whats happened to Houston? Back in early 1980's it had a boom never seen before in a US city. They got the first 1000ft skyscraper outside NY or Chicago.lots of plans for more super talls but never eventuated.It was really cool seing all these really tall bldgs in a city other then NY or chicago.
They havent a real tall bldg built in years. Most recent was 1500 louisiana(183m) 2002, 158m Reliant Plaza (2003), 138m Calpine Cnt (2003) etc.
There isnt even any tall proposals? what has everyone abandoned Houston? no future?
according to Emporis there is 400 highrise bldgs. nothing planned higher then 130m? tallest uc is 131m memorial hermann Hospital>
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=389350

So much potential in early 1980's/
Never built 428m Southwest centre>
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=173478


still the tallest
305m/75st JPMorgan chase tower
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/JPMorgan_Chase_Tower_with_Houston_Skyline.jpg/800px-JPMorgan_Chase_Tower_with_Houston_Skyline.jpg

2nd tallest
302m Wells Fargo bank
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Wells_Fargo_Bank_Plaza%2C_Houston%2C_from_base.jpg/450px-Wells_Fargo_Bank_Plaza%2C_Houston%2C_from_base.jpg

3rd tallest
275m Williams tower
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Williams_Tower_Moon.jpg

^^ What an awesome and modern hospital wing. It's a pity a few more of ours dont looks that good.

http://www.hayneswhaley.com/project_images/MHPOBRendering.jpg

I love Houston. A city that grew so strongly in the 80s and shows it through its reflective towers. It as all the glitz of the time and all that brash and sassy feeling of the south too. Space tech, 80s sparkle and good weather. Certainly a city with alot more potential.

http://homepages.ipact.nl/~egram/pix/houston.jpg
It looks so constructed, so geometric and manufactured. It doesn't seem to have the dynamic liveliness of some cities. It doesn't really look like a living breathing organism but there is something very attractive about the city, it has an other worldiness about it for me.

http://www.photohome.com/pictures/texas-pictures/houston/houston-skyline-1a.jpg
Damn awesome, so bold, shiny and dominating. This is what i miss about the late 80s and early 90s. Simplicity and glass can be so fetching.

Maybe something to do with Enron's collapse throwing the state economy around a bit? I don't know.

Its not just the economy, you can't just depend office towers for height, residental tower count a lot as well, q1 and eureka are very good examples. Since theres like hardly residential towers(if any) in downtown houston, they only got office towers to boost height. Well, thats the price for everyone living in suburb.

^^ True residential towers would count towards height, however this is the US we are talking about here. Residential highrises aren't especially common and never really have been. Emporis says out of the top 100 residential towers, the US has 17 and only 1 of those is above 200m. Furthermore all 17 of those buildings are in either New York or Chicago.

So yeah I never really consider residential towers as having much impact on any US city not just Houston. But anyway, that could easily change if Americans start a shift toward the inner city. It would be like replicating what Australia has experienced over the last decade or so when many people used to the suburbs began to move back into the city again.