“Not sure if you can see from this picture,” writes the Swamplot correspondent who sent the image at the top of this story, looking into a few of the units in the new 24-story apartment tower at 1625 Main St. from Pease St., “but it appears the ‘view’ from the bathrooms at the new SkyHouse will be excellent.” Of course you already knew that.
Bonus: The design of the SkyHouse Main going up across the street will be identical.
- Previously on Swamplot: Comment of the Day: Suggested Improvements for the Next Highrise Sky Throne;Â Comment of the Day Runner-Up: The Best Views in Every SkyHouse;Â Have a Look Where Crews Have Begun Digging for the Second Downtown SkyHouse;Â Second Downtown SkyHouse Highrise Will Go Up on Main St. Just South of the First;Â The Street Shops in Store for SkyHouse Houston, Now Under Construction Downtown;Â Downtown SkyHouse Clearing the Ground First
Photos: Swamplot inbox (view); Simpson Property Group (tower)
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Wow, I was thinking it wouldn’t be that bad as you can’t usually see that far in a skyscraper.. but what exactly is the point of those windows?? You’ll have to have the blinds down always.
What idiot designed this?
It’s not that big of a deal and can be remedied by translucent film or a strategic piece of furniture, but this is the kind of crap you always get from “architects” that have never put a nail in a board and only see the world on a 2D screen.
I don’t get it. What were they thinking? Any decent architect maximizes living spaces and bedrooms along the limited glass exposure in high rises. Even if you COULD fit a master bath along the exterior, it certainly wouldn’t feature the W.C.
FAIL.
@Michael: Smallwood Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart out of Atlanta is the architecture firm behind it.
.
@Commonsense: It takes two to tango. Architects often find themselves up against contractors and clients who think they know better than we do how to lay out a building. We’ll draw it the right way, they say ‘no, do it like this’ and we go round and round until one of us gives up. Usually it’s not the client who gives up….
Those appear to be one of three bathrooms in the 3 bd units.
http://www.simpsonpropertygroup.com/apartments/houston-texas/skyhouse-houston-downtown/apartment-floor-plans
I imagine they fuddled with the floor plans as best they could and finally settled on that. Maybe it’ll become a tourist attraction…
Potty on
I bet Marlowe has a poo window.
Ha! I work very close to this building and I see those toilets every day. I think the units have a privacy shade, but I remember the first time I saw it, I did a double take. #LooWithAView
The rather simple solution is to install those top down/bottom up blinds that block the bottom rather than top of the window.
That is just awful from all sides. The kinds of drones humanity needs to start worrying about arent the ones flying in the air. It is the ever increasing number of people who lack the ability to think critical or even look at the big picture of anything. Humans dont really process information anymore, they just mechanically repeat something they were told.
Semper: great idea. We just installed some top down / bottom up shades and love them. They’d be the perfect solution here.
Free-the-commode! … “A homage to a simpler time on the Texas plains when every commode had a view and people walking by did the decent thing and averted their eyes.” Coming soon, OutHouse Main, same commode, same view, same homage. Very avant-guarde.
I agree, the lack of awareness on the part of the “designers”/builders makes me feel embarrassed for them.
OTOH, maybe it’s the wave of the future. That Marlowe dude also emits a creepy vibe. And, then there’s the exhibitionist corner-view showers in the new Marriott that opened by the old Texaco Building.
Ohhhh man! This is dome FUNNY stuff, classic H-town… ANY “architect” worth their salt would NOT have issued this document. Can you just imagine this being in ones portfolio?!
Yes, we Architects are always challenged with Ckients and the demands they make. However, any ‘intelligent’ Client knows our value and trust our professionalism. We don’t do (5)+ years of schooling and then a (3) yr internship to crank out this. My guess? There are several software companies who now make building plan software for laypeople. Apparently, now a days anyone and everyone can be a ‘Designer’; especially builders according to my most recent NAHB convention! NOT! Way NOT, as is evidenced here… Lol, too funny.
That is ok though. This building has a 30yr life span and then will be put in the dump to start over again in classic Houston fashion.
@zaw I agree with your commentary.
@Kineticd I was wondering how green you are to the architectural profession?
The one thing I have learned, particularly for Houston, is the multifamily developers/builders are not concerned with the details unless it will save them money. They value an architect as a necessary evil and a drafting service to get them through the permitting process. @Kineticd mentioned that, “ANY architect worth their salt would not have issued this document.” I wonder how many architects these days are in a position where they can afford to say no.
@itstohotinhouston; Well, as far as green. My Team and I specialize in reusing/repurposing shipping containers for residential and commercial use. Not because it is cheaper, but because it is an ethical choice to reuse an existing element that would otherwise sit on the banks of the Ship Channel and 225…
Yes, the naive only see what we do as a necessary evil for Permiting (in H-town anyway), not the value we add to the built environment… Cheaper does not always equal better. This is mostly our (Architects) fault; in that we have done a poor job educating people as to what is we ‘actually’ do. Part of that is saying no when when nonsense like this is proposed.
As far as being in a position to say no, I’d rather go back to waiting tables, washing cars or being a line cook than put out bad work. I guess I am just Roarkian like that?!
It’s a Lookie-Loo!
@ Kineticd: I do agree with you that the best stuff isn’t always cheap and big. However… My research on the subject has indicated that Houston has the strongest resale market for empty shipping containers out of any major port in the United States and (aside for those that are too banged up) does not do a major trade in empty backhauled containers. It makes a kind of practical sense to use them pretty much everywhere that isn’t Houston. Furthermore, using containers may indeed be cool, but I’d stop short of saying that its ethical unless they really are priced as scrap and the recycling of that scrap wouldn’t somehow offset the manufacturing of new steel.
“Architects often find themselves up against contractors and clients who think they know better than we do how to lay out a building. We’ll draw it the right way, they say ‘no, do it like this’ and we go round and round until one of us gives up. Usually it’s not the client who gives up….”
Instead of criticizing because it doesn’t form to your liking, how about understanding your opposition before declaring war?
Amazing how cheap this property is. It’s basically student housing.