Swamplot Archives by Tag: Modern Design

Friday, August 14, 2009

The Balinese Room After-Party Pad: A Little Palm Springs in Galveston

August 14, 2009 – 7:03 pm

Note: Story updated again below.

Cribbing from Ellen Beasley and Stephen Fox’s Galveston Architecture Guidebook, Modern architecture fan Ben Hill writes in to tell us that “one of the most important houses in this part of Texas,” was recently put up for sale:

This is the only house in the greater Houston area designed by E. Stewart Williams of Palm Springs, CA. Williams designed Sinatra’s house there, and this house was built for Sam Maceo, owner of the Balinese Room in Galveston.

The home fits into two curvy streets at the center of Cedar Lawn. Its uh, “nightclub” pedigree is maintained by a circular drive with a low-slung porte-cochere in front and the swanky pool in back. And in between?

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7:03 pm | 25 Comments | Read more about Galveston, Homes for Sale, Neighborhoods: Cedar Lawn
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Thursday, August 13, 2009

On the Carousel of Time: Some of the Work of Robert Cohen, 1917-2009

August 13, 2009 – 3:26 pm

Self-taught Houston designer, cabinet-maker, boat-builder, and entrepreneur Robert Cohen passed away last weekend at the age of 91, a couple of months after the death of his wife, Jean, and a little less than 2 years after his singular creation, Meyerland’s ultra-fab Carousel House, was demolished.

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3:26 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Demolitions, Land for Sale, Neighborhoods: Meyerland
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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Opening Day: H-E-B Buffalo Market Stampede Begins

August 5, 2009 – 5:28 pm

Fresh from a first visit to the new butterfly-roofed, design-pedigreed H-E-B Market on Buffalo Speedway at Bissonnet — which opened to the public bright and early at 6 o’clock this morning — a reader writes in with a report:

There were uniformed traffic directing cops with loud whistles herding eager shoppers into the parking lot. In the entry way, I was greeted by HEB Buddy, some kind of a brown bag cartoon character. The store was packed and had a carnival-like atmosphere. HEB was well-prepared with quadruple staff greeting and answering questions. The buffalo speedway side seems to be more of the Central Market stuff, like Cafe On the Run, bakery, fish market, etc. And the rest of the store feels more like an HEB with Central Market products integrated throughout. As a regular shopper at Central Market, I think having some cheaper alternatives nearby will save me money.

More photos, plus . . . the downside:

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5:28 pm | 33 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: West University, New Construction, Openings and Closings, Retail
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Monday, August 3, 2009

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Glenbrook Valley High?

August 3, 2009 – 11:22 am

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 8107 Glen Dell Ct.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths; 2,757 sq. ft. on an 11,307-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $245,000
History: On the market almost continuously from March 2005 to February 2006, then again from March to September 2006, and after a couple of weeks’ rest back on again until March 2007. Returned to the market from February to August of last year. Listed again since July 3rd of this year. Price reduced from $259K.

Here’s our reader’s nomination:

The home has a lot of good bones, flagstone exterior & some flagstone floors, big windows, angled rooms, pool. But the things done in the name of updating haven’t helped it. Lots of cheap ugly ceramic tile, Home Depot pedestal sinks, overdone moldings, and the original flagstone posts were taken down in favor of plain square wooden ones. There is no landscaping to speak of, and the pool is drained, now that will show well.

So, then . . . what might be a better price?

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11:22 am | 8 Comments | Read more about Homes for Sale, Neighborhoods: Glenbrook Valley, Price Adjuster
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Friday, July 24, 2009

Smashing Modern in Glen Cove

July 24, 2009 – 7:48 pm

Judging from its debut in this morning’s demolition report, it’s looking like the end of the line for the classic 1960 steel-and-glass home at 6040 Glencove St., near Bayou Bend and Memorial Park.

What’s going away?

The house had the kind of wide-open spaces that modernists love, and its floors were marble - cool, [original owner André] Crispin says, under bare feet in the summer.

At 4,600 square feet, the house was large for its era, plenty big enough for the Crispins’ four children and their grand-scale entertaining. When Crispin and his wife hosted musical events, 200 to 300 guests thronged their dramatic living room. There, those guests could admire the wall of glass 14 feet tall. It offered a view of the untamed back yard, a rolling ravine filled with sassafras trees, rabbits and armadillos.

