Lisa Gray devoted her column to several interesting Houston places:
Karen Lantz's deconstruction project in the Museum District,
the Willow Waterhole flood control and greenspace project,
and an East End exhibition.
Also, Jesse Hager assessed the 2009 AIA Houston home tour at a new online publication called Culture Map.
Read on for a recap of the last month's stories about the built environment.
Monday November 23
Help on way for knotted U.S. 290 interchange [Houston Chronicle] "The $315 million allocation will allow work to begin on rebuilding the interchange of U.S. 290, Loop 610, and Interstate 10. The next 18 months will be spent acquiring rights-of-way and moving utilities."
Sunday November 22
Brick by brick, shingle by shingle: Recycling an entire house - and saving money [Houston Chronicle]
"Some houses need to be torn down," Karen Lantz says. She winces a little: It's not the sort of thing she says often.
Lantz, you see, was the founding president of Houston Mod, a preservation group dedicated to saving buildings from the '50s and '60s. As an architect, she's won awards for preservation. She loves to tell people how much stronger mid-century building materials are than the ones we use today, and how much waste is created when old buildings end up in landfills
...
Lantz found charities or recycling places for almost everything. Historic Houston accepts parts of historic houses that can be reused in other houses of the same vintage: flooring, windows, doors, doorknobs, tubs. The City of Houston Building Materials Reuse Warehouse accepts all manner of other building parts: things like wood siding, roof flashing, outlet plates and big pieces of wood with the nails pried out. Century Asphalt Materials will melt down the asphalt shingles for reuse. Lone Star Disposal will recycle drywall and take broken driveways and foundations. Western Brick took her antique bricks.
Saturday November 21
Stubborn works Oilman George Mitchell's persistence has yielded gifts of energy and community. [Houston Chronicle] "The stubbornness of this Texas wildcatter has helped to give the world access to larger supplies of an environmentally friendly fuel, and the Houston region a planned community that is a living laboratory consulted globally."
Friday November 20
Going Attractions: Hollywood Video Gives Up on the Tower Theatre [Swamplot] "Unless the owners of the former Tower Theatre on Westheimer just west of Montrose have another feature ready to go, it looks like Houston will soon have a second shuttered and lonely Art Deco theater left to spin its reels."
Thursday November 19
Photos tell tale of grand beginnings: Heights native chronicles history of area [Houston Chronicle] "The 128-page book features more than 200 historical photos collected from approximately 65 donors."
Ring Library to get added space: Expansion, renovation project to feature new entrance, added amenities [Houston Chronicle] "Headed by Susan Bischoff, the library foundation donated $400,000 towards the project, which continues the "iconic" round architecture of the 1964 structure, named after Elizabeth L. Ring. Ring, whose service to libraries began in 1887 when she joined the Ladies' Reading Club, led the way in establishing the first free public library in Houston."
Shuttle may ease parking problems: ‘Jitney' service now operating on Washington Ave. [Houston Chronicle] "Billed as Houston's first jitney service in 15 years, the Washington Wave operates from 6 p.m.-3 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays."
City to pay $600,000 to prod builders 10 houses would be built in depressed areas [Houston Chronicle] "The proposal would set aside $620,000 for the construction of 10 single-family homes, most of which will be used as model homes in Trinity Gardens and Fourth Ward. The developers may sell the homes after they are used for at least a year as models, but the net proceeds must be reinvested in the same community."
Wednesday November 18
First charging stations are going up in town, in a bid to promote electric vehicles in oil country [Houston Chronicle] "A deal between the city and Reliant has the electric retailer converting 10 of the city's new Toyota Prius gasoline-electric hybrids into plug-in vehicles with greater fuel efficiency and the ability to recharge through a standard home power socket. Reliant is also installing 10 charging stations for the cars around the city, including seven that will be available to the public."
RDA salutes Tudors [Houston Chronicle]
Looking for a hopeful sign that the recession is ending? Consider the Rice Design Alliance's gala Saturday night. The mood was buoyant as more than 1,100 people packed the second floor of the Hilton Americas-Houston, and the party raised over $500,000. Those are promising omens, given that Houston's architecture, engineering and construction industry - the RDA's natural constituency - is exquisitely attuned to the economy.
The crowd gave a standing ovation to Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, a couple known for preserving one of Houston's best old buildings and raising money to build excellent new ones. Phoebe is head of the campaign to expand and restore the 1926 Julia Ideson Building, Houston's first library. Bobby, the chairman and CEO of investment and banking firm Tudor, Pickering & Co., is currently co-chair of Rice University's $1 billion Centennial Campaign. As a former Rice basketball star, he took special pleasure in his and Phoebe's support of a major renovation of the university's gym, now called Tudor Fieldhouse.
