Urbannizer Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) Kso I was searching around the Internet today and found this: Looks to be around the 1,000ft range. KPF was the architect. You can clearly see 3 Allen Center and the Doubletree Hotel in the background. Pretty sure it was proposed sometime in the 80's. Anyone have more info on this one? Sad thing that it did'nt happen. KPF designed a series of striking post-modern towers during the 80's that unfortunately were never built. I know its off topic slightly but I thought it was worth showing these 2 skyscrapers that were both proposed by the practise for Houston. The one on the left was KPF's entry into The Bank of the Southwest competion that came runner up to Helmut Jahns winning but unbuilt design. The other tower is unamed but intended for a site on the fringes of Houstons CBD. Its a pity none of them, including Travelstead, were ever built IMO.http://img.photobuck.../larven/kpf.jpg Link Edited January 17, 2011 by Urbannizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I don't have more information on it other than it was called the Block 265 proposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I *think* it might have been a proposal for Enron back in the dayORIt was a proposal for... HL&P, Entex - or whatever the light company was back then.But 256 Block proposal is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Kso I was searching around the Internet today and found this: Looks to be around the 1,000ft range. KPF was the architect. You can clearly see 3 Allen Center and the Doubletree Hotel in the background. Pretty sure it was proposed sometime in the 80's. Anyone have more info on this one? Sad thing that it did'nt happen. Link Wow, this one (first one) is weird looking, kind of Russian like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Wow, this one (first one) is weird looking, kind of Russian like. I kinda like it, here's another rendering of the first one: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Williams Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) the Block 265 tower was supposed to be 90ish floors... the FAA probably would have made them reduce that to 75 like they did with the Texas Commerce Bank tower..Block 265, according to a map printed in the Houston Post back in the late 70's, was directly across Bagby from the DoubletreeTraffic in Houston was BAD in the early 80's- much worse than now! Can you imagine how bad it would have been if there were an additional 30000 people working downtown in BOTSW, Block 265, and the also never built Campeau tower? Edited January 20, 2011 by Al Williams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I kinda like it, here's another rendering of the first one: Is that a rendering or the real thing? Is that Houston that it's in??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Williams Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 it's a render pasted in to where the BotSW Tower was to be built Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxman Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Yeah, you can see Wells Fargo going up in the background. Looks like it was pretty close to being topped out when they made this rendering which would have been circa 1980. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 It's different, kinda weird, I don't think it would have fit well into Houston's skyline. I'm glad it's not here, regardless of how tall it is.It would fit better in Atlanta's skyline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golyadkin Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Every time I read about the Block 265 tower, I die a little that it was never built, knowing that this is now in its place: Really wish there was some other solution to parking in downtown than taking up most of it was parking lots and garages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Every time I read about the Block 265 tower, I die a little that it was never built, knowing that this is now in its place: Really wish there was some other solution to parking in downtown than taking up most of it was parking lots and garages. Too many ppl live too far out to make too much of a difference in the parking lot market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golyadkin Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Too many ppl live too far out to make too much of a difference in the parking lot market. I we could just build an efficient mass transit system... Like have large park-and-rides out away from the center of the city, off every freeway into downtown, and had a light rail connecting downtown to those lots. We could have about a dozen large parking garages miles from downtown, and the need for ridiculous traffic and obscene amounts of parking downtown would be hugely reduced. Oh well. A man can dream... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Yeah, you can see Wells Fargo going up in the background. Looks like it was pretty close to being topped out when they made this rendering which would have been circa 1980. Wells Fargo (nee' Allied Bank) had just completed the installation of its exterior glass approximately two weeks before Hurricane Alicia struck (August, 1983.) it's a render pasted in to where the BotSW Tower was to be built From Emporis: The entire 79th floor was intended to be an observation deck which could be accessed for a small fee. The cleared block for this tower eventually became a street-level parking lot. The Southwest Tower was demolished to make way for this tower. This proposal won a design competition 1982, but was never built. The "romantic modernist" design was a precursor to other Murphy/Jahn skyscrapers such as Park Avenue Tower (New York), One Liberty Place and Two Liberty Place (Philadelphia), and MesseTurm (Frankfurt). Edited January 30, 2011 by dbigtex56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 (edited) snafu Edited January 30, 2011 by Coaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 (edited) I will never give up on this building. Someone will surely resurrect it. Here it is almost 30 years later and people are still talking about it. At the same time, I am so glad they never built that hideous russian/asian monstrosity. It would have ruined Houston's skyline. Edited January 30, 2011 by Coaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I will never give up on this building. Someone will surely resurrect it. Here it is almost 30 years later and people are still talking about it. At the same time, I am so glad they never built that hideous russian/asian monstrosity. It would have ruined Houston's skyline.Yeah, it's not bad. I wouldn't mind it one bit if they built it, but I think they should tweak it just a tad to make it look a little more modern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 A nice thing about the winning design was that the tower was rotated to face the corners of the block, instead of aligned with the street grid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golyadkin Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Is this thread about the Block 265 Tower or the Bank of the Southwest Tower? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Williams Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 seems to be about both now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 More of the Block 265 proposal from a video presentation that was emailed to me. The video dates back to March 1986, after the project was called off. I think many of you would not like the tower if it did exist today because of the location, the tower stands out. It was proposed to be 82-floors. Not the best quality, old video: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I think it looks good. Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Would have been the focal point of the skyline. Well ahead of it's time, looks like every skyscraper built in the 90's in Los Angeles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I've got an old book on Skyscrapers circa 1982-84 and it mentions this building (as well as a few others in Houston). I believe it is listed at about 1,300 feet in height? I'll take a look when I get home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Scan some pics too please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I'll scan some pictures tomorrow when I bring that book to work with me. My home scanner is kaput. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Block 265 I would have rated as only OK. The design doesn't seem well suited to the skyline placement. If it had been up to a vote I would have gone with Bank of the Southwest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 No bueno. What's the title of the book? I have the. Book for the bosw tower competition at home. Awesome book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 It isn't that one (I think). It talks about a lot of buildings around the country. I'll scan images from it tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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