HL&P Control Center

CITEHflfS fife 1 I! II 1 s u m m e i just south of the C (invention (..enter. Massive in appearance, the Control Center was constructed in 1972 as a showpiece for Hl.&P, a place where the utility could demonstrate to the public what power generation was all about. To that end, the operations facility, where electrical power to the city was moni- tored, was on the building's second floor, while the first floor was given over to a lni'Ji icilinged, glass-walled lobby intended for use as an exhibition area. Top: The HL&P conTrol tenlcr before demolition. but the Control Center never hosted Left: The control tenter, oltei making way for a new arena, the regular publit gatherings n hail been designed for, and over the years it came to look "perpetually vacant," in tin' Losing C o n t r ol words of architectural historian Stephen box. According to an I II evP spokespei son, the utility outgrew the facility some years hack, and it had been sitting empty % while attempts were made to find a buyer. Its unique design made it ,i diffi- cult sale, however, and there were no In July, Houston lost one of its most rakers until the city decided the sur- distinctive modern buildings when the rounding land would be a good location Houston Lighting and Power Lnergj tor a new basketball arena. The Hou- Control Center at 1313 LaBranch Street ston Sports Authority (hen bought the was demolished to make way for the new property and had the Control Center torn downtown arena. Its jutting cantilever down to clear the way tor construction. bays or poured-in-placc concrete — 20 fl O "It's sad that nobody even tried to fig- on the l.a branch Street side, 45 feet on the ure out a way to incorporate the Control (. rawford Street side — made the Control Center into the arena design," notes (enter, designed by Caudill Rowlctt Scott Ramona Davis, executive director of the with Robert O. Biering, stand out in an (ireater Houston Preservation Alliance. "It otherwise lightly developed series of blocks should have been possible." — WIShicLh [ Tools of the Trade ] View and order plans online, and get a complete order history using A&E's Online Digital Vault - destined to become a classic. www.aeproducts.com A&EB 10 5 u m m e i ; ii ii i fife 5 1 it was an afterthought. If you look at the city facilities that are built, it's clear that the main drive was to get things built on tr. time and within budget. That's important, of course, but our goal is t o not just build on time and within budget, but to build something that will have a lasting impression on the community." As examples of what she's hoping t• • achieve, McGilbra points to the renova- tion of Jones Pla/.a and the Houston Kmergency Center. The former has won design awards, while the latter is at the very least a distinct improvement over what was originally planned. Still, McGilbra is aware that changing in- grained attitudes will take time. Part of her task, she says, is t o convince strong design architects that the city is actually Hoi just o civic boi: The Houston Emergency (enter will be one of the fail projects to feel the import ol new design demands by the (ily. willing to work with them, and then helping them thread bureaucratic barri- ers; to that end, this summer Building THE HOUSTON EMERGENCY CENTER currently under ings; engineering skills, and an ability to Services went online with a website Raising the Bar construction on North Shepherd could navigate the city's bureaucracy, have often (www.ci.hoiisron.tx.us/bsd) where archi- easily have been just one more boring mattered more in getting a projecr from tects can get information about city pro- i i\ K box, .i warehouse foi people ti > plan to construction than has an intrigu- jects and determine if they're interested in work in with little to distinguish it. ing appearance. Hut that approach, s.i\s working on them. Indeed, that's basically what was first Monique McGilbra, director of the city's proposed. The site tor the $54 million building Services Department, is some- Another part of McGilbra's task is to project, which will thing the city is trying to pul in the past. convince city departments to take design consolidate under "We are looking for a different mindset," seriously, bridging the gap between archi- A new city department advocates for better civic architecture one root the city's she says, "a different philosophy." tects and department heads may not be lM I operators and If any one person is in charge of easy, she says, but its necessary if the city dispatchers for the shaping that philosophy, it's McGilbra. is to get buildings that do more than |ust police and fire departments, already had formerly with I lines Interests, where she work. "We're very much aware of the his- a plain box of a building on it, and the was responsible for operation of the Gal- tory of how projects have been managed original idea was simply to clad the struc- lena and other retail projects, McGilbra in I lonston," she says, "and we're ven ture and stick a portico in front, but in early 2000 became head of building much looking forward to reshaping that" then, surprisingly, the citj said no, send- Services, a new city department that had "We don't want the same old cookie ing the designers back to the drawing prc\ lottsK been pari of Public Works cutter city facility," McGilbra adds. "We hoard witli the mandate to come up with The purpose in making building Services really believe that architecture is the fiber something more compelling. independent, s.ns Met.libra, was to of the landscape of the city. And with the It was, for the city of Houston, an move away from the heavily engineering city owning SI.5 billion worth of real unusual action. Traditionally, the cit\ has approach prevalent in Public Works. "We estate, we think we have a responsibility noi been a strong advocate for creative wanted design to be seen as a focal point and opportunity to really make a lasting design, especially in its day to day build- for our projects," she says. "In the past. impression on architecture." — MJSi)ichh Parks l, Cars o office buildings and turn it into a 5.200- brought in and water fountains added. square-foot park. Finally, in late May the park was offi- Designed by Kirksey Architects, the cially dedicated, and what had long When it comes to porks versus parking in park took nearly a year to complete, been private corporate space was turned I downtown Houston, there generally with six months given over to planning over for public use. 1 hasn't been much of a fight. Parking has and six months for actual construction. The park, named JPMorgan Chase I won out practically every rime. That's The first step in making a haven for cars Park, will close nightly, but will have a ^ why i t was so unusual when JPMorgan a haven for people was the painting of mobile food cart on site during the day. | Chase, Texas Region, a financial ser- "Muted Colors of History," a 41-foot According to JPMorgan Chase spokesman What onie was a packinq lot ol the tornei of Milam and Capitol vice', firm, decided to take the land at by 94-foor mural by Houston artist David tiyford, there are also plans to pre- is now o pocket ptnk. I he comer of Milam and Capitol that for 20 years had served as a parking lot Suzanne K. Sellers that acts as a hack- sent live music and other entertainment for visitors to the Chase Tower, the drop to the park's activities. Then some for the benefit of a rarely courted group, Houston Club, and other downtown shade trees, shrubbery, and seating were downtown's pedestrians. — MJShwIds fife 2 I) I) I s u m m e i II WITH THE JUHE groundbreak- have opened nationwide. The privately- ing for a planned aquari- owned Dallas World Aquarium began um and restaurant com- operations in I9S>2, and is planning a plex, the downtown enter- major expansion lor next year. And i n m tainment district has Austin, a nonprofit group is lobbying bridged Buffalo Bayou. the city to build an aquarium in the Until now, the bayou Seaholm Power Plant on the shore o f marked the western edge Town Lake and the Colorado River. of downtown for most The planned Houston complex fol- people, with the Wortham lows that trend. Landry's, which has Theatre Center, Bayou experience with a similar operation u Place, Jones Halt, and the on the Kemah waterfront, will spend Alley on one side, and lit- approximately $21 million to redevelop tle more than warehouse the fire station and waterworks plant into space and city services on "i* a mixed-use facility featuring a 500,000 the other. But the leasing gallon public aquarium, a seafood of lire Station No. 1 in restaurant, a 6,000-square-foor ball- the 400 block of Baghy, room, a cafe, a lounge, a public plaza along with the nearby with fountains, and rides, among them Central Waterworks Plant, an aquatic-themed 90-foot Ferris wheel to Landry's Restaurants and a miniature train.

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