Return to Houston Architecture Info front page.
The Buildings : Desktop Wallpaper : Add My Photos : Forum : 
Search : Contact : Press : © : Privacy
You are here: Home > Architecture > Houston > West Loop > 77056 > Four-Leaf Towers
Four-Leaf Towers, 5100 San Felipe, Houston
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz
This image is available for business licensing,
or purchase this photograph as a print or poster


Got more pictures?
Got better pictures?
Share your skyscraper and architecture photos

Four-Leaf Towers

Designed by: Cesar Pelli and Associates, Albert C. Martin and Associates, and Melton Henry Architects
Construction Completed: 1982
Type: Skyscraper
Stories: 40
Location: 5100 San Felipe
Area: West Loop
Post Code: 77056
City: Houston, Texas

Advertisement
Page tools: 
E-mail this page How to cite this article Printer-friendly version AIM this page My Yahoo! del.icio.us Newsvine Furl Reddit blinklist Fark
50% 50% of our readers like Four-Leaf Towers.
Your Rating:
     At first glance this pair of condominium towers rising over the Galleria Area appear to be unfinished. They may even look like victims of the latest hurricane or tornado to blow through the Bayou City. But what they lack in uniformity of appearance, they make up for in aesthetic pleasure derived from serious study. These are actually the first buildings designed by Cesar Pelli in Houston. They break the mold of surrounding towers by incorporating a crossword puzzle of color instead of yet another boring blue-green glass curtain. It's like sticking a pair of 40-story plastic flamingos on your lawn just to spite the neighbors. The red, pink, and cream-colored panels are all glass and if interpreted in the extreme, could be taken as a giant mosaic or stained glass window. In another departure from convention, the rooftops are red, complementing the panes below. Before this, even the most adventurous Galleria project only went as far as European green. In a neighborhood known for its uniformity in everything from stainless steel traffic lights to stainless steel arches marking crosswalks, this represents either a refreshing break from the ordinary, or a chaotic blight on the skyline.

>In the Autumn of 2001 a fire broke out in the left tower. The owner of the apartment was killed along with a firefighter trying to rescue him. While state law requires four firefighters on each responding engine, the city of Houston was staffed with three or fewer on many trucks due to budget constraints and a lack of firefighters. Because of the manpower shortfall the dead firefighter had no backup to save him. Just hours after the apartment owner's funeral, Mayor Lee Brown came out with a plan to fully staff all Houston fire trucks by using paramedics. The issue nearly cost him his re-election.

Related Web Sites:
Discuss the architecture of Four-Leaf Towers and other buildings in Houston.
Be the first to leave a comment on this building.
Add your corrections, comments, memories, or thoughts about this building.
Your name:
E-mail address:
Your nation:
Rate this structure:
1 5
Your comments:
 
Messages without valid e-mail addresses, or containing profanity will be automatically discarded. You're wasting your time, not ours.