I was waiting for someone to point that out...

Vents are necessary, I realize that, but at least L Tower has somewhat incorporated them into the design. And they aren't just giant boxes stuck on the roof, they're actually incorporated into the facade. There is a false roof too with the L Tower. All the HVAC units and Elevator mechanics are not visible at all. They are neatly tucked away under the top few false floors.

I'd say the three other sides of the L Tower, and their unusual shapes, allow for certain liberties to be taken with the vents on the backside.

In this case, they have ATTEMPTED to incorporate the mechanics into the design.

With X2, they just plopped everything on top and then, for some reason, surrounded it with transparent glass so we can see it all.

I still prefer vision glass to spandrel in those sections. I want to see what makes the building hum. I think it's touches like that that made the first few phases of Cityplace (eg. West One + N1, Matrix, etc.) far more palatable than later ones (eg. the Spectra + Quartz disasters).

What's so offensive about mechanical systems anyways?
 
Looking good!

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Why they didn't continue with the same glass and frame is beyond me, it screams 'look at me'. I've seen it from a variety of angles & distances under cloudy/rainy/blue skies and it really takes away from the rest of the building. It's like going on a blind date, nice body - but that damn face....
Unless this isn't the finished product (or rejected - hint-hint Great Gulf!), fail.
 
They DID continue with the exact same glazing.... what they didn't take into account was the dark interiors of the units allows the glass to be much more reflective, whereas the open sky behind the parapet betrays its transparency. A darker tint or higher mirroring of the glazing would have matched the windows below.

*Look carefully at the corner units and you can see the sky behind almost as clearly as the roof parapet... keeping in mind you are seeing through two layers of the glass and not just one.
 
They DID continue with the exact same glazing.... what they didn't take into account was the dark interiors of the units allows the glass to be much more reflective, whereas the open sky behind the parapet betrays its transparency. A darker tint or higher mirroring of the glazing would have matched the windows below.

*Look carefully at the corner units and you can see the sky behind almost as clearly as the roof parapet... keeping in mind you are seeing through two layers of the glass and not just one.

I flipped back & looked more carefully at some of the recent pics, I see what your saying. Thanks!
 
As someone has mentioned earlier, hopefully when people move in and put up their blinds, the glass will more closely match. These buildings always require white or off white blinds. So with that lightening the glass in the tower, the glass in the mechanical levels will be more similar than they appear now.
 
Benito, thanks for your photo contributions from your obviously special vantage point. They enrich a number of threads.
 
I like to try to contribute what I can. Everyone's contributions are what makes this site great. Hopefully my views from my condo will last a lot longer, but with development here the way it is, who knows how long I will still have great views.
 
I like to try to contribute what I can. Everyone's contributions are what makes this site great. Hopefully my views from my condo will last a lot longer, but with development here the way it is, who knows how long I will still have great views.

You can always plan to move at that point!
 
Benito, those photos are incredible! X Condos, especially looks gorgeous; one of the few buildings where blinds actually make it look better, IMO.
 
I've had lots of entertainment from watching so many of the downtown condos being built since moving here 4 months ago. I hate moving and love this place, it would be hard to move again anytime soon.
 

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