Pennzoil Place
Encyclopedia
Pennzoil Place is a set of two 36-story towers in downtown
Houston, Texas
, United States
. Designed by Philip Johnson
and John Burgee
and built in 1975, Pennzoil Place is Houston's most award-winning skyscraper and is widely known for its innovative design.
Pennzoil Place, developed and managed by Gerald D. Hines
Interests, consists of two 495 ft (150.9 m) trapezoidal towers placed ten feet apart and sheathed in dark bronze glass and aluminum. The buildings are mirror images of each other. The entire street-level plaza joining the two structures is enclosed in a 115 feet (35.1 m) glass pyramid-shaped atrium. Deliberately designed as an optical illusion
, Pennzoil Place's appearance will vary depending on the different locations from where it is viewed. Pennzoil Place is considered significant in architectural circles for breaking the modernist glass box design made popular by followers of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
and for introducing the era of postmodernism
. The buildings combined contain 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) of leasable space.
Architect Philip Johnson
was awarded the 1978 AIA Gold Medal
and became the first laureate
of the Pritzker Prize in Architecture
in 1979 for his work on Pennzoil Place. Pennzoil Place was named "Building of the Decade" in 1975 by The New York Times
architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable
because of the dramatic silhouette
it added to the Houston skyline.
and other partners in a West German
investment group bought a 90 percent interest in the Pennzoil Place building for $100 million.
As of 2002 Arthur Andersen
was vacating about 300000 square foot of space in Pennzoil Place.
Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston is the largest business district of Houston, Texas, United States. Downtown Houston, the city's central business district, contains the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is an extensive network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district...
Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Designed by Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
and John Burgee
John Burgee
__notoc__John Burgee is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects. Their landmark collaborations together included Pennzoil Place in Houston...
and built in 1975, Pennzoil Place is Houston's most award-winning skyscraper and is widely known for its innovative design.
Pennzoil Place, developed and managed by Gerald D. Hines
Gerald D. Hines
Gerald D. Hines is the founder and chairman of Hines, a privately held real estate firm with its U.S. headquarters located in Houston, Texas, and its European headquarters located in London....
Interests, consists of two 495 ft (150.9 m) trapezoidal towers placed ten feet apart and sheathed in dark bronze glass and aluminum. The buildings are mirror images of each other. The entire street-level plaza joining the two structures is enclosed in a 115 feet (35.1 m) glass pyramid-shaped atrium. Deliberately designed as an optical illusion
Optical illusion
An optical illusion is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source...
, Pennzoil Place's appearance will vary depending on the different locations from where it is viewed. Pennzoil Place is considered significant in architectural circles for breaking the modernist glass box design made popular by followers of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
and for introducing the era of postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
. The buildings combined contain 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) of leasable space.
Architect Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
was awarded the 1978 AIA Gold Medal
AIA Gold Medal
The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture."...
and became the first laureate
Laureate
In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary or military glory. It is also used for winners of the Nobel Prize.-History:...
of the Pritzker Prize in Architecture
Pritzker Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
in 1979 for his work on Pennzoil Place. Pennzoil Place was named "Building of the Decade" in 1975 by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable
Ada Louise Huxtable
Ada Louise Huxtable is an architecture critic and writer on architecture. In 1970 she was awarded the first ever Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for "distinguished criticism during 1969."...
because of the dramatic silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
it added to the Houston skyline.
History
In May 1976 Deutsche BankDeutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
and other partners in a West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
investment group bought a 90 percent interest in the Pennzoil Place building for $100 million.
As of 2002 Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one of the "Big Five" accounting firms among PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG, providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations...
was vacating about 300000 square foot of space in Pennzoil Place.
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Houston
- Architecture of HoustonArchitecture of HoustonThe architecture of Houston includes a wide variety of award-winning and historic examples located in various areas of the city of Houston. From early in its history to current times, the city inspired innovative and challenging building design and construction, as it quickly grew into an...
- List of tallest buildings in Texas