The home was designed by Houston architect Talbott Wilson, 2 years before his firm created the Astrodome. Its current owner, David Mincberg, was appointed by Mayor White earlier this week to serve on the board of commissioners of the Houston Housing Authority. Mincberg bought the property last spring from an owner-broker who employed an innovative marketing plan: the Midcentury Modern came free with purchase of the dramatic 1.35-acre homesite.

What did Mincberg end up paying?

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7:48 pm | 23 Comments | Read more about Buying and Selling, Houston Architects, Land Sales, Neighborhoods: Glen Cove, Neighborhoods: Memorial, Real Estate Marketing
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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Buffalo Modern: The New H-E-B in West U

July 2, 2009 – 9:17 am

Two new buildings designed by regional architecture stars Lake/Flato Architects will open in Houston in the next couple of months: Rice University’s new swimming-pool and palm-tree festooned Wellness Center . . . and this sleek new H-E-B on Buffalo Speedway and Bissonnet.

Strangely, the San Antonio architecture firm didn’t get the late-nineties memo that specified an Alamo flavored Mission Revival strip and shopping center style for the inner Westpark corridor, and opted instead for a modern-looking hangar with a reflective butterfly roof, lots of glass, and a bunch of eco-features. Plus, fancy foods:

Buffalo Market will feature a Central Market Cafe on the Run, offering gourmet to-go items; a cheese shop with, for example, 54 varieties of bleu cheese; 2,000 varieties of wine; and a sushi and cooking demo station.

Half of the 68,000-square-foot H-E-B store will be devoted to perishables. Typically, supermarkets give perishables about one-third of the store space, [H-E-B and Central Market President Scott] McClelland said. There will be less general merchandise.

Buffalo Market will be similar to the H-E-B/Central Market hybrid in The Woodlands, only it will be an updated version, he said.

A few more photos sent in by a reader:

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9:17 am | 43 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: West University, New Construction, Retail, Shopping Centers
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Thursday, May 28, 2009

The New Levy Office Park

May 28, 2009 – 11:28 am
   

An office building next to the doomed Wakeforest Apartments will soon find itself in a new, almost park-like setting: “Bulldozers razed two old office buildings on Richmond at Wakeforest this week and will tackle apartments nearby later this year. Nothing is planned at this point for what amounts to about 4 acres that were purchased within the past six months by the Upper Kirby Redevelopment Authority’s TIRZ 19, said its chairman, Buddy Bailey. ‘We didn’t want empty structures,’ he said of the razing. The property, meanwhile, is ‘more than we could have hoped for.’ Immediate plans are to level and sod the estimated 1.2- and 2.8-acre lots, which are adjacent to the five-acre Levy Park. . . . Purchased for a total of $9.7 million, the office and apartment properties are not contiguous. A small office building separates them and remains.” [West University Examiner; previously on Swamplot]

11:28 am | 3 Comments | Read more about Demolitions, Neighborhoods: Upper Kirby, Parks, Quicklink
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Cypress Vacations at Home: Take the A-Frame

May 27, 2009 – 6:00 pm

A Swamplot reader asks: “I wonder if there’s a big market for $344k A-framed houses with cavernous looking rooms and green (oh yes, green to match the pine trees!) carpet?” Well, when times are tough, a resourceful family might want to look into saving some of that hard-earned dough by taking its summer vacation . . . at home!

This 3,944-sq.-ft. 1977 home on more than 1.3 acres in Tower Oaks features 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, a carpeted spiral stair, and a half-carpeted kitchen bar. You’ll save on siding maintenance, too!

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6:00 pm | 17 Comments | Read more about Home Design, Homes for Sale, Neighborhoods: Cypress, Neighborhoods: Tower Oaks
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Monday, May 18, 2009

From the Houston Mod Squad: Hometta Small House Plans, Online

May 18, 2009 – 2:34 pm

Five Houston designers are gathering on the ground floor of Hometta, a new web-based business that aims to promote and sell plans for small Modern homes. Architect James Evans of Collaborative Design Works, Rice architecture professor Dawn Finley of Interloop Architecture, Brett Zamore of Brett Zamore Design, and Blair Satterfield of HouMinn Practice are scheming with architect Andrew McFarland to build up a company store of designs measuring less than 2,500 sq. ft. Hometta’s founder is developer Mark Johnson of Area 16 Homes.

The company plans to have designs from 25 different studios ready for the launch of its web catalog next month, available under a tiered subscription system. Access to design renderings will be available for a small fee; for a larger fee, customers will be allowed to look through plans on the site and give access to contractors for bidding.

