Jump to content

Two Shell Plaza At 811 Louisiana St.


TheNiche

Recommended Posts

I think Houston should be ready to buy these parc of land .. and place them in the incetive zone of Res development if these projects fall thou... Downtown Houston is trying to do something and I for one am sick of these companies buying land and sitting on them for decades.. while they twitle their thumps.. Ither crap or get off the pot but never again should we let these companies treat Houston like the red headed step child. hindering our developlemt till they decided to grace us with their presence.. Buy the land and place it under a residental tax incetive program

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even the Energy Corridor is well west of the city's demographic center. Even if you pretend that nothing exists east of Downtown, the Energy Corridor would still not be the demographic center.

 

I wonder if, after they finish filling in greenfields between Spring and The Woodlands, the area between The Woodlands and Conroe will be next. I suppose it probably won't even take that long. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely have mixed feelings about this remodeling.  In general I am convinced that any major remodeling destroys both architectural integrity and the long-term economic value of the property.  Try to find me one good example of a major remodeling that ultimately wasn't regretted (read the 806 Main thread)*.  And in this case, the refacing is covering up the sole architecturally interesting component of the existing facade, the lower-floor windows sized to give the impression of arches.  

 

That said, this isn't a case I would probably want to put a stake in the ground about, or chain myself to the doors to prevent.  Even with the arched windows Two Shell has always verged on total anonymity downtown.  I'm not sure anyone would ever really call it out as a prime example of the 1967 - 1972 style of bland semi-brutalist office buildings.  That isn't my favorite style to begin with.  

 

 

* Offhand list of regrettable downtown "modernizations":

Lamar Hotel

West Building

C&I Building

Kirby Building

806 Main

Krupp & Tuffley Building (Main at Walker)

Block across Main from Gulf Building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely have mixed feelings about this remodeling. In general I am convinced that any major remodeling destroys both architectural integrity and the long-term economic value of the property. Try to find me one good example of a major remodeling that ultimately wasn't regretted (read the 806 Main thread)*. And in this case, the refacing is covering up the sole architecturally interesting component of the existing facade, the lower-floor windows sized to give the impression of arches.

That said, this isn't a case I would probably want to put a stake in the ground about, or chain myself to the doors to prevent. Even with the arched windows Two Shell has always verged on total anonymity downtown. I'm not sure anyone would ever really call it out as a prime example of the 1967 - 1972 style of bland semi-brutalist office buildings. That isn't my favorite style to begin with.

* Offhand list of regrettable downtown "modernizations":

Lamar Hotel

West Building

C&I Building

Kirby Building

806 Main

Krupp & Tuffley Building (Main at Walker)

Block across Main from Gulf Building

Didn't the old Bank of the Southwest building have a renovation like this on it's lower floors at one point? They look kind of non-50's.

I'd add the Bender/San Jacinto Hotel to your list, and maybe the Chronicle building.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't the old Bank of the Southwest building have a renovation like this on it's lower floors at one point? They look kind of non-50's.

I'd add the Bender/San Jacinto Hotel to your list, and maybe the Chronicle building.

 

The Bank of the Southwest building was facelifted I think in the 1990s.  At least it was minor compared to some of these.

 

Definitely the Chronicle.  The Bender/San Jacinto building is an interesting case.  It was more than just a refacing like the others on the list.  The original structure was not only refaced, but it was more than doubled in size and re-purposed from a hotel to an office building. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where does one detect the sense of history?  The more I look at the rendering the more it reminds me of black shoes paired with white socks.

At least the entire facade isn't going to be blue glass. This bottom floor renovation works with the color of the building. Not quite as fabulous as the Tenneco Building lobby redo, but still modern. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted this in another thread, but it probably belongs here...

 

I don't understand how Shell signed a lease for 1.3 million sf of space downtown in 2011, and then decides now that they don't need 357k of it.

 

A couple of interesting statements from an article in 2012:

 

Today, Shell’s downtown offices occupy space at One Shell, Two Shell, Pennzoil Place and Two Houston Center, but by 2014 the company will be in One Shell, Two Shell and 1000 Main. Shell is working towards modernizing its workplace, to allow for greater collaboration and less isolation of employees. The company expects the size of the staff to stay the same, but the workflow and interaction will become more efficient.

 

“Following a very detailed analysis of options available within downtown and in suburban areas, a renewal at One and Two Shell most closely matched our business needs and employee experience we wanted to create,” says Jeri A. Ballard, vice president of global real estate strategy & portfolio for Royal Dutch Shell. “This included access to amenities, public transportation options, minimized commute time, economics and total carbon footprint of the location.” Ballard adds that no other part of town offers the depth of amenities found downtown.

 

“We did evaluate constructing a new building in the Houston central business district, but the One and Two Shell options most closely meet our needs,” says Ballard. “Hines will be going through a major base building modernization of One and Two Shell, which will ensure that they will remain class A buildings for years to come.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Houston should be ready to buy these parc of land .. and place them in the incetive zone of Res development if these projects fall thou... Downtown Houston is trying to do something and I for one am sick of these companies buying land and sitting on them for decades.. while they twitle their thumps.. Ither crap or get off the pot but never again should we let these companies treat Houston like the red headed step child. hindering our developlemt till they decided to grace us with their presence.. Buy the land and place it under a residental tax incetive program

 

what in god's name are you harpnig about? Houston is currently the number one city for real estate investment and development. more companies are relocating here than almost any other city in the country. and do you know why? b/c of these companies who "buy and sit on [land] for decades while twitling their thumps(?)". get a grip.

 

Even the Energy Corridor is well west of the city's demographic center. Even if you pretend that nothing exists east of Downtown, the Energy Corridor would still not be the demographic center.

 

I wonder if, after they finish filling in greenfields between Spring and The Woodlands, the area between The Woodlands and Conroe will be next. I suppose it probably won't even take that long. 

 

you are wrong. 

 

Demographic center of Houston is at I-10 and Silber

 

moving out towards i-10 and the beltway.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

what in god's name are you harpnig about? Houston is currently the number one city for real estate investment and development. more companies are relocating here than almost any other city in the country. and do you know why? b/c of these companies who "buy and sit on [land] for decades while twitling their thumps(?)". get a grip.

 

 

 

 

 

I was being half serious and half joking dude.. second if you cant reply with a little more respect then dont reply at all

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...

Yikes! Looks just awful and it doesn't even match the building. Should have left the classic stone cladding alone. Not every tower needs to look like it's sitting on top of a parking garage podium because essentially that's what this looks like now, albeit poorly done.

Edited by intencity77
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...