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Spirit of Houston |
At 555 feet, the World's Tallest Woman, planned for Houston, Texas
by Michels Bollinger, Inc.
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Spirit of Houston |
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STEELING BEAUTY
Imagine the future... your first visit to Houston in the new century, lured here to view a brave new monument, the heroic "Spirit of Houston", a grand symbol of friendship. You have seen the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the great St. Louis Arch... famous icons all, now, as you glide into Space City on Loop 610, SHE comes boldly into view! The world's tallest woman... a chrome Sky Goddess, 555 feet tall, soaring above the HOUTX skyline, her arms raised in a future-friendly embrace. In a quick series of tourist post cards, we see HER at home in Houston, eye-to-eye with erect downtown skyscrapers, watching over her freeways at rush hour, and dancing above the verdant glades of Memorial Park... She's ubiquitous, eyes scanning the horizon, head in the clouds, feet poised delicately on her Houston turf. She's confident, a woman of the future, independent and free... welcoming all to her dynamic city. As they say in art, architecture, and industrial design... "it's all about the curve". From cars and freeways to the female form, it was the concept of curvilinear beauty that inspired Doug Michels (an architect), Peter Bollinger (an industrial designer), and Cybele Rowe (a sculptor), to create their visionary silver icon for new century Houston. Powerful cultural icons demand originality and true beauty to INSPIRE memory and meaning! As a symbol of the future, the Spirit of Houston is both "prescient" and traditional... a proud TEXAS ICON, steeling beauty in the bright moonlight above Houston. Credits: SPIRIT OF HOUSTON monument designed by Michels Bollinger, Inc. --Doug Michels (email:michels@uh.edu) --Peter Bollinger --Cybele Rowe Copyright 2000 (all rights reserved) |
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Get ready for a new monument ... think big, Houston!
"Time has passed by and we're sitting without an icon" 
09/04/2002 By Jeff McShan / 11 News Click to watch video HOUSTON (KHOU) -- There was a lot of frustration when Houston was passed over for the 2012 Olympics, and questions arose about whether the city has an image problem. Some architects say we need a new attraction. They think they've got the right idea, but building it will be a tall order. Houston is an international city, but it seems few people outside this 700-square mile metropolis view it that way. Perhaps that's one reason the United States Olympic Committee recently picked New York and San Francisco over Houston as a possible Olympic sight in 2012. But one man wants to change the way the world looks at this city. For two years Doug Michels has been working on a monument like the one in Washington, D.C., or even the needle in Seattle. "Well, it used to be the Astrodome, 30 years ago when it was the 8th wonder of the world," says Michels. "And it's no longer that. Time has passed by and we're sitting without an icon." Michels is an architect with Michels Bollinger, Inc. His creation would be a stainless steel goddess standing 555 feet tall, a monument as tall as Washington's that would soar above the Houston skyline. A woman with her arms raised in a friendly embrace. "We've been working on this for a couple of years," explains Michels. "We've been designing and engineering, and it's always been thought of as a very serious project. And we would like to see it happen." Michels has made things happen before. He used to work for the firm that designed the Williams Tower. And back in the '70s he was part of design team for the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. He's joined forces this time with Origin and the design company's creative director, Jim Mousner. Mousner will help promote what's being called the Spirit of Houston. And the costs? "Early estimates we have received from our engineer is around $40 million," says Michels. "So that's going to be a hump to overcome." Michels hopes his creation will end up in Hermann Park, and will stand 55 stories tall. He says, "Think big, Houston." |
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Doug Michels, Artist and Architect, Died June 12, 2003, 59 years old at Eden Bay near Sydney, Australia. He was 59 and lived in Houston. He was a founding member of Ant Farm, a radical art and design collective of the late 1960's and 70's.
Mr. Michels fell to his death while climbing alone to a whale observation point, working as a consultant for a movie production about whales. Mr. Michels taught at universities and, from time to time, worked for conventional architectural firms, but his most memorable efforts sprang from the countercultural concept art/architecture group Ant Farm, a coolaborative with Chip Lord started in San Francisco in 1968. Ant Farm's two most famous productions were "Cadillac Ranch," in Amarillo, Texas and "Media Burn," in which Mr. Michels drove a white Cadillac through a pyramid of burning television sets. Doug spent at least 20 years promoting visionary art/architecture such as "Bluestar," a plan for a space station occupied by humans and dolphins, "The National Sofa" in Washington DC, and "Spirit of Houston". Douglas Donald Michels was born June 29, 1943, in Seattle. Educated at Catholic University in Washington, Oxford University in England, and the Yale School of Architecture. He taught at University of Houston, Rice University, Texas A&M University and the University of California at Los Angeles. |
This site maintained by:
Gary Feuerstein
21 October 2000