Once the customer finds a builder and receives a bid they are happy with, they may then buy the plans, which range from $1195 for a studio-sized house to $3195 for a 3-bedroom. Our Builder Search feature will help match homebuyers with a qualified builder in their area.

After that, you’re on your own:

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2:34 pm | 12 Comments | Read more about Home Design, Houston Architects, Online Resources
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Hanging Around the Old Fire Station, Waiting for the Next Development

May 13, 2009 – 10:17 am

Hunting down information about the abandoned Modern Fire Station at the corner of Fannin and South Braeswood just south of the Med Center, Houston building arch-ivist Lauren Meyers stumbles upon dangling plans for a new development on the huge vacant lot behind it, which was once home to an apartment complex.

The city sold the [fire station] to an entity named Texas SFI Partnership 33 in February of 2007. Texas SFI Partnership 24 owns the Lanesborough Apartments that are to the west of the fire station at 1819 S. Braeswood Blvd. Lanesborough’s parent company is The Richdale Group, and Richdale is a part of Slosburg Co. A representative of Lanesborough via Slosburg informed us that the property, including the large tract of land to the south, is slated to become a large mixed-use development with a medical emphasis.

There is no timeline for the project and it is still in the design phase. An existing sign on the large empty tract advertises a “Better Lifestyle” with Lanesborough apartments and richdale.com, but there is no other information about the future development on it.

What about that cool 1950 fire station?

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10:17 am | 8 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: Texas Medical Center, Proposed Developments
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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Comment of the Day: Modern Library Edition

March 11, 2009 – 4:54 pm
   

“The mid-century Oak Forest Library IS NOT being demolished. Houston Public Library is working very diligently to save, restore, renovate and add-on to the existing building. The rendering that you show is of the addition to the west side of the original building facing the newish elementary school across the street. When the work is complete, the “new” Oak Forest will have dedicated areas for Children, Teens, and Adults, a new Meeting Room, Conference Room, and expanded services. It will be fully ADA compliant and should also acquire L.E.E.D certification.” [John, commenting on The New Oak Forest Neighborhood Library]

4:54 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Comments, Neighborhoods: Oak Forest, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Quicklink
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The New Oak Forest Neighborhood Library

March 10, 2009 – 2:51 pm

Thanks to the reader who sent Swamplot this image, showing what the new west wing of the Oak Forest Neighborhood Library is supposed to look like when construction is complete. The addition provides an updated reading of the library’s current Mod entrance, which sits quietly at the back of the shopping center on 43rd St., a block west of Ella:

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2:51 pm | 7 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: Oak Forest, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings
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Friday, March 6, 2009

As It Was in Afton Oaks

March 6, 2009 – 12:22 pm

This home, with a dramatic roofline that only hints at the remarkable ceiling swoops that await inside, was the 1952 creation of Houston architect Allen R. Williams. It’s at the corner of Ivanhoe and Kettering in Afton Oaks, and as of this week, it’s on the market — “as is.”

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12:22 pm | 10 Comments | Read more about Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Interiors, Neighborhoods: Afton Oaks
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Insert Modern Home Photo Here

February 10, 2009 – 5:51 pm

It sure is hard to keep straight all those white-stucco Modern homes a few Houston architects keep churning out. Which probably explains the big “oops” in the latest issue of Houston Lifestyles & Homes magazine, a free publication distributed to “45,000 upscale homes in the Houston area.”

February’s cover story, “An Inside Outside House,” centers around the somewhat spectacular home local architect-builders MC² built for Barry and Sherry Johnson, along the edge of a fault line on a small lot adjacent to Memorial Park. The tall and narrow home, which features a three-story living space, slanted columns holding up a V-shaped roof, and third-floor balconies looking out over a pool, was featured in a Houston AIA home tour last year.

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5:51 pm | 2 Comments | Read more about Home Design, Houston Architects, Neighborhoods: Camp Logan, Neighborhoods: Greenbriar
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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Candlelight Forest Indoor Landscape

February 5, 2009 – 8:37 am

“SPACIOUS LIVINGROOM WITH SKYLIGHT & FLOWERBED,” shouts the listing for this 1970s-era home on a cul-de-sac near White Oak Bayou in Candlelight Forest. And it’s no exaggeration. The Swamplot reader who alerted us to the property also expressed appreciation for its mauve carpet and mirrored Dining Room wall:

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8:37 am | 5 Comments | Read more about Construction Materials, Home Decor, Home Design, Homes for Sale, Landscape, Neighborhoods: Candlelight Forest
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