Houston Buildings

[Subdude]

Ever look at some building and think "I could do better than that!"? What would you change to improve our local architecture? Me, I would start off by redoing the facade of the new Beck building at the MFAH, getting rid of the porte-cochere to bring the entrance to the street, adding windows to tone down the "big box" appearance, and relating the whole better to then older Mies pavillion.

Next, I would tear down the Hobby Center parking garage and replace it with a park down to the bayou.

[UrbaNerd]

Bayou Place: I'd tear down the unused part, fix the part with Verizon, and place a plaza, or some sort of nice building on the tear down site.

Exxon building: I'd rennovate it to look like 1000 main.

Wedge Building: I'd fix up the "blank side", and fix the facade of the entire thing.

Chevron building: scrap the "christmas lights" on top, and place some nice spotlights.

More to come.

[The Great Hizzy!]

The former Exxon Building - add some panache to the facade. Maybe add some columns at the corners and create a series of glass terraces where the clunky looking panels stick out. Add a smoother surface at the top levels rather than pointless crossbeams that surround it.

The Chase Tower - at the least, add some exterior lighting so that it at least has some character at night. I'd also get rid of the glass corner and make it the same texture and surface as the other sides. Either that or make all sides glass and outline them in the stone at the corners with maybe a crossing section of stone at roughly 25, 50 and 75 stories.

Sears @ Midtown - return the exterior to its 50s Art Deco roots. Clean up the sidwalks and add palms.

Central Plaza - Get rid of the parking garage, restore the current structure (with smoother looking windows) and change the general exterior color from canary yellow to white, tan or a mix of both. Add an atrium/mini-park similar to what's near the Post Midtown complex.

[Montrose1100]

JP Morgan Chase Tower - Have a spot light pointing straight up.

Texaco Heritage Plaza - Light up the entire top.

Enron Center - Light up all the white horizontal stripes.

Exxon Building - Completly renovate the facade.

Tennco Building - Light it up more

Mercer Tower - Make it bigger, put same windows on the south side.

I guess just generally light up every building more...

[111486]

JP Morgan Chase Tower - Have a spot light pointing straight up.

Texaco Heritage Plaza - Light up the entire top.

Enron Center - Light up all the white horizontal stripes.

Exxon Building - Completly renovate the facade.

Tennco Building - Light it up more

Mercer Tower - Make it bigger, put same windows on the south side.

I guess just generally light up every building more...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Those would be perfect. You have the right idea.

[greystone08(returns)]

First of all, i would have to start from square 1. Knock down eyesore buildings like the Exxon Mobil, Chevron Tower, and Houston Centers 1&2. They starting to look a little dated. And for crying out loud, stop lighting the buildings with white Christmas lights surrounding the rooftop. I've noticed almost all of the buildings in Houston use this same white light scheme on all the buildings. Can you say BORING! Come on Houston get with it. It's suppose to be the 4th largest city in the U.S., This ain't Fort Worth. And furthermore, I think the Hyatt Regency hotel downtown could definitely use some renovation and outside remodeling. Paint it, the brown bricked buildings looks so out of date. Bayou Place just plainly needs to start over alltogether. The design and layout of Bayou place is so plain and limited. I agree with you Urbanerd, the Chevron tower at night ain't happenin". I love Houston but i just think that Houston needs to drop the "I don't give a F*ck" mentality and start taking pride in where this city could potentially shine.

[Montrose1100]

Those would be perfect.  You have the right idea.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well its odd that were basically the only city in the world whose skyline dissapears with the sunset...

[111486]

The two most well lit buildings in downtown.

[midtown_resident]

The two most well lit buildings in downtown.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

WHAT A GREAT PICTURE!

[C2H]

First of all, i would have to start from square 1. Knock down eyesore buildings like the Exxon Mobil, Chevron Tower, and Houston Centers 1&2. They starting to look a little dated. And for crying out loud, stop lighting the buildings with white Christmas lights surrounding the rooftop. I've noticed almost all of the buildings in Houston use this same white light scheme on all the buildings. Can you say BORING! Come on Houston get with it. It's suppose to be the 4th largest city in the U.S., This ain't Fort Worth. And furthermore, I think the Hyatt Regency hotel downtown could definitely use some renovation and outside remodeling. Paint it, the brown bricked buildings looks so out of date. Bayou Place just plainly needs to start over alltogether. The design and layout of Bayou place is so plain and limited. I agree with you Urbanerd, the Chevron tower at night ain't happenin". I love Houston but i just think that Houston needs to drop the "I don't give a F*ck" mentality and start taking pride in where this city could potentially shine.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought i was the only one who noticed this. I would like to see them light the Bof America tower better than what they go. Can you imagine how cool it would look at night if they outlined the three points in a neon lighting? Large TX had started a petition to persuade downtown owners to light their buildings better but i haven't heard or seen anything in regard to it since the old forum crashed. I'll PM him or something to ask him for an update.

