environments as well. Is the fact so many buildings in Dallas have night lighting because a single person owns all of the buildings there? Does the fact Chicago overall has such a great variety of great architecture because a single individual has owned all of the buildings over the years? I've used this example a million times but would the Mercer design have EVEN BEEN CONSIDERED for Buckhead in Atlanta, or Uptown in Dallas, or Downtown San Diego (please no technical responses regarding zoning laws )? My point is I have watched the tone in Houston change in the past 10-15 years especially in architectural design and it has been tough to witness considering I witnessed a time of great architectural choices for the city. A tone seemed to have been set in Houston where forward-thinking ideas all but had disappeared, and where mediocre architecture as a whole seemed to had become the rule of thumb. There have been some exceptions of course like 1500 Louisiana, and the Chapel at St. Thomas, but overall the designs for Houston in recent history has been blah, and I personally believe it is because a tone has been set in the city where blah has become acceptable. So for every great piece we get, there are 4 more blah pieces to counter it.

I believe it was here where someone made a post not long ago about there being a tone in Texas and Houston where ANYTHING was possible. Being on the cutting edge was not a bad thing. Today, without skipping a beat someone is ready to jump with not only why something can't be done but why it shouldn't be done. It seems most people forgot a building does not have to be a trillion dollar spectacle to have a quality design.... MainPlace anyone?

I must say however in the past year I have seen signs of a possible tone tilt. I hope it continues.

So Redscare when you read my tagline and some of my posts, hopefully you will now understand my references to Houston is not to a individual person who controls all in the city, but to a tone and a overall attitude in the city that manifests itself in different things (SPOOKY).

It was just an observation. HAIFys are always wishing for better architecture. We're always yearning for nice streetscapes on these new structures. I'm just saying, there's no reason we can't make our city LOOk better while it BECOMES better. Don't you agree?

Precisely. Why must it always be one or the other for some Houstonians? If something is built for the citizens of Houston, what is wrong with it looking nice as well? As my mother would tell me, " if you are going to iron the shirt, iron the entire thing including the areas people can't see". If something is built in Houston, every aspect of it should be important, not just the functionality of it. Maybe it's time for Houston to give a bit more attention to how things look in the city as opposed to only focusing on whether something will make someone a profit or how cheaply something can be done.

Appearance matters and it doesn't always have to be at the expense of qaulity or functionality.

It sounds nice, I just don't think it will work. Without natural barriers to confine sprawl and cheap private transportation, there aren't enough incentives to maintain high density.

I don't know. I think Houston attracts people who don't want high density residences and good public transportation, people who enjoy a yard with a fence and sitting alone in their car for a couple of hours each day with the AC at full blast. My gut tells me the love of the private automobile is so deep we'll always figure out a way to keep them.

If I really wanted to live in a pedestrian friendly city, I know of several good ones I could move to.

OMG, I hate to even say this for a number of reasons, but I think Atlanta is doing a better job at creating a environment for itself to maintain higher density and some would argue they don't have natural barriers to confine their sprawl either. I know the city overall is a sprawling monster and sprawls even moreso than Houston if I am not mistaken. But from what I see, they are really putting effort into making high density lifestyles work. I know Houston is a different animal, which is why I think strong pockets of it here would be more effective.

I understand what you mean when you say Houston attracts people who don't want high density, in fact I am one of them to a degree. Believe it or not, I have no problem with Houston's density overall. My thing is, high density should be available in this huge metropolis that we call Houston........for those of us who would like that type of lifestyle. Houston is diverse enough now for me to believe there are those who want it. Look at the Post Development in Midtown.

Though I enjoy and prefer my lifestyle at the moment, I lived in St. Louis in another life in a "urban" environment and there were aspects of that lifestyle that I really enjoyed and wouldn't mind having that option again maybe later in life, but in Houston. And with all due respect memebag, whenever this subject comes up, the first thing some suggest is moving. "Houston should have a rail option".....move! "Houston should have more entertainment options for families".......move! "A metro area of this size should have a theme park".....move! "Billboards on the North Freeway make it look tacky".......move! It really does nothing and is a distraction from the subject, so stop it or move!

Some may interpret what I'm saying as I want Houston to be Manhattan and that is far from the truth. Houston will never be Manhattan and most of us don't want that anyway. However, again my ideal is to have pockets of areas that can offer a similar style of living if it is desired.

People in Houston will always have private transportation. The same is true for most other cities. And I'm not against that. But hypothetically speaking, if I could take a bullet train from the Galleria to Intercontinental in 10 minutes.....guess what. I would leave my car at home and do it. The only reason I don't do it now is NOT because I love my car so much, but because I don't have that option.

