Quote:
Originally Posted by wwmiv
(1) Highland is going to have the same sterile and artificial architecture as the Domain, or, for that matter, 2nd Street with its consistently boring architecture and rotating empty storefronts. Sterile and artificial doesn't make something not "urban." The Galleria, for what it's worth, isn't urban at all, but is actually more suburban in character (being an indoor shopping mall with highrises that happen to be attached to it) than any of the ancillary districts that Austin has to offer. I'd go further and argue that the Domain, already, is about as intensely developed as Downtown was in the 1970s, minus the handful of towers over 300 feet.
(2) the Domain, etc. is still getting the intense urban development of anywhere outside of downtown, even in parcels that aren't actually directly part of the Domain. For instance: the 11, 7, and 6 story Maravilla mixed used towers that The ATX just posted about in the North Burnet/Gateway/Domain thread for senior living. Or the multiple office mid or highrises that are either under construction now or fixing to start. And then there's the Brandywine / Intel land across Burnet from the Domain that will also end up being another major mixed-used development in this area. That entire area is being developed as actually urban, whether that urbanity happens to be new and sterile feeling. Over time, as the parking lots and warehouse space are infilled with newer and more unique projects, it won't feel that way quite as much.
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The difference long term will prove to be the fact that Highland is an inner city location that is already well connected to the core of the city. The Domain location is suburban and isolated from the most vibrant parts of the city. Retail is the only thing that animates the Domain, and retail, even high end retail, is not what it used to be. The Domain PR machine would have you believe all is well out there, but I suspect there are growing problems. Yes, the Domain development mimics the urban form, but it is not truly urban. As far as the architectural merits of new developments are concerned, I am not optimistic about what is likely to get built at either Highland or the Domain. I think, long term, a lot of what happens around the Highland area will depend on Travis County. I have a feeling that the Family Courts are going to end up at the county site in a new mid rise structure. That will possibly spur the construction of some other office developments. I feel pretty certain that the central location and relative affordability of the new housing projects being built in the Highland area will prove a successful combination, so there is likely to be a steady stream of these projects over the next decade. I won't be around to find out who is right or wrong, or, if I am around, I'll be in a nursing home. With regards to the Houston Galleria. I know the built form, especially the mall, is suburban in character, but overall the Galleria area, replete with massive high rise office, hotel, and condo developments, is well integrated into the urban fabric (such as it is) of the west side of Houston. It is only 6 or 7 miles from downtown and two or three miles from the Med Center. It is adjacent to affluent River Oaks, Memorial, etc. It is two miles from the trendy Melrose area. From what I can tell, the Domain area has none of that going for it. It sits isolated beside a busy freeway and surrounded by dreariness. The neighborhoods to the east are limping along trying to avoid becoming crime ridden slums. There is a lot of land nearby ripe for re-purposing, but I am not sure that will prove to be enough to turn the area into a second downtown or even a real urban neighborhood.
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