Caudill Rowlett Scott

[Highrise Tower]

I noticed we didn't have a general thread to discuss the old architecture firm Caudill Rowlett Scott, or CRS.

Did one of the partners end up being involved with 3D/International? Thought I read an original Houston arch firm branched out into 3D/International. Was it Morris Architects or Morris*Aubry Architects?

CRS was a cool architect firm.  Their old headquarters at 1111 West Loop South still hasn't been redeveloped.  I went inside just once.

The 3-acre site has cool bayou, and wooded views.  Just too expensive to deal with the flooding bayou.

[strickn]

Maybe it didn't flood this high this much before people paved Katy Prairie

CRS was influential in the age of schools built with windowless classrooms

If your school can't compete with the scene out the window you might need to reconsider what you're trying to ask people to learn

[editor]

+1 for the Katy Prairie line.

-1 for the ding against education.  Teachers are there to teach, not entertain.  Not everyone — especially smart people — is engaging.  It's incumbent upon the students to realize why they are where they are and to engage themselves appropriately.

When I was in elementary school, our classrooms were right against the gravel lot that was used for gym class, and we managed to keep our eyes on the board, and not the flailing limbs and careering balls hurled by the students outside.

[Purdueenginerd]

On 12/1/2023 at 8:13 PM, Highrise Tower said:

 

CRS was a cool architect firm.  Their old headquarters at 1111 West Loop South still hasn't been redeveloped.  I went inside just once.

 

 

 

On 12/2/2023 at 12:30 AM, strickn said:

Maybe it didn't flood this high this much before people paved Katy Prairie

 

Since the building is demolished and I've changed firms, I'll disclose I worked on that structure back in 2016/2017. We were working on preliminary flood design for the structure and there was whole litany of challenges that basically made it unworkable. I dont have access to the original drawings anymore.  One thing I enjoyed my site visits to that building because when you walked the outside, the windows faced the kittens (there was a vet office there at the time)  enclosures on the south or west face (cant remember which) and I'd always play with the kittens. 

[mollusk]

It was a gorgeous building, but my old dog really didn't like going there.  The parking was on its own level, and to get to or from the vet office there was the choice of stairs with open risers in front of a window or being shut into the little room that moved.

[Ross]

15 hours ago, mollusk said:

It was a gorgeous building, but my old dog really didn't like going there.  The parking was on its own level, and to get to or from the vet office there was the choice of stairs with open risers in front of a window or being shut into the little room that moved.

We took our dogs to the emergency vet there a couple of times. It was definitely a challenge to get them into the elevator sometimes. Beautiful building, but poor location in the end.

[Purdueenginerd]

The building utilized hollow-core panels for the flooring system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow-core_slab

Which im not particularly fond of... but it contributed to some of the waterproofing difficulties with that building. Basically water would travel very easily once it got in.