Oh by the way, I think the HP is going to be nice.

I'm beginning to get this style/substance divide on HAIF.....

Well my frustration with the style/substance divide on HAIF is the tone that they both cannot coexist in Houston. It seems it has to be either one or the other. Why can't a office tower in Houston be full of tenants and have an illuminated fin at the same time? I believe it is indeed possible for a city to LOOK exciting as well as BE exciting. It does not have to be a situation of it being either one or the other.

I also agree with Dallasboi in that HP can help set the foundation for that vibrant downtown we desire, despite all of the vibrancy some residents already have inside of them. Will HP suddenly thrust Houston into the stratosphere of cities like Tokyo, Paris, or New York City, of course not but it can lay the groundwork for Houston becoming a better city by becoming a more dynamic city through a choice of diverse offerings. Personally, I love the clean manicured look of Post Oak in Uptown with the Space Age Arches and suspended street signs. But you know what, I love the Montrose with it's organic chaos and funkiness, just as well.

Also, memebag why can't Houston be a place where a automobile is still in the budget for most but can still offer up pockets of high density pedestrian friendly enviroments connected by rail as well if some of it's citizens desired? Besides, how much longer will the automobile be in the budget of Houstonians? Tolls are continuing to be raised on top of more than our share of new tollroads are being planned and rolled out. Plus I predicted $5.00 a gallon gas on this website a couple of years ago, and as of today it looks like we are well on our way.

Houston could use a few more spires, so this is a pretty fresh design for our town.

But spires on buildings in Houston would mean we are trying to be like someone else and Houston should focus on being itself.

Anyway, love the design of this one. It really is a refreshing design for the city. I hope the actual building stays true to the rendering.

I had ambivalent feelings about this until I read EDI would design it. Now I am TOTALLY against it. Whether it's on Main, Bisonnet or some other place in the Museum District, Houston could do better without another eyesore from EDI . Fight homowners...fight!

Though I am not a fan of the "70's hospital" color that was chosen for the building, I do like the design. It is quite dramatic. Plus I love the light fixture at the top. I hope it is properly lit at night with more than just a couple of low wattage lamps to illuminate it.

Welcome to the board.

Is there a public rendering yet? I hope it's another glass/steel tower like the Cosmopolitan. Those fit the Uptown are much more than the Manhattan and Empire IMO.

Totally agree here. Please no more red brick for Uptown. Glasss and Steel, Glass and Steel!!

It is interesting if you know the story behind its form.

Chase, formerly Texas Commerce Bank Bldg, was going up at the same time as the BOA bldg, formerly RepublicBank Bldg.

This was the early 80s when banks were building big ego driven masterpieces. At the time, I M Pei's Chase building, was to be the tallest bldg west of the Mississippi, but that wasn't enough.

Texas Commerce wanted their bank to 'look down' on the Philip Johnson's RepublicBank building. Hence the otherwise square building has a 5th angled side...to give it a face by which it could stare down at the other new bank building a few blocks away.

...or so the story goes.

Wow, that's a great story. I wish I could have been in Houston during the historic building boom.

I really like this building. It's a nice fresh design for Houston. I am so glad a "up to date" design with a atypical element was chosen for the city. Great atypical designs and ideas is what put Houston on the map architecturally and I for one hope this Hines building is a sign developers for Houston buildings are reverting back to that.

Bravo to the Hines Group!

Our icon should be the lack of an icon? What are you talking about? The lack of one DOES bring us into conformity. The whole idea of an icon is that it's something that sets you or your city or your business apart. That's why companies have logos. C'mon economist Niche, how iconic would a business be with no logo, generic business cards, and products of all the same size, shape, and colors.

Like it or not, NO icon is what would make Houston like almost everywhere else. No icon is why some people say, "Houston, what's there besides NASA?" Icons are why Las Vegas, Orlando, Washington, New York, and others are set apart from the Charlottes, Buffalos, Tampas, and Phoenixes of the world. No icons is why most of Sugar Land will feel just like Addison, Round Rock, Leander, McKinney, Plano, Metairie, Mesa, Naperville, Scottsdale, and Fairfax. No need of listing the states because you can be dropped in them all and not tell the difference most of the time.

Thankfully Houston was started in 1836 and not 2006--otherwise there would be no Astrodome (thankfully foolish foreign Deutsche Bank saved it from the Houstonian Efficiciency Complex), no San Jacinto Monument, no Memorial Park (an open park as the "highest and best economical use of the land?"), and maybe even no NASA (today's thinkers would probably use a cost/benefit analysis and say there's no future in space exploration if their thought processes were warped back in time)

GovernorAggie for MAYOR of Houston, GovernorAggie for MAYOR of Houston!!!!!! Say it brother.

