Better Faulkner project
 

First, I hope this doesn't deteriorate into a SA vs. AUS thread. Love Austin, great skyline that is blowing up (and passing by SA, imo). But since the GH is nearly finished, which Faulkner project turned out, or is turning out better. The Austin Hilton or the SA Grand Hyatt. Why or why not. Which looks better and why. I like the Hilton when coming into Austin on I-35 from the south, since it's right next to freeway. On the GH side, seems to be a bit taller than Hilton and has the glassy top and multi color scheme. It's also lighter than the mostly dark brown/beige buildings DT, and looks great viewed at an angle. On the down side, it's still a little wallish, at least the Hilton is bent at a 45 degree angle.

In the battle of the uglies...GH is the better looking building, but man, they both have their faults.

To me, the Hilton just looks cheap. At least the GH has that glass that looks somewhat cool.

Also, the GH is near two other very large, wall-like hotels (the two Marriots), while the Hilton is by far the largest building on that side of downtown Austin.

While I'm not crazy about the 'wall' effect of the GH, I think its design is superior to Austin's Hilton. I was very pleseantly surprised by the subtle use of color and the glass on the upper condo floors.

I like the top of SA's GH better, but everything else is pretty ugly. I liked the earlier renderings a lot better.

Too bad they scaled down the GH from the original joined twin towers. Those would have been so sweet. That would have put SA in the big leagues.

Haha. I like it, the battle of the UGLIES.

Getting a little ahead of ourselves? :yes:

How tall were those two towers?

Can't remember exactly but they sure looked sweet. Bigger than both the Marriott Rivercenter and Weston. What was it like 600'??

575' I think. Would have dwarfed the Marriott Rivercenter, and from most angles ToA wouldn't appear much taller. Just be patient though guys haha, SA will have it's day soon. The GH might not be perfection, but is better than no new skyscraper in 20 years lol.

I like the glass of the Grand Hyatt. The height is pretty good and I like the slenderness of it. It's actually one of the taller convention hotels in the nation. Denver and Fort Worth have taller ones, but I can't think of many others. I'm just not crazy about the length. The facade color is alright too. I like the contrast between the limestone color and the green glass. I'm not crazy about the little orange squares though. I almost think it would have looked better to have greenish squares instead to complement the green glass. My other worry is the base. It comes off kind of bulky and akward. This isn't anything new though, most convention hotels are that way.

As for Austin's Hilton, I'm not crazy about the shape. It's a giant 'L'. It's also bulky, despite being slender on the ends. The podium is huge and the building sometimes gives off a human-less scale. The street level treatment is pretty basic. Not exactly interesting and it's not really pedestrian friendly. No street level retail. I do like the color though and the pattern. It's actually one of Austin's most colorful buildings, and that's not really a bad thing. The sunset on the facade makes for a nice sight in the afternoon and evening. I like the contrast of the black glass against the colorful facade. At night the building is dark, minus the Hilton signs, a few white lights on the roof, and of course lights from inside the building. I kind of like this though. From a distance it looks pretty cool, kind of stealthy. The height is alright, in 2004 when it opened it was Austin's 4th tallest. I'm glad it didn't end up being taller, because it's already big enough.

Overall, and this isn't biased opinion speaking, I have to give the nod to the Hilton. This is purely because of the color and pattern. Everything else is 50/50 between the two.

I think if the Grand Hyatt wasn't so long, instead adding that space to the top, then it would be much closer of a pick.

I like the Hyatt better. When it is complete I feel it will be even better, however it is defiantly not too attractive.

Both cities lose on this one. Austin loses because the bland Hilton is close to IH35. This puts the hotel in the face of everyone passing through Austin and means the view will never be obscured from the highway. SA loses because the ugly wall is the most prominent building on the skyline.

Austin's ugly kind of fades into the background. It blends in with all of the bland buildings by IH35. It's easy to look past.

You can 't do that with SA's Hyatt, and I think by being so wide it actually takes away from the skyline by blocking out the Marriott from the north and south views.

can a photo make me love the hyatt more?

by Andrewville on Flickr

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...ttmetallic.jpg

honestly though, my wife and i stayed in the austin hilton and were only somewhat impressed. it does feel disconnected from the city in a weird way and the pool deck just didn't feel as if it was all it could have been. i mean, why not place it higher? i think the hyatt's rooftop pool deck is going to be fantastic - bigger and a better view.

still, outside of the metallic photo above, we'll have to wait and see until after the hyatt is done and we can check it out on the inside.

well, san antonio's faulkner project is done now.... so the comparisons can be made with a little more certainty.

Kevin gave us a great picture to compare the Austin Hilton with the new Grand Hyatt in SA. Someone just needs to post a good GH photo...:yes:

KevinFromTexas took this beauty...
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...170671EDIT.jpg

I think the best quote so far is "The battle of the uglies". I will also give the nod to the Hyatt! I have long disliked the exterior of the Hilton in Austin. The color play on the outside was originally to be more "enthusiastic"... then got pulled back. I agree it looks cheap and uninteresting from the outside. As for the GH, it is the middle part of the building that kills it.... you know, the part where you can tell it is the same production team as the Hilton! (which I take is the hotel component) The top and bottom are improvements... but still clunky. Glad to see they didn't back off on the color....even though I am not crazy about the final choices. The transition from the hotel to the condos is also not very graceful. It always disappoints when such large buildings lack grace and style.

So yeah, Grand Haytt! You're queen of the uglies! Both cities deserve better.

I think the rooftop pool is for the residents of the condos. I thought the hotel guests had another on top of the 4th floor, but I can't find any info on this.

Will post a good GH picture when I find one, or take one myself haha.

One thing I've been noticing in recent pictures of the Hyatt, is how awesome it looks having some of the window shades up and down in the different rooms. In fact, if I can get away with saying this, it kind of reminds me of something maybe in Europe :cool:

i don't remember what floor the pool was on - 14th? - but we were definitely above the "lower" condo units and below the "upper" condo units. that was the pool they directed us too. it also had the workout facilities and some sort of spa on the same level. the pool views were good, and the layout, though unspectacular, did have a nice cabana area with a little bar....

Let me try to save my soul a bit. I will tell you that the interiors of the HIlton in Austin are gracious and the staff is fab! I just designed an event there and could not recommend a staff more. (does that save me from critical hell?) Also, some of the condo, esp the penthouses are wonderful... very well laid out and well proportioned. So hopefully the condos at the Hyatt bode as well!