It does look like some evil building for some reason. Didn't they turn that building into a church of Scientology?
easily one of the ugliest buildings i have ever seen. brutalism at it's worst (and that's saying a lot).
what is the name of the church/cathedral that they have been working on for 100 years and it is supposed to take another 100 years to make?
some time ago on offtopic some guy made this mega post of his tour of N. Korea. He had a bunch of pics he wasn't supposed to have. it is like they are stuck in 1950 over there.
Pretty much the same way I stumbled upon it a while back as well. I seem to recall that in addition to the funding issues it was built with substandard concrete.
In Barcelona? La Sagrada Familia is the cathedral you might be talking about. "La Sagrada Familia is the pride of Barcelona. La Sagrada Famila is located in the center of Barcelona and surrounded by buildings and a small park. From the park there's a magnificent view of La Sagrada Familia. The four gigantic towers make it one of the most impressive churches in the world. La Sagrada Famila has two entrances, both in different styles. Here you can clearly see the large period of time that has passed since the beginning of construction." "To see La Sagrada Famila without construction and cranes is very hard; you have to be lucky. Since the church is still unfinished Barcelona keeps working on it. In Barcelona you hear echos of a forerver ongoing project since new sections are being designed throughout the years. If you visit Barcelona and find La Sagrada Famila wihout cranes and scaffolding it probably doesn't mean that the project is finished but that the local government has temporarily run out of money for the project. If you happen to get lucky and visit Barcelona during such a period, be sure to enjoy it and take a lot of pictures!" http://www.spanish-town-guides.com/Barcelona_Photos.htm I spent a couple of weeks in Barcelona, and the surrounding region, in 1971, while traveling for several months in Europe, and had some great adventures. Wonderful people (although the chick I was with posed a bit of a problem. Back then, at least, some of the local small hotel owners were very conservative and wanted to know if we were married! I quickly figured out not to laugh. It's not diplomatic. Still ended up with a great room, cheap, in a building a few hundred years old that had a balcony overlooking some great architecture.) The cathedral looked much the same then as it does in recent images. An hallucination, rising before you, about to melt, but beautiful. Fantastic views from the upper parts of it. A Gaudi design that is very unique.
i don't think worst was meant to mean ugly. it might have to do with all the starving people in north korea...
Oski - That's exactly the point I was making. This building is dubbed the ugliest building in the world yet is it somewhat reminiscent of The Transamerica Tower, the centerpiece of the San Francisco Skyline and the hallmark of 'The Futurist' style of William Pereira (though oddly, the designs are rooted in ziggaruts and pyramids from a 1000 years ago) Which brings me to the Heritage Paza and it's Mayan Temple on top of a standard Steel and glass skyscraper designed by M. Nasr & Partners of Houston. You don't build a 53 story skyscraper as the western face of downtown, the face for River Oaks and the Galleria, without credentials, models and the approval of a large crossection of Houston's movers and shakers. But to me, the whole concept is hilarious, just a bad joke at our city's expense. Do they sacrifice virgins up there? My last example, The Uof H School Of Architecture building, just also strikes me as ridiculous. Here you take a huge gift from a world wide developer of commercial buildings, you hire one of the most respected architects on the planet in Phillip Johnson and you get an exact replica of a fairly non-notable renaissance structure (which I do like) with a willy-nilly Acropolis structure stuck on top. Maybe that says something about the history of architecture but to me again, it looks like a joke. (It's is better than the abortion of the A&M architecture school though) So my point was this North Korean structure is only subjectively ugly. If it is backdropped by mountains it could even be said to be conforming to the landscape, or it could be said to be futuristic to inspire the North Korean people, or it might be some Asian feng shui design. One man's goofy is another mans sublime.
I think you're getting too caught up in the symbolism. Aesthetically, I think it's the most beautiful building in Houston.
Oh my goodness. That UH building is an insult to a great university. They should get rid of that absurd temple. I've hated it since they put it up. Everytime I'm in Houston and drive by the damn thing, I want to hurl. The idiotic Mayan temple is far better in comparison.
I will accept that I am of the minority opinion about the Heritige Tower. Mayan Temples are perfectly symbiotic with steel and glass towers; it makes perfect sense. In about 1983, I was interviewing with Charles Tapely & Assoc. for a job as a Landscape Architect. The interviewer asked what I thought about Tranquility Park, their recent masterpiece, the symbolic center of Space City. I told him as a piece of modern art it was interesting but as a public space for people it didn't provide any respite from Houston's heat and rain and that I couldn't see people actually gathering there sponteneously. Needless to say, I didn't get the job. Now, now look at the state of the art in the design in urban spaces, Discovery Green, plenty of green space, actual activities, plenty of food outlets. I was right MF; not even the bums will hang out in your burning oven of concrete. Crap like the Heritige Tower is novelty masquarading as design. I mean what is the function of the Temple. What dose it represent to the people of Houston, certainly not our history. Does it have any relation to the oil business that goes on inside the building? Is it evironmentally relevent? You tell me, what is it's point?
Actually, it is one of the most unique aspects of our skyline. It, along with the Bank of America building, personify our skyline. But I'm quite sure you'd rather have every building look like the Chase tower, eh?
No, I'd rather have it evoke an abstract oil derrick, or use differing glass patterns to resemble an oil berring stata or have a design that channels the shorebreeze to generate it's own electricity, or be more of an oblilisk as an ode to the San Jacinto monument (Eygyptian, I know) or a freaking rocket or bring some color to the skyline, we are a tropical climate you know, you can use color in a tropical climate. OK that's it. I'm done - Don Quiote
