dbigtex56 Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 My guess is that some committee of soulless corporate nitwits decided that they were "funny-looking" and decided that making the towers look boring is somehow a virtue. 9 hours ago, JLWM8609 said: Ugh. Anybody know why they decided to remove the spires? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 It's like seeing someone take a Bedazzler to a Gucci bag. 2 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 On 5/15/2021 at 8:47 PM, dbigtex56 said: It's like seeing someone take a Bedazzler to a Gucci bag. Improving it? This is more like an extreme body modification. Like removing the nose or ears. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 I wonder if removing the spires had anything to do with nearby helicopter pads? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 Hopefully someone will come on here and let us in on what the plans are. I think this would be an aesthetic disgrace. Possibly one of the ten best buildings in Houston altered. It was a landmark. Surely they plan to replace them. 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChannelTwoNews Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 So... has anyone ever gotten any additional info on why the spires are being taken down? I recall seeing stories from last year regarding the leasing attempts but nothing mentioning anything like this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 The original proposal had 3 towers. Here's the physical model. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htxbuildinggeek Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 They’re completely gone. How could the owner’s commit such a travesty? That building held so many memories from my childhood. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79ta Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 (edited) disappointing news https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/07/13/ask-2-where-did-the-spires-on-top-of-that-houston-hospital-building-go/ Quote “Texas Children’s Hospital purchased Fannin Tower in late 2016, and has discussed branding opportunities as the new owner. While most of our focus was on developing a plan for the building’s interior, the recent failure of an aviation strobe at the top of the east spire prompted a study of some of the exterior elements of the building as well. Our engineering team discovered the hoist system designed for strobe repairs became compromised at some point over the last 30 years, causing the work to replace the aviation strobe to be much more complex and costly. Out of an abundance of caution, we commissioned a study of the hoist system and structural elements of the spire system. The results indicated it would be more cost-effective to remove the spires rather than implement a long-term repair of the system. Texas Children’s opted to remove the spires when factoring in the risk and cost of accessing the strobes 470 feet above ground level every five years.” Edited July 13, 2021 by 79ta 1 1 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarface Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 Nooo!!! Please tell me this isn't happening!!! Everything architecturally inspiring and sound in Houston ends up ceasing. The spires in the Medical Center (Texas Children's Hospital) made an architectural statement, especially on the nightscape of Texas Medical Center skyline. It made a statement at night. Why is it when it comes to Houston's case, cost becomes a big issue and it doesn't seem to affect other big cities? For example, Dallas's BOA and Reunion tower continue to iconically light their buildings, but when it comes to building owners in Houston, they all decide to go CHEAPO and talk about cost. Not enough of our buildings have spires or crowns. Our downtown skyline literally goes dark and bland at night. I bet the lighted arches over 59 heading toward downtown are going to stop next. Apologies for the rant post and mods, I didn't mean to drag Dallas in the mix, it's just hell of frustrating that this has to keep happening in Houston. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-spires-missing-texas-medical-center-16326367.php 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarface Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 Sorry guys. I'm super late and had been out of town not realizing this topic has been discussed. My bad. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 On 7/21/2021 at 5:42 PM, scarface said: Sorry guys. I'm super late and had been out of town not realizing this topic has been discussed. My bad. Apparently im even more late.. just stumbled onto this architectural travesty by means of the TMC3 thread. WTF, this was by far the best tower in the TMC, and one of the best designs in the entire city. This seriously saddens me way more than it should. What a disgrace to Pelli.. RIP. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 On 8/19/2021 at 10:50 PM, cloud713 said: Apparently im even more late.. just stumbled onto this architectural travesty by means of the TMC3 thread. WTF, this was by far the best tower in the TMC, and one of the best designs in the entire city. This seriously saddens me way more than it should. What a disgrace to Pelli.. RIP. I just noticed the other day they were missing. I'm even farther behind that you guys. Personal anecdote, I had put together pricing/proposals with a previous firm to perform condition assessment and repair designs for the crown structures back in 2017 or 18. went with someone else obviously. Pity, would have liked to keep those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 Mods, can we change the title of this thread? I'm pretty certain this is no longer the "O'Quinn Medical Tower." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.