Land deals, with a twist of heritage: City Council has questions about plan for a historic area near ballpark [Houston Chronicle] "If a series of deals go through, the city would be able to create a "super block" previously eyed for a new hotel, redevelop Avenida de las Americas and move two historic houses and a railroad engine to create a small historic area on the eastern side of downtown."
Galveston and High Island residents say the government is treating them like deadbeats [Houston Chronicle] "More than 3,700 Ike victims were in FEMA trailers at the height of the temporary housing program in Ike-ravaged Texas counties. That number has since dwindled to about 1,300 households."
Monday November 16
Houston SLEEPOUT: Event participants spend night in park to raise money, awareness for area homeless [Houston Chronicle] "The night turned chilly, mosquitoes started biting, and bouncing grass spiders kept 14-year-old Domica Webster anxious all night long. Come morning, some of the 40 members of the girl's community services sorority at Nimitz were aching for creature comforts after spending the night on cardboard."
Sunday November 15
Too much of the same on AIA home tour [Culture Map] "In my mind, Strasser Ragni stole the show, although the house is certainly not the most livable."
Condos in the sky on a descent: Area high-rise market slow but some see hope [Houston Chronicle] "During the last quarter, sales were down 17 percent and prices were off 20 percent compared with the same period in 2008, according to data from the Houston Association of Realtors."
Stadium in play for the runoff: Locke sees project as development tool and Parker is cautious about the risk [Houston Chronicle] "Both candidates have offered public support for the stadium in the past. Now their challenge is to frame the issue in a way that courts conservatives for whom the stadium is unpopular."
Saturday November 14
Arrest made in Heights blaze: Possible link to 17 other fires is being explored [Houston Chronicle]
Friday November 13
SpawMaxwell sees no layoffs in its acquisition by Balfour Beatty [Houston Chronicle] "The deal will combine SpawMaxwell's work in corporate and health care interior construction with Balfour Beatty's ground-up construction specialty, the companies said Thursday...Founded 76 years ago, Balfour Beatty Construction has 1,600 employees in 10 offices nationwide. Its 2008 revenue was more than $2.4 billion."
Thursday November 12
FIRST RAZE, THEN REVIVE, REFRESH Jaycee Park begins renovation [Houston Chronicle] "The proposed $1 million park master plan Friends of Jaycee Park have developed with the city of Houston Parks & Recreation Department and Houston Parks Board would include new playgrounds for children, a picnic pavilion, two smaller picnic shelters, a sand volleyball court, an open play area and a trail system around and through the park."
Backed by state law, a new city ordinance will target eyesore, dangerous apartments [Houston Chronicle] "The key feature of the new ordinance is the shift from primarily complaint-driven inspections of problem complexes to a system that guarantees city personnel will conduct on-site evaluations of every apartment development with three units or more at least every four years, in addition to checks prompted by complaints. Inspectors will look for fire hazards, exposed wiring, out-of-code conditions involving sewer connections and swimming pools, and structural defects such as unsound stairways and railings."
African-American library is ready for Nov. 14 grand opening: Gregory School is library archives location [Houston Chronicle] "The renovation included the removal and reinstallation of windows, cleaning and preservation of bricks and the transformation to the original 1926 appearance. Central corridors and stairway handrails have been redone to reflect their original appearance."
Wednesday November 11
OBITUARY MFAH exec Skidmore, 71, led expansion: Museum saw exceptional growth during her career [Houston Chronicle] "When Skidmore joined the MFAH in 1978, the museum consisted only of the Caroline Wiess Law Building and Bayou Bend. During her 27 years there, the museum added the Glassell School of Art, in 1979; the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden, in 1986; a 40,000-square-foot conservation facility, in 1991; and the new Junior School of Art and central administration building, in 1994. Skidmore also oversaw the $127 million capital campaign for the Audrey Jones Beck Building, which opened in 2000. The addition of the Beck Building more than doubled the museum's exhibition space, making it the largest museum in the South."
Tuesday November 10
Why walking in Houston is hazardous to your health: Car-oriented development and a lack of sidewalks and medians make city deadly for pedestrians [Houston Chronicle]
Houston ranked eighth on a new list of the most dangerous urban areas for pedestrians.
...
