Site of what was the Wilshire Village with Fiesta in the distance [Photo Raj Mankad]
CES trucks [via Swamplot]
Lisa Gray called the new River Oaks Shopping Center the “most hated” shopping center in her lament over the likely fate of the soon-to-be-vacant Alabama Theatre and Weingarten Realty’s assault on Deco architecture. Also in the Montrose, the demolition of Wilshire Village began.
Perhaps on the more positive side of things, two notorious facilities were shut down: the T. Don Hutto “children’s prison” and the CES waste-processing facility behind M+A Architecture Studio on Grace Lane. Also, the Houston Ballet broke ground on its Center for Dance building designed by Marshall Strabala.
Tuesday August 11
OBITUARY Robert Cohen, designed noted Meyerland home [Houston Chronicle] “The nearly 5,000-square-foot dwelling, torn down in 2007, was nicknamed The Carousel House for its circular form. The site of large parties, the living room had a 32-foot curved sofa and walls upholstered in silk. The home’s pleated, conical roof had a large skylight, and in the backyard was a swimming pool shaped like a boomerang.”
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Kimbell Museum of Art [Photo Serge Ambrose]
In the May 2009 Cite (78), Stephen Fox wrote a commentary on “astute Texan clients [who] have engaged the services of out-of-state star architects to produce buildings that set new design standards in Texas cities.” In the process of writing “The Stars are Big and Bright—Deep in the Heart of Texas” (click to download a pdf copy), he compiled a list of buildings constructed in Texas since 1886 by architects from around the world, not all of them stars by any means but nonetheless sought out by Texan clients. Fox has generously shared the list below with OffCite.org, and invites you to add projects by leaving a comment. (The list was originally posted June 2, and now includes additional buildings and bibliographic information.)
The List
St. Mark’s Church
315 E. Pecan St., San Antonio
1859-1875, Richard Upjohn (New York)
John C. Ferguson, “St. Mark’s and St. James’: The Upjohns in Texas,” Texas Architect 33 (July-August 1983): 54-60.
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Conceived of by David Bucek, this 1990 illustration depicts a sanctuary for survivors of a worldwide ecological disaster
Hotel, movie studio, sanctuary from disaster, and giant indoor park are among the many ideas proposed for the dilapidated Astrodome. Join our online forum about the once glorious stadium’s future. Madeleine McDermott Hamm, former Home Design Editor for the Chronicle (author of “The Astrodome: The Glory Days, the decline, the future,” Cite 76, Nov 2008) and University of Houston Professor of Architecture Bruce Webb (”Making a Dome Deal,” Cite 64, Summer 2005) are opening the discussion.
We encourage all readers to contribute their thoughts, memories, and ideas. Click on the more link below and scroll to the bottom to leave a comment.
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This weekly post gathers headlines about local architecture and design with a few top stories highlighted. Rice University announced that Sarah Whiting will be the new dean of the Rice School of Architecture as of January 1, 2010. Lisa Gray wrote an article about the Penguin Arms and its “Googie Architecture,” which should be recognizable to anyone who has driven around the neighborhood where the Kirby Whole Foods is located. It is one of the buildings included in Houston Mod’s “Endangered Modern” exhibit on display at the Architecture Center Houston until August 28.
Friday July 31
A Texas starting place on Buddhism’s path: Transcending a traditional temple [Houston Chronicle] “The American Bodhi Center is at 37979 FM 2979, Hempstead, in Waller County…One of the largest Buddhist developments in the nation, the Bodhi Center sits on 515 wooded acres, the first phase completed with meditation hall, dormitories and log houses.”
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Projected 22.4 foot surge [Courtesy Gordon Wells, University of Texas]
The Rice Design Alliance, the organization behind this blog, held the first of a two-part forum on Post-Hurricane Ike Planning. Eric Berger, the SciGuy of the Houston Chronicle, moderated the July 15 event, which featured some big-time scientists and engineers, the kind of people mayors and governors call when a hurricane is heading for their town. I left shaken. Their message was clear. We dodged the bullet with Ike. The period after the hurricane, as bad as it was, could have been far, far worse.
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Cite 71 was sandwiched in-between several hurricanes. Published in the summer of 2007 — after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and before Hurricane Ike — the issue managed to digest the still-raw lessons learned from the devastation in New Orleans and offered a prescient analysis before the arrival of Ike.
The issue asked experts what the worst-case scenario would be for Houston and what would happen if the region’s petro-chemical infrastructure flooded. Cite 71 explored designing buildings that would better withstand storm surges and winds. The issue also looked into the economic damage of hurricanes.Two years later, the issue continues to resonate as Houston and the Gulf Coast braves the latest hurricane season. So, here’s a look back at the Hurricane Issue. Click on the links below for downloadable PDFs of articles.
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Bill Arning, Director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) addresses the NoZoning Forum [Photo from CAMH Facebook page]
Metropolitan Theater [Photos courtesy Houston Metropolitan Research Center, via cinemahouston.info]
The cover of David Welling’s book Cinema Houston is a stunning sepia photograph of the interior of the downtown’s lost Metropolitan Theater, known in its time for a booming Wurlitzer, disappearing orchestra pit, and opulent faux-gold Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Its extravagance bears little resemblance to the Houston theaters of the 90s and 00s I grew up in, where the investment was not in decoration but in the number of screens and parking spots. This very American transition from the movie palace to the multiplex, amplified in our city, is given a definitive treatment in Cinema Houston.
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