texasdago

Apparently the architect is from Austin and he is designing the house for his father.

Insides can be fixed - all it takes it a little vision.

How did y'all enjoy the lecture? I hope some of you had a chance to make it to the Gordon house afterwards. What an incredible house.

We would really appreciate any help any of y'all can provide in making this event a great success.

Just spotted a house in Briargrove Park that looks to be either by Floyd or Taylor/Jenkins. Very similar in style to another Floyd in the neighborhood. http://www.har.com/search/engine/indexdeta...=0&backButton=Y I've driven past this house many times - it looks very nice and still has the original carport. The owners did not enclose it and compromise the design.

Absolutely - nice plug rps!!!

There was a Sambo's on Memorial near Kirkwood. They often used some pretty cool googie architecture out on the west coast - folded plate roofs, for example (similar to the Denny's on Washington and I-10)

Sprawl? Well, the neighborhood across the street (Briargrove Park) has been there since 1961 and Walnut Bend, just a little further out is from 1960. So, the "sprawl" has been there for 45 years.

I've heard rumors that b/c of the proximity of all the new construction, it would be extremely difficult to implode. That being the case, taking it apart piece-by-piece would be more expensive than renovating the building. So... that might be good news... no telling.

Since saving this building is one of the key missions of Houston Mod, can we get this post back on the Houston Mod thread where it originated?

That 419 Isolde in Memorial Bend will soon be coming up for sale. From what I was told, it will list for somewhere around $240K. Now... the current owner has done some stupid things to it but several are reversible. Besides, from what I recall of the house, it has some cool original features, including: A japanese style atrium in the living room area A shoji screen separating the dining room from the living room A kitchen that is really well placed for entertaining (open and in the middle of the house) Very cool planar facade with post and beam construction, clerestory windows and some nice wood screens in the front that provide a nice modern look Original narrow-board hardwoods I really really hope the right person snatches this one up when it is listed. We're thinking of popping in and taking a look. It was designed by Floyd and there are two other examples in the neighborhood. One is in really bad shape (Beltway 8 location) and the other is owned by a former CRS architect who unfortunately removed the atrium and the shoji screen. On a related note, this house (http://openhouse4u.com/houston/listingpages/listingdetails.asp?refno=9303083) is about to get razed for a McMansion.

I've been told that the new owners plan on adding to master suite and making some other modifications. I'm not sure what that means and I'm always skeptical since 9 out of 10 times, the renovations usually end up ruining the original design. We will see...

There is a Floyd house on the corner of Gessner and Buffalo Bayou that he designed in 1959 or 1960 that sold a few months ago. Floyd won a design award from Practical Builder for the house. The new owners slathered it in stucco. WHY!? I just don't understand these people...

How can someone be in the energy industry and not know about ChevronTexaco's move from their old bldg to Enron II?

Again, the deed restrictions are weak. For us to legimitately turn down the design, as-is, we would need deed restriction back-up. To change the deed restrictions, we would need 2/3 of the neighborhood to approve it. I can tell you that the board is open to making changes to control McMansionization but they are not open to stopping it and sticking with the architecture. It will also take months to get approval from the neighborhood to change the restrictions (which we are going to mount soon). While many of the board members are thankful for the press and like the style of the architecture in our neighborhood, they are not willing to halt the McMansionization. They see it as inevitable and don't want to "legislate taste". Unfortunately, I am only one voice and right now the most that I can do is continue to educate people. The next newsletter, in fact, will explain how Memorial Bend was visited by Atomic Ranch, written up in the Houston Business Journal, mentioned in the Chronicle and will be mentioned in a piece I wrote for Cite Magazine... all in a matter of a few months. Trust me... it sucks... ! As for anyone in city hall... boy is that a losing proposition right now. Houston is the absolute bottom of the barrel when it comes to preservation laws/ordinances/etc. (uh... none)

I'm on the board and unfortunately our deed restrictions are really weak. I contacted the owner (architect) when I found out he was trying to get approval. He claims they tried to get the house to work for them but will need to build instead. He says its for his family but I've heard from a reliable source that he's really building a spec house. It's someone who doesn't care about the neighborhood and the effect their construction will have on the Bend and that really sucks.

I hope that leads to a mod-minded purchase. I know there's been quite a bit of interest in that house. The flat-roofed house at 12922 Figaro (our block and a 90% Floyd block) is going to be razed for a monster McMansion. Crap... here we go.

I second rps's suggestion of Karen... that's who I would have recommended. http://www.enterarchitecture.com/

Thought y'all might be interested in seeing the many books that Hess has written (I have 4 and plan on getting some more before the lecture - Googie Redux and Palm Springs Weekend are outstanding!): Coming soon...

2005 HOUSTON MOD LECTURE AND RECEPTION TO FEATURE PROMINENT AUTHOR AND LECTURER, ALAN HESS Website www.HoustonMod.org Offers Group Information, News and Calendar of Events HOUSTON, TX

...and trust me, those pictures don't do it justice.

More pictures...

My wife and I visited Buenos Aires towards the end of May - what an amazing city, particularly for lovers of architecture. I can't recommend it enough... Here are a few photographs from the web...

Excellent choice - great area (a stone's throw from Kerry Glen)