Results tagged “stephenfox”

Texas A&M University Press

Here are a few books Houstonist thinks your friends and family won't use for doorstops (that's the fruitcake, right?). Everyone likes a good read, or at least a smart-looking book to sit on the nightstand. Give these a try. And shop at your local independent bookstore -- they can give you even more recommendations, and probably a good cup of coffee as well.

Houston Mod Board members Jason Smith, Robert Searcy, Ben Koush, Michael Brichford, and Stephen Fox were included in an article in Tribeza magazine about Houston's modern architecture. The article highlights Smith's renovation of his William Jenkins-designed home in Willow Bend, and also touches on Houston Mod's mission and goals of education and awareness of Houston's modern architecture. “It’s really a waste,” laments Searcy. “We are filling our landfills with works of art—and replacing them with...

The Chronicle reported yesterday on Harris County's plans to demolish two of its buildings to make way for another amazing county plaza. Fair enough — the county has a lot of buildings, and apparently we could always use another plaza. The problem is that the two structures that are potentially on the chopping block — the former District Attorneys Building at 201 Fannin and the Family Law Center at 1115 Congress — happen to be...

Meet David Purdie, a true AstroWorld fan: When he heard that the park was going to close, Purdie decided to capture its last days on film. With a hand-held video camera, he visited AstroWorld every weekend in October 2005, filming everything he could — from the drive down Kirby to the walk over the pedestrian bridge to the slow climb up the first incline on the Texas Cyclone. And then, when cranes and bulldozers moved...

The city's Planning Commission on Thursday recommended landmark designation for the River Oaks Shopping Center and Alabama Theater/Bookstop, meaning the two structures are a step closer to preservation — or as close as Houston ever really gets to preservation, which is far enough away to be sure the city doesn't piss off any developers with deep pockets. As we noted when the landmark designation process began back in April, the next step in designation...

Regular shelterporners will know about our soft spot for contemporary architecture — more specifically, good contemporary architecture — so it's no wonder we're excited to feature the only Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed house in Houston, a 1982 home in Turner Addition. As Stephen Fox says in the Houston Architectural Guide, it's "self-effacing from the street and quite opulent inside." True enough. Richard Keating, the partner in charge of SOM's local office from the mid-1970s...

At Houstonist, we enjoy a good mid-century modern house. So we're really excited about Houston Mod's new exhibit Booming Houston & The Modern House: The Residential Architecture of Neuhaus & Taylor. Neuhaus & Taylor was one of Houston's premier architectural firms in the 1960s and '70s — their designs include the "Taj Mahal," the former HISD headquarters building on Richmond Avenue (which probably won't be around much longer), Galleria I and the towers of...

The shot from flickr user and houstonist photo contributor paper_by_design. Houstonist likes to think of the downtown skyline as a sort of enormous sculpture garden, and this picture of the Bank of America Center is a nice reminder of how skyscrapers can become art. Architectural historian Stephen Fox says Philip Johnson tried to capture the spirit of 1920s skyscrapers in the BoA center; we've heard little kids say it reminds them of a castle....

Even though the support continues to grow for the preservation of the River Oaks Shopping Center and Theater, many questions remained unanswered, and Weingarten has continued to keep their reticence. Rumors and some evidence throw a mix of names into the equation: Hermes Architects for the northwestern curved section, Wallace Garcia Wilson Architects for the highrise, and Barnes and Noble for an anchor. While concerned patrons, shareholders, and members of the community continue to...

The shot from flickr user and houstonist photo contributor slipshod snapshot. This is a shot of the Mecom-Rockwell Fountain in Hermann Park. This little snippet is from Stephen Fox's "Big Park, Little Plans: A History of Hermann Park" - Between 1967 and 1969 a new Miller Outdoor Theater, designed by Eugene Werlin and Associates, was constructed on the site of the old Doric proscenium. A high, bermed lawn provided amphitheater-type seating in front of...

In a burst of civic pride, the Chronicle yesterday carried a glowing description of the soon-to-open Harris County Civil Courthouse. It's big! It's modern! It cost a lot! And it has a dome! The new building's facade combines the sleek style of glass skyscrapers with the bulkier style of stone buildings capped by arched roofs and ornamental designs. The building's four corners are all glass while the middle of the building is composed of brown...