Even after a few years, I still cringe when I see that building. There should be a citywide contest on suggestions of how to make the highly visible backside more appealing to the eye.

I have to also say I was disappointed to learn the new Highrise condo project in Clear Lake would have a similar but slightly altered tunnel type backside design facing the highly visible Nasa Parkway. I then learned the same people who did the Mercer were responsible for the Endeavor and it all made sense.

It's such a shame such designs can so easily be approved. It is also such a shame that the Uptown skyline has been so horribly scarred all in the name of cutting corners by using the tunnel design. The Mercer design is a example of the negative side of embracing doing things "on the cheap".

Houston builds on the cheap-although really good architecture doesn't always require alot of money.

OH MY GOODNESS, someone in Houston finally admitted this?!?!

nmainguy, you are correct in good architecture doesn't always require a lot of money, but embracing a habit of building on the cheap certainly can open the door to mediocre designs, and that hasn't been more evident than in Houston over the past decade.

I realize Ms. Sarnoff mentioned that in the recent article. That was in fact the genesis of my inquiry. But remember, Ms. Sarnoff is the same "reporter" who told us that with the construction of 2727 Kirby, Houston was at long last beginning to catch up with Dallas and Atlanta with high-rise condominiums, apparently oblivious to the dozens of high-rises that have been scattered around central Houston for decades. Sorry, but I need a more reliable source than Sarnoff.

I can't speak for her but is it possible she meant high-rise condominium construction, which Houston has appeared to be a step behind in the general recent years compared to some of it's comparable counterparts? I'm sure she is aware of the highrise condo buildings in Houston.

Casinos in Galveston now.

Though I am glad to see the Energy Belt Skyline grow even more, the conservative designs of these buildings leave much to be desired. Buildings don't always have to be extravagant spectacles to be exciting to look at.

West of Best Buy but East of Hidalgo? Hidalgo runs east to west. Did you mean East of McCue? If so then it i sprobably the MarkII. They have had their sign in that empty lot for a long time.

Whoops, my bad. You are right.

Hey I actually like Houston Green.

While on Richmond on yesterday, I saw a rendering that looked similar to this project in an open lot just West of the Best Buy but east of Hidalgo Street there on Richmond. I was driving and couldn't get a really good look but I think it may have been the Turnberry building.

Does anyone know if that is the correct location of the project and if so, what is the status of groudbreaking?

I think it should be something plain and simple like "Comfort Park". I think it's kinda catchy. I can see it now, "Oh yeah, we are having a soccer match at the CP", or "Let's meet today for lunch at Comfort Park". It could work.

By the way, if someone would like to use the idea to submit, by all means. Dinner and Astro's gear isn't quite enough to get me excited enough to submit it.

I agree. I personally prefer something 100% unique. What I'm saying is that I don't understand why we would copy a design already in Dallas. I'm saying that if they're compelled to copy something, might as well be something from out-of-state.

But I agree, I wanna see something at the Dome you can't find anywhere else.

I agree. It's funny how some of our citizens would lable mass transit as "trying to be like someone else", and "trying to be something we are not", but would build a hotel in the Dome with an exact replica of themes as a MAJOR hotel in our sister city to the north. We scoff at creating a SINGLE intersection in this gigantic city of ours that is pedestrian friendly complete with Giant Monitors and al fresco resturants because "we are not New York and don't want to be", though other cities are building similar styled developments (including Dallas), but we would outline one of our downtown office towers in neon green like our neighbor to the north.

If the Dome is to become a giant hotel, it should be something that one cannot find anywhere else, PARTICULARLY in another major Texas city. If Houston is to "just be itself", like so many here like to suggest, this Dome project should be unique to Houston and Houston only.

When I think of Houston, I think of cutting edge modern architecture... maybe that could be the "theme" of Houston's Gaylord.

Those days for Houston are gone. The cheapest and most conservative design possible should now be Houston's theme.

Not against the idea but I am not thrilled with the concept, simply because it is the exact same concept of the hotel in Dallas. The only difference is Dallas' Hotel was built from scratch.

We always say Houston should be Houston, well this is a case where I couldn't stress that more. I say re-theme it so it will be different from the one in Dallas.

MY own personal idea for the Dome was to turn it into a indoor ski resort so we could push the idea of snow skiing in Houston and being on the warm beaches of Galveston within the same hour. But it was shot down on this site and I don't think it ever even crossed any developers mind in Houston. Oh well, Dallas has actually beat us to it anyway so I suppose we can go snow skiing up there .