[CheetoPuff]

Wow, I have never seen the continental sign look so blue, pretty wild. How about fixing or tearing down the Holiday Inn on 59/near Kirby. I agree with you all about the Exxon building too. The Moody Towers at UH need a serious face lift.

[MidtownCoog]

I read that Moody Towers makeover is scheduled when the build the new parking garage.

They used to light them up at Christmas, which was a nice touch IMHO.

[dbigtex56]

I would also remove the facade from 806 Main (orig. Carter building).  There's a real beauty underneath:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The details at approximately the 16th-17th floors seem a bit peculiar, and not altogether harmonious. Were the top six floors added sometime after the building was originally constructed?

[Subdude]

The details at approximately the 16th-17th floors seem a bit peculiar, and not altogether harmonious. Were the top six floors added sometime after the building was originally constructed?

Good catch. The lower section was built in about 1911, and the top floors weren't added until the mid-1920s. Here's a before picture:

Others that had upper floors added after initial construction were the downtown Foley's, what is now the Commerce Towers building, and I believe the Houston Club building.

[UrbanGeranimal]

I would start with getting rid of the Aquarium restaurant.

[Heights2Bastrop]

I would tear down that old, ugly log cabin in Sam Houston Park. It's an eyesore. I'd also take a couple of other old houses along with it. I would also raze Market Square and turn it into a downtown shopping mall.

[largeTEXAS]

Tear down the Park Shops and distribute the tenants throughout downtown.

Tear down the Galleria and distribute the tenants throughout downtown.

P.S. The petition received some support, but I was the only one who distributed it. It would have been great if it could have been spread farther. I ended up delivering it to Central Houston, the Mayor, and Downtown District and received some positive feedback. We'll see if anything comes of it.

[dbigtex56]

I would tear down that old, ugly log cabin in Sam Houston Park. It's an eyesore. I'd also take a couple of other old houses along with it. I would also raze Market Square and turn it into a downtown shopping mall.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sure.

And let's give the Mona Lisa breast implants, too.

[H-Town Man]

Build the Museum of Natural Science as they had originally planned it, a grand classical structure facing across the basin in Hermann Park towards the Sam Houston statue (jutting into the zoo).

Tear down everything in Shadyside except the trees, and build a dense urban neighborhood.

Get rid of the hedges around Rice so that the campus is continuous with the park, as with other great universities. De-suburbanize it.

[Heights2Bastrop]

Why not make the changes I proposed? That log cabin has seen better days. Market Square needs some new blood. So what

[dbigtex56]

Why not make the changes I proposed? That log cabin has seen better days. Market Square needs some new blood. So what’s wrong with a little progress?

Many of y’all want to tear down the Astrodome. Many on this thread want to tear down the Humble Building (Exxon Building for you newbies). Have you no appreciation of the past?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've been furrowing my brow trying to figure out what you're trying to say. If Botox becomes necessary, I'm sending you the bill.

Are you joking or serious? I honestly don't know. Perhaps our backgrounds or points of view really are that different.

For the record, I think the Humble (Exxon) Building has its own appeal. I especially like how Cesar Pelli paid homage to it with the new Enron II building (if you look east while standing on Smith St. you'll see what I mean). Sure, it needs some attention (would it kill them to give it a good powerwashing?), but the bones are there. I didn't know how radical a departure this building was, when it was erected in 1963. Seemingly, it's still viable as a building; it's been in use continually since it was built, and I've heard of no plans for demolishing it.

Likewise, the Astrodome was a building which captured my imagination since I was a kid - I remember reading about it in "My Weekly Reader", which was a newspaper aimed at the under-ten crowd back in the 60's. Unfortunately, the 'dome is no longer needed for its intended purpose. I sincerely hope that someone who is audacious, imaginative and rich enough will come up with a viable use for this wonderful building.

But I'm puzzled at your contempt for Houston's earliest buildings. They have so much to teach us. There's nothing like the authentic, real article; Z-Brick will never compare with the weathered bricks of La Carafe. It gives us a standard by which other buildings can be compared. Imagine! There were once log cabins in the Houston area, and Victorian houses where skyscrapers now stand. Perhaps schoolchildren will gain an appreciation for architecture, because we have this small park dedicated to its preservation. As you pointed out with the Humble Building, understanding the past gives the present more significance.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm preaching to the deaf. It's like those mosaic tests where the colorblind cannot see that the number '42' is spelled out in different colors. Perhaps they think the rest of us are crazy. For me, it's important to see what passed as a fashionable house 100 or 150 years ago. The historic buildings at Sam Houston Park include the Saiti House, which was dismantled and moved from my neighborhood. I watched 'em do it; it had to be cut in half, and reassembled. How does it compare with the 'McMansions' of today? You be the judge.

The Market Square area owes its popularity to the fact that it's unique and irreplacable. If you don't see it, well, sorry. Some people do. These are the same kind of people who didn't see the French Quarter as a dump which should be demolished - and New Orleans has been handsomely repaid by their foresight. I doubt if the revitalization of downtown Houston would have succeeded without its few surviving historic buildings.

[Heights2Bastrop]

I was being facetious.