Harris County, for example, has a policy of not installing sidewalks when it builds a new road, unless a group or city provides the extra money.
"It's an expense that doesn't have to do with transportation," said Mark Seegers, a spokesman for Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia. "The county does not do sidewalks; it's not what gets cars from point A to point B."
That approach irks Robin Holzer of the Citizens' Transportation Coalition, who calls it outdated and short-sighted. "The people on foot and bike are trying to go to the same schools and restaurants and shops as people in cars are going to," Holzer said.
Sunday November 8
Where the wild things are: Willow Waterhole, a flood-control project, does double duty as a nature preserve [Houston Chronicle]
She pointed to her right, where a red-tailed hawk was screaming its head off, furious that two interlopers - a turkey vulture and a red-shouldered hawk - were circling its territory.
An avian standoff! It's the kind of drama you expect in a national park or on the Nature Channel. But we were in southwest Houston - just a little outside Loop 610, near Westbury High School, close to South Post Oak's unlovely stretch of industrial plants and bedraggled strip centers.
And we were at a place that sounded as though it, too, should be unlovely. Willow Waterhole, which is still under construction, exists primarily as a gigantic "stormwater detention basin": a big hole in the ground to hold floodwater so that it doesn't get into people's houses.
But, very much by design, its 279 acres do double duty as a nature preserve. Its six linked parklets all involve enormous ponds, most with islands, surrounded by tall native grasses and hopeful little trees. More and more every week, it's used for hiking, biking, picnicking - and, most spectacularly, for bird-watching. So far, in its monthly counts, the Audubon Society has logged more than 120 species. Among them: black-bellied whistling ducks, pied-billed grebes, lesser yellowlegs, downy woodpeckers, loggerhead shrikes, yellow-rumped warblers.
"We've even seen roseate spoonbills," says Becky Edmondson, a friend of Boston's and the volunteer director for Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy. "Shorebirds! Usually you'd have to drive to Galveston to see those."
Friday November 6
Waiting to inhale An old Houston stereotype - stinky, smoggy air - may be on its way out. [Houston Chronicle] "According to the latest federal smog measurements, in the past decade the noxious, lung-irritating chemical soup primarily composed of ozone created by vehicle exhaust and industrial smokestacks has dropped significantly. From a peak near 120 ozone molecules per billion molecules of air, the number has dropped to 84 in the air we breathe, matching the current acceptable federal standard."
Thursday November 5
Artists brush up on works to help fund housing group: Washington Ave. and Near Northside areas to get some help [Houston Chronicle] "Babbitt remembers the first Art on the Avenue fundraiser, held in an artist's warehouse. She supports Avenue CDC's efforts to preserve homes, saying 'who knows what those old walls saw and heard.'"
SYLVAN BEACH Shoreline will have better access: County's only public beach will be used by more than 10,000 visitors a year [Houston Chronicle] "The bayfront park's heyday was probably in the 1920s and 1930s when musicians such as Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Perry Como performed there. After the Houston Ship Channel was finished in 1928, the original Sylvan Beach began to shrink, due mainly to erosion from wind and big ships' wakes, Barr said. With the added impact of subsidence and Hurricane Carla in 1961, the beach eventually disappeared."
BELLAIRE City's planning focus gets clearer: Land-use plan to be put before a vote on Nov. 16 [Houston Chronicle] "Among additions requested by City Council are a glossary of terms, additional background about ongoing reconstruction of streets and drainage and more detail about the proposed Bellaire Village Vision, a conceptual plan for a transit-based, mixed-use development that would straddle the border with Houston at the city's northern-most point."
Wednesday November 4
ELECTION 2009 PARKER, LOCKE IN MAYORAL RUNOFF [Houston Chronicle] "[Architect Peter] Brown conceded at 11:05 p.m. as the final totals showed no possibility for the outcome to be reversed."
Tuesday November 3
Houston may finally meet smog standard [Houston Chronicle]
Tea Party rally draws at least 10,000 people [Houston Chronicle] "Under clear skies and a perfect moon, crowds packed the field at the Sam Houston Race Park and cheered loudly as speakers called for the people to take control of the American government."
Sunday November 1
East End becomes artist's muse [Houston Chronicle] "The East End is where Clorox is bottled and coffee is decaffeinated, where beer is brewed and oil refined. It's the taco-truck part of town, the Port of Houston part of town, the train-tracks part of town. In a city that revolves around work, it's the place where work seems most real."
A ROAD CALLED ALMEDA Neighborhood tries to keep its identity in face of big growth [Houston Chronicle]
