Quote:
Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam
anyone finding reasons of disapproval is just finding those reasons for the sake of it.
|
There's a list a mile long why we're entitled to be picky about this design. This area is developing as a new core for our city. Do we want one of its anchors to look and feel like the Domain? I don't hold every project to this standard, obviously our city is full of bland garbage, but these guys have (apparently) deep pockets and a big vision for this site. That combined with its prominent location demands a more thoughtful design approach. As for it being upgrade... literally anything would be an upgrade over a soon to be abandoned bus barn and a bunch of vacant lots and buildings, so let's cool it with that extremely flawed logic.
Idk if anyone here attended Sir David Adjaye's (the architect of Ruby City) lecture at Trinity last week, but he noted at the end of the lecture how it's really obvious when cities are trying to be like someplace else, and that those cities are extremely boring to visit and be in, which really resonated with me. Well, to me, that's exactly what this is. The embracing of the bland anywhereism of modern urban form in order to emulate other cities. Again, look at the Pearl across the street for a shinning example of the opposite of this, of integrating contemporary design with local touches. As someone who has spent 95% of his life here, this matters to me a lot. There's no particular reason I have to live in San Antonio, but it's relatively small things like that that keep me here. It's what contributes to our sense of place. And, from a real estate perspective, an interesting sense of place can help lead to patterns of repeat visitation, which is good for business.