Taken today:

IMG_20200401_091512.jpg
 
Okay deep breath. Don't get me wrong, I really like this design and the city needs more original thought like this. BUT:

This design seems unresolved and incomplete now that we're seeing it take shape.

Podium: Amazing idea with the brick archways. Unfortunately, columns and pipes run straight through the windows, which make this look like a sloppy design that wasn't resolved correctly. I understand physics. I know that the columns are needed to support the building. What I am saying is that said columns need to be incorporated with the podium design with the archways to make the archways integrate into the building. As for the pipe? How is it good for anyone - CRU tenant, pedestrian, etc - to have a pipe running through the middle of a window? Finally, the varying width of the archways really grates my nerves. In design school you're taught the CRAP principle of design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Positioning. these archways execute on none of those principles.

Tower: I like the idea of introducing more brick towers in the core, especially in glass/spandrel-ridden neighbourhoods such as the Entertainment District. I don't think the designer paid any attention to the perceived weight that brick carries in this context, however. Bricks feel heavy, both visually and physically. Having a tower of bricks cantilever 100 metres above you feels imposing and unsafe, rather than inviting. It feels as though the bricks will collapse at any moment. Perhaps exchanging which sides of the tower are clad in brick could have addressed this, so the cantilevered side was glass-clad and the normal sides were brick-clad.

In short, yes, it is better than if the entire affair was covered in spandrel and mullions. It's a great design idea that should have been refined with a few more drafts before it shipped. I really hope the final execution can hide the flaws I mentioned.
 
I think the vertical lines of the windows going up from the podium into the tower are slightly marred by the horizontal brick panels that carry across the podium roofline, and as such lacks the visual dynamism that the transition between the slanted portion & the tower has. It feels like tying a belt around a pretty striped dress.

Also wished that the archway panels were more seamless with the rest of the podium brickwork panels, they seem slightly recessed at the moment?
 
Last edited:
Agreed. This in particular:
2020-04-14 10-05-34 AM.jpg
almost seems like someone misread the plans and built the archway one column over from where it should have been, and filled in the gaps that were left behind. It's very McMansion-ey in execution - seemingly important structural elements (columns) that have no actual effect on the structural integrity of the building, making them feel gratuitous.
 
Vanalla said:
Agreed. This in particular:
View attachment 240790
almost seems like someone misread the plans and built the archway one column over from where it should have been, and filled in the gaps that were left behind. It's very McMansion-ey in execution - seemingly important structural elements (columns) that have no actual effect on the structural integrity of the building, making them feel gratuitous.
Click to expand...

Go back a bit. There are columns where the arches land, there are just more columns than there are arches.

pj_5-jpg.194540

Pic by @skycandy

dsc04288-jpg.211925

Pic by @Red Mars
 
Looks good. My only two small issues are I wish the brick portions were just a tiny bit more deep, like one more brick deep, just to give some dimension. They're very flush with the windows which isn't a good look - 99 Atlantic also has this issue. The portions of medium red ironspot brick that are hit by the sun look great - nice and shiny and maroon, but the parts in permanent shade feel a bit gloomy. I have to give Pinnacle credit for trying to execute such a daring design, but it feels a few million $ short of receiving the kind of finishing and detailing it deserves.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top