Museum Of Fine Arts Houston At 1001 Bissonnet St.

[DarklyMoron]

@hindesky@rgarza The sculpture of a woman outside the restaurant is La Rivière (The River) by Maillol.   https://emuseum.mfah.org/objects/132944/la-riviere-the-river?ctx=529a780fce43e05e99a1e41b934f9bf2f0a44d58&idx=14

Also, I believe the Cristina Iglesias piece includes skylights over the large underground entrance hall. That should be interesting to experience.

 

@Triton The two tunnels include commissioned light installations, not too far removed from the Turrell tunnel below Main. Between Glassell and Kinder: artist Olafur Eliasson. Between Kinder and Law (under Bissonnet): artist Carlos Cruz-Diez.

 

Regarding the Glassell rooftop, the original plans had envisioned vines covering a pergola. It always seemed problematic not to provide a bit more shade up there, so I'm guessing this is meant to remedy that. It does seem a little strange retaining the previous pergola. We'll see!

[X.R.]

I guess we haven't been taking pictures of it, but the glassell social stairs and that roof have had construction going on for a few months now. I liked running up the stairs and pretending I was rocky, but a few months ago the guard said it was temp closed. So I'm sure when we get back up there, something HAS to be different given all the time.

 

And yeah, it was real, real hot up there in July/August.

[rgarza]

@DarklyMoron thanks, I was just calling that one “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” but I guess “La Riviére” is a good name, too. And yes, the Iglesias work has skylights to the atrium below. 

[rgarza]

Aerial view with tent removed, showing the skylights

[Avossos]

2 minutes ago, rgarza said:

Aerial view with tent removed, showing the skylights

im confused by this. It seems like a very large piece.... does it drain water? Those skylights could double as drains into the basement... yikes

[DarklyMoron]

12 minutes ago, Avossos said:

im confused by this. It seems like a very large piece.... does it drain water? Those skylights could double as drains into the basement... yikes

Yes. Water should rush in and drain-out. Sure hope those skylights are sealed well!

 

This isn't a great video, but it does show similar pieces from her gallery show a few years back. 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by DarklyMoron
Adding a video

[rgarza]

1 hour ago, DarklyMoron said:

Yes. Water should rush in and drain-out. Sure hope those skylights are sealed well!

Skylights have been in place since last year and no leaks yet. It’s a pretty sure bet that they’re watertight. The piece will have water in it permanently, if I’m not mistaken. 
 

*permanently, as in, it will periodically fill with water and then drain. 

Edited November 10, 2020 by rgarza
Clarification

[MidCenturyMoldy]

On 11/7/2020 at 3:05 PM, hindesky said:

 

 

reddit u/txfoodchick posted this pic.

 

It's actually from the MFAH Kinder Building webpage. https://www.mfah.org/about/nancy-and-rich-kinder-building

[WshfulThnkn]

What a beauty!

[X.R.]

18 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

It's actually from the MFAH Kinder Building webpage. https://www.mfah.org/about/nancy-and-rich-kinder-building

 

Yeah, I know people halfway through this thing said they were reserving judgment and I think we can now safely say that this building is a LOOKER. By itself, the rooftop and the lights are eye catching, but placed amongst the trees and the backdrop of the other buildings its even more stark (in a good way). 

 

Now I just cross my fingers that landscaping is done well. 

[DarklyMoron]

4 hours ago, X.R. said:

Now I just cross my fingers that landscaping is done well. 

So far I have not been overly impressed by Deborah Nevins & Associates. They're fairly standard choices (plumbago, crepe myrtle, and the ubiquitous creeping jasmine). Perhaps the goal is cohesiveness with the sculpture garden. I do like that they've added a planted median along with a mid-block raised pedestrian crosswalk on Bissonnet.  And keeping all those live oaks is great. I think only one had to be removed and another couldn't survive the new tunnel to the Law building.

Edited November 12, 2020 by DarklyMoron
Adding image of planted median.

[tangledwoods]

For what it is worth, I try not to ever judge an end landscaping product against the designer.  Value Engineering (aka cost cutting) has ruined plenty of landscape designs.  Also there are plenty of horrible contractors out there and even more owners that dont do proper maintenance. 

[Houston19514]

MFAH Kinder Building in Town and Country magazine.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

Another video:

 

 

 

[DarklyMoron]

There's another video, but I can't figure-out how to embed it. 

 

https://player.vimeo.com/video/477299958

 

Edited November 14, 2020 by DarklyMoron

[Houston19514]

I go for my member preview in only 4 days. I can't wait!

