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Originally Posted by chancla
It's underwhelming. The designs are blah. Totally in agreement.
On the positive side, I'm glad the buildings are more glass than they are prefab concrete. I'm glad that the hotel is now parallel to the Hilton Palacio and not at that weird 35 degree angle. I also am satisfied with the massing of the buildings. They aren't too big or imposing to take away from the "great lawn" experience I was hoping for.
My only big negatives are the ground floor arches and nods to the old Henry B. It's like they finally got a clue and tore down the last old convention center building, only to miss the ugly thing for some sentimental reason and bring it back from the dead. San Antonio is great because it's old AND new. Let this be something new.
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Well stated. I do not like this design at all. At all. But you made some good points. The only positive, I find, is something you said as well - It doesn't completely block out the Hilton Hotel. This isn't New York, there is plenty of room. We don't need to block off buildings; well, unless its that damn Indigo Hotel (hehe).
We could have had something similar to Millennium Park in Chicago, what a shame. They could have used many local artists to improve the overall concept and design. We have many great local artists...
I have said this many times over through the years; San Antonio is in a unique position to offer both old and modern, while still retaining its small city with its unique architecture. I only wish it wasn't completely all "small" city conceptualizations in its designs and structures.
Please, San Antonio, MOVE PAST THE 1960s! The Tower of Americas is nice, but its just a restaurant, and it was only meant to be used for an event. Build with it, not around it. Similarly, I do not see cities such as Melbourne, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Innsbruck, Grenoble or Mexico City (some cities of the Olympics, note the period of time) harping on their singular event achievements. While hosting the Olympics is a
crowning achievement, it is not the only thing that makes these cities special, and it will
not be the only thing that from which their social structures are built upon. That is not how a functioning, progressive thinking city, or community, is sustained with the future in mind.