In January of 2012, METRO – Houston’s transit authority – and the Downtown Management District, held a competition for the design of Central Station-Main; a light rail station in the heart of the city where two of the newest tracks would meet.
The event was held in an unfinished floor of what is now BGG Group Place. Such a cool setting: bare structure, pipes and ducts of a spec office tower dimly lit with construction lights – a clean slate, daring one to make something out of nothing.
Such a cool scene: SHoP, Snohetta, LTL, Neil Denari and Interloop – young though established architects, each taking turns presenting a concept for an iconic station.
The place was packed – more designer eyeglasses and all-black outfits that you could shake a stick at. There was a buzz – the kind of buzz one feels just before a final jury at architecture school. Everyone impressed and excited that Houston was giving serious thought to the act of design for a public facility.
Presentations finished. People mulled around, looking at the boards, talked to the designers – everyone had that mischievous glee in their eyes.
The audience placed their vote in a ballot box. The jury – made of up distinguished folks – would select the winner on Valentine’s day and a short time after that there would be a public announcement.
Such a cool night.
Fast forward to the Summer of 2013: no news. I sent a couple of emails to Metro and got a response that a winner had been picked and we’d all know very soon.
Then I saw this:
Metro Central Canopy Will Retain Conventional Design
If I was on the jury, I would have picked Neil Denari’s design:
It had presence and scale at street level, was simple yet complex and he had a scheme for its construction.
Opportunity lost.
This comes at a time when the Astrodome – a true National Treasure – is being seriously considered for demolition. I also heard the other day that Rice University’s stadium – the city’s most elegant sports facility – may be getting an extreme makeover.
We’re learning too much from Las Vegas: tear it down and build anew. As if newer is always better or that great architecture has no cultural value – would Italians demolish the Pantheon or the Colosseum? Yes, those structures are many centuries old but if we keep destroying stuff, no one will know if what we built only decades ago will be judged as a wonder decades from now.
the City 