HOUSTON ARCHITECTURE
Houston has perhaps the finest collection of post-modern skyscraper architecture in one location of any American city. Those downtown are built on one-square block each, enabling architects to give them distinctive identities, unbeholden to smaller nearby buildings. Check these out, if time permits.
Bank of America Center
Notable for its red granite, three-step design the mocks a 1920s-style skyscraper at 56 stories and 780 feet; built in 1983 by Johnson/Burgee Architects and Kendall/Heaton Associates; 700 Louisiana
JP Morgan Chase Tower
Towering 75 stories and 1000 feet, it is Houston’s tallest building; built in 1981 by IM Pei & Partners and 3D/International is; 600 Travis
Enron Center North
Despite the Enron debacle, this blue glass and aluminum 50-story reflects a sunset for quite some distance, making it a notable landmark since 1983; designed by Lloyd Jones Brewer & Associates; 1400 Smith
Enron Center South
Recently completed and similar in style to the north tower but only 40 stories; designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates and Kendall/Heaton Associates; 1501 Smith
Pennzoil Place
Two shiny, black 36-story towers unified by a glass pyramid lobby; designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects and S.I. Morris Associates, possibly Houston’s most famous icons, the buildings look dramatically different from various angles and time of day; 711 Louisiana
Texaco Heritage Plaza
Dons a Mayan temple-inspired crown on its 52-stories and 762 feet; built in 1987 by M. Nasr & Partners; 1111 Bagby
Wells Fargo Bank Plaza
Two 71-story and 972 feet tall, features semi-circular towers that interlock to evoke a dollar sign – what could be more fitting for a bank; opened in 1983, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Lloyd Jones Brewer & Associates; 1000 Louisiana
Transco Tower
At 901 feet tall, it the highest building in America not located in a central business district; located next to the Galleria
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