The sign isn’t up yet, but this new classroom building at the University of Houston’s business school is being named after a human-resources company. Insperity gave the school $8 million, apparently enough to warrant the company’s name appearing in 1-1/2-ft.-tall neon-backlit letters at the top of Insperity Center. According to a UH document, the sign should be clearly visible to visitors on the west side of campus.
The 140,000-sq.-ft. building, previously referred to as the “classroom and business building,” just opened west of the Bauer College of Business’s Melcher Hall. Construction began in 2009.
Photo: HAIF user fatesdisastr
More buildings named after Houstonians, fewer named after companies. How long before the UofH can change the name? Is that in the contract??
Guess I live in The JP Morgan Chase Building.
They could erect a lighted sign up on the roof if they retire my debt!
We’re now naming classrooms after companies, hundreds of people are driving around town with commercials on thier cars, and every day dozens if not hundreds of people are standing in the middle of esplanades with signboards.
Welcome to the Brave New World.
The Bauer College of Business now occupies three architecturally disparate yet closely spaced buildings. Obviously, no master plan here, and I doubt the architects responsible even inspected the site before firing up their CADs. Maybe there is a theme I am too dense to perceive. cf Rice U., which, however pretentious, is at least consistent.
Brad – The long and short of it is that the customer is ultimately responsible for what kind of building they want. Many designs are submitted by different firms during the interview process. If you want to blame anyone for the lack of consistency on that campus, blame UH’s Facilities Dept. They make the final selection of what ultimately goes up.
UH isn’t a historic school and shouldn’t be designed to look like Oxford. It should reflect the city of its namesake which, for good or ill, will always attempt to look modern and progressive in terms of its design aesthetic.
Other pictures of the building (taken Friday) if anyone is interested:
-http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff345/bppedersen/DSC_0202.jpg?t=1346456726
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http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff345/bppedersen/DSC_0200.jpg?t=1346456665
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http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff345/bppedersen/DSC_0199.jpg?t=1346456632
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http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff345/bppedersen/DSC_0197.jpg?t=1346456567
Also, a picture of the plan for the site from a few years ago:
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https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/258608_987609575706_4127007_o.jpg