Architecture of Houston

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Contents 1 Downtown 2 Uptown 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Downtown

In the 1960s, Downtown Houston comprised of a modest collection of mid-rise office structures, but has since grown into one of the largest skylines in the United States. In 1960, the central business district had 10 million square feet (1,000,000 m²) of office space, increasing to about 16 million square feet (1,600,000 m²) in 1970. Downtown Houston was on the threshold of a boom in 1970 with 8.7 million square feet (870,000 m²) of office space planned or under construction and huge projects being launched by real estate developers. The largest proposed development was the 32-block Houston Center. Only a small part of the original proposal was ultimately constructed. Other large projects included the Cullen Center, Allen Center, and towers for Shell Oil Company. The surge of skyscrapers mirrored the skyscraper booms in other cities, such as Los Angeles and Dallas. Houston experienced another downtown construction spurt in the 1970s with the energy industry boom.

The first major skyscraper to be constructed in Houston was the 50-floor, 714-foot-tall (218 m) One Shell Plaza in 1971. A succession of skyscrapers were built throughout the 1970s, culminating with Houston's tallest skyscraper, the 75-floor, 1,002-foot-tall (305 m) JPMorgan Chase Tower (formerly the Texas Commerce Tower), which was completed in 1982. In 2002, it was the tallest structure in Texas, ninth-tallest building in the United States and the 23rd tallest skyscraper in the world. In 1983, the 71-floor, 970-foot-tall (296 m) Wells Fargo Bank Plaza was completed, which became the second-tallest building in Houston and Texas, and 11th-tallest in the country. Skyscraper construction in downtown Houston came to an end in the mid-1980s with the collapse of Houston's energy industry and the resulting severe economic recession. When the 53-floor Texaco Heritage Plaza was completed in 1987, it appeared that no more skyscrapers would be constructed for a while. Twelve years later, the Houston-based Enron Corporation began construction of a 40-floor skyscraper in 1999 (which was completed in 2002)^[1] with the company collapsing in one of the most dramatic corporate failures in the history of the United States only two years later. Other smaller office structures were built in the 2000–2003 period. As of December 2001, downtown Houston had about 40 million square feet (4,000,000 m²) of office space, including 28 million square feet (2,800,000 m²) of class A office space.

Many buildings in downtown are linked by a system of tunnels and skywalks. The tunnel system also includes shops, restaurants, and convenience stores.

[edit] Uptown

The Uptown District, located on Interstate 610 West (referred to locally as the "West Loop") between U.S. Highway 59 and Interstate 10, boomed along with Houston during the 1970s and early 1980s. During that time the area grew from farm land in the late 1960's to an impressive collection of high-rise office buildings, residential properties of all types and retail establishments, including the Houston Galleria. The area is a prime example of what architectural theorists call the edge city.

The tallest structure in Uptown Houston was the construction of the 901-foot-tall (275 m), Philip Johnson designed landmark Williams Tower (formerly Transco Tower). At the time, it was the be the world's tallest skyscraper outside of a central business district. The Williams Tower was the product of a unique era in Houston: energy companies were loaded with assets and used those funds to build impressive, monumental structures to broadcast their power and international status.

The Uptown District is also home to other notable structures designed by award-winning architects such as I. M. Pei and César Pelli among other buildings that are also designed by Philip Johnson.

Large-scale office construction in Uptown Houston, came to an abrupt halt in the mid 1980s with the sharp drop of oil prices that lead to the collapse of Houston's energy, banking and real estate industries.

Uptown had approximately 23.8 million square feet (2,210,000 m²) of office space in 2001, compared to Houston's Central Business District with approximately 40 million square feet (4,000,000 m²).

In the late 1990s Uptown Houston saw construction of many mid- and high-rise residential buildings of the tallest being about 30 stories.

See also: Tallest buildings in Texas

[edit] See also

[edit] References