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."
Mixed results for new homes: Numbers down from 2008 but up from first quarter [Houston Chronicle] "The Houston-area market recorded 5,089 single-family starts during the period, a 38 percent drop compared to the second quarter of 2008, according to data released Thursday from Metrostudy, a Houston-based market- research and consulting firm."
Going green at George R. Brown [Houston Chronicle] "Houston Mayor Bill White and Councilman James Rodriguez unveiled the installation of 630 solar panels on the roof of the George R. Brown Convention Center Thursday. The $850,000 project is part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar America Cities program, which aims to accelerate the implementation of solar technologies in 25 major cities around the country."
CenterPoint, city settle Ike dispute Company shaves part of fee for storm repairs: Company will work to cut outages [Houston Chronicle] "CenterPoint will reduce its $677 million request by $15 million and fund a new position to monitor its implementation of recommendations from the Mayor's Electric Reliability Task Force, which were released this year. The recommendations include deploying "smart grid" technology throughout the city, creating a centralized database of customers and facilities that should receive priority in power restoration and changing tree trimming practices."
Thursday July 30
Rice names architecture dean: Princeton's Sarah Whiting to take helm in January [Rice News] "Sarah Whiting, a member of the Princeton University School of Architecture faculty and an expert in urban and architectural theory, has been named dean of the Rice School of Architecture. Whiting will take the helm Jan. 1 from John Casbarian, the school's longtime associate dean who is serving as dean until Dec. 31. Lars Lerup stepped down as dean earlier this year after 16 years and will return to Rice in 2010 as a professor."
Avondale is pedestrian friendly: Residents say area used to be ‘best-kept secret' in Houston [Houston Chronicle] "The first house was built on Avondale Street in 1907. That's where Tim Womble owns three houses, all in a row, one of which has been designated a Houston historical landmark."
Kuykendahl underpass opening brings relief to FM 1960 area: July ceremony marks milestone of long-awaited road project [Houston Chronicle]
INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT DISTRICT Officials seek public's help to define, redesign community [Houston Chronicle] "The plan's goal is to identify ways to make the district, one of Houston's largest located between Texas Highway 6 and the Sam Houston Tollway from the Bellaire Boulevard corridor to Bissonnet and Bellfort, a more attractive place to live, work, shop and invest. The plan has been developed for the district's board by M2L Associates Inc. with help from the graphic design consultant Minor Design Inc. and traffic consultant AECOM."
Woodlands considering making water schedule permanent: Water board official promotes idea to help save water supply [Houston Chronicle]
Jim Stinson, general manager of The Woodlands Joint Powers Agency which oversees 11 municipal utility districts in the community, has proposed permanently implementing a two-day weekly watering schedule in The Woodlands. He also is promoting the idea as a director of the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, a county-wide group charged with managing the county's underground water supply.
"We know the scientists have told us that we have tapped out our water supply," Stinson said. "The environmentalists have told us we can't build any more reservoirs. We've got to learn to live responsibly with the water we've got."
Montgomery County relies solely on three underground aquifers for its water supply and its water providers face a deadline of 2015 to reduce the use of that water by 30 percent. The aquifer can replenish about 64,000 acre feet annually through rainfall and runoff, and the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District has issued permits to pump 78,000 acre feet annually.
Wednesday July 29
6.5 acres of African Forest to spring up in Houston Zoo Zoo: There will be chimps, rhinos again. $50 million exhibit will give visitors illusion of being in the wild [Houston Chronicle] "Jim Brighton, a landscape architect with Seattle-based PJA Architects, the project's designer, said the exhibit will tell stories about the African forest, not simply provide an opportunity to look at wild animals in captivity. 'Traditional zoo exhibits concentrate on animals, what they eat, how big they are and so forth," Brighton said. "This delves into habitat; conflict between man and the wild. And it tells these things in story fashion, from beginning to end.'"
Sunday July 26
Anything-goes architecture (the good kind): Magazine article called the style ‘Googie architecture' [Houston Chronicle, Lisa Gray] "In 1952, not quite two years after the Penguin Arms was finished, its unmistakable photo appeared in the national magazine House and Home, in an article called 'Googie Architecture.'"
Saturday July 25
These fliers aren't cleared for landing: Area airport allowed to kill certain birds to save planes, to fury of conservationists [Houston Chronicle]
The permit allows the 2-year-old Houston Executive Airport to kill 13 species of migratory birds, including geese, egrets and sandhill cranes, in an effort to ensure aircraft safety.
Bird advocates argue that the permit confirms their decades-old position that the Katy Prairie, a popular stopping point for migratory birds on the central flyway, is not the right place for an airport.
"Why put an airport in a place full of migratory birds?" said attorney Jim Blackburn, who represented a citizens group that had opposed the development of the airport near wetlands and wildlife preserves. "They will kill thousands of birds, but the problem won't go away."
Thursday July 23
SEEKING A HAVEN Making a new life: Members of a persecuted Asian minority group are being resettled in Houston [Houston Chronicle] "The refugees have been placed in apartment complexes in southwest Houston. Because they are a tight-knit community, many refugees requested to live near other Bhutanese families. The modern living quarters are in stark contrast to the one-room bamboo huts they lived in at the camps. Some refugees have moved to smaller units because they believe they have too much space."
Don't let the quiet start this hurricane season fool you [Houston Chronicle, Eric Berger]
Web site lets users scope out neighborhood crime: HPD hopes it makes residents more aware [Houston Chronicle] "Houston residents can track and map crime in their neighborhoods, or even on their streets, with a new Web site unveiled by Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt Wednesday. Hurtt said the site - http://mycity.houstontx.gov/crime - could be a powerful tool for Houstonians to learn about emerging crime patterns they need to watch."
