1100 Louisiana St. Park and Fountains
Hines, a world leader in real estate investment, built an elegant public space at the corner of Lamar and Louisiana Streets in downtown Houston. The area had been a large open paved patio with a large contemporary sculpture that 99.9% of the public hurried past–it did not contribute to their day.
The building was transformed, IMHO, by what they built in the placed of the hard, almost empty plaza. The photos here tell the new story of the trees and landscaping, the curved stone walls with different color stone patterns in the walkway.
Be sure to click the photos to see a larger version and notice in small circular holes in the the raised stone platforms. The holes the portals where computer controlled jets of water can appear in varying heights and rhythms in a quiet dance of jumps and splashes. The water falls back to the polished stone and disappears in the narrow, almost invisible openings, falling into the collection basin below the pool. From there the water drains to the pump and control room in the parking garage below where it is filtered and pumped back to dance again.
The fountains were design and installed by WET, the same company that built the fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
The feeling of a large space is heightened by incorporating the sidewalk space into the area. With an agreement in place with the City, they replaced the concrete and pavers with the stone circular patterns. Even one of the trees with its unique structure is in the sidewalk space.
The only part that I wish was different is the location as it is on the west side of downtown where the winds are often high funneling through the buildings and down the streets. That prevents the fountain from regularly presenting the really grand displays it can provide.
Tags: Private_Owner
This is a great example of urban design in the public domain. Perhaps planners in Sydney could learn from this example and also others to implement similar ‘places’.