[Houston19514]

On 11/7/2020 at 6:16 PM, rgarza said:

@hindesky yes, it’s all bronze sculpted to look like rock with tree roots/limbs throughout. If I understood correctly, it’s modeled after an actual place somewhere in Spain, but Spanish from an actual Spaniard is a little hard for my Tejano ears to parse 😁 especially with needle guns, heavy equipment, and traffic in the background!

 

Chronicle article about this sculpture.

[rgarza]

5 hours ago, DarklyMoron said:

There's another video, but I can't figure-out how to embed it. 

 

https://player.vimeo.com/video/477299958

 

It’s so surreal to see years of hard work condensed down to thirty seconds!

[mls1202]

I don't get much of a chance these days to head into town, so when I finally went yesterday to see this building in person, I was shocked to find it so much better in person than in the photos.  The scale of the glass tubes in relation to the overall facade is much larger than it appears in the photos.  The "horizontal seams" between each layer are much more pleasing to me as well.  In the photos, something about them came off as inelegant, but this building is gorgeous!

[clutchcity94]

Maybe it’s because the weather is finally nice, but I love seeing so many people walking around this area. Seems to have more of a buzz than in years past.

[Sunstar]

According to the original details on their Website the building was supposed to feature “Seven gardens and six reflecting pools inset along the building’s perimeter”

 

I didn’t see anything like that in the final product, I’m guessing they scaled down their original version?

[hindesky]

12 minutes ago, Sunstar said:

According to the original details on their Website the building was supposed to feature “Seven gardens and six reflecting pools inset along the building’s perimeter”

 

I didn’t see anything like that in the final product, I’m guessing they scaled down their original version?

I count 5 pools in the few pics I took a week ago and I may have missed several others

[DarklyMoron]

The “gardens” was always a bit of Hall’s showmanship. There are some nascent vines planted in the insets to the building that may become something, but it’s more about having moments of seeing the outdoors between each gallery space.

I was at the ribbon cutting tonight and the building is truly spectacular. The rolling ceilings on the third floor with their clerestory windows are a standout. Instagramers will love the two tunnels. The Wyatt theater is really handsome. But my favorite was how the building transforms the Naguchi sculpture garden and makes it part of the museum. The restaurant, whenever it opens, has one of the loveliest views in Houston.

I encourage everyone to visit whenever they can. I’m curious what y’all think. 

[DarklyMoron]

On 11/14/2020 at 4:06 PM, rgarza said:

It’s so surreal to see years of hard work condensed down to thirty seconds!

Will you be working on the Ismaili center? Willard Holmes said that was the next big project for McCarthy.

[rgarza]

2 hours ago, DarklyMoron said:

Will you be working on the Ismaili center? Willard Holmes said that was the next big project for McCarthy.

Unfortunately not. I worked for the subcontractor that installed the cool jacket tube glass, the clerestory glass, and the curtain walls around the building. 

[Montrose1100]

12 hours ago, DarklyMoron said:

The “gardens” was always a bit of Hall’s showmanship. There are some nascent vines planted in the insets to the building that may become something, but it’s more about having moments of seeing the outdoors between each gallery space.

I was at the ribbon cutting tonight and the building is truly spectacular. The rolling ceilings on the third floor with their clerestory windows are a standout. Instagramers will love the two tunnels. The Wyatt theater is really handsome. But my favorite was how the building transforms the Naguchi sculpture garden and makes it part of the museum. The restaurant, whenever it opens, has one of the loveliest views in Houston.

I encourage everyone to visit whenever they can. I’m curious what y’all think. 

I circled the building a few times on Saturday and I'm really impressed with how it looks in person. The Gardens will grow in time and will add some needed organic beauty. The tunnel from the School looks great. 

[MidCenturyMoldy]

15 hours ago, DarklyMoron said:

But my favorite was how the building transforms the Naguchi sculpture garden and makes it part of the museum. 

 

That's what struck me last year when I was in the sculpture garden imagining the removal of the wooden barriers. I also think the Glassell's plaza makes the garden much more inviting to people on the street.

Edited November 16, 2020 by MidCenturyMoldy

[Urbannizer]

https://www.archdaily.com/951508/nancy-and-rich-kinder-museum-steven-holl-architects/5fb2bb4863c01790d000008f-nancy-and-rich-kinder-museum-steven-holl-architects-photo?next_project=no

 

[MidCenturyMoldy]

More found photos.

 

Edited November 17, 2020 by MidCenturyMoldy

[Houston19514]

Another video