Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas
Ok, so I've been sending emails to Gensler and Manchester trying to get the heights. Someone from Manchester came back yesterday with info from Gensler. The heights are:
595 feet to the spire.
456 feet to the "crown" - this should be the top of the mechanical penthouse.
It's listed as 37 floors, but in reality there are only 36 actual occupied floors. The reason for the discrepancy is it's tradition in the hotel industry to skip the 13th floor. So they go from 12 straight to 14.
It will also have 4 levels underground for parking. She said is breaks ground in November.
She said the design is complete, but that a different architecture firm is handling the skybridge to the convention center.
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Thanks Kevin.
Even worse that I thought. Almost a quarter of the building's listed height will be an odd-looking spire.
This is a real disappointment from the original design! It seems obvious that the cost of building the tower in its original form was going to cost well north of $400 million. If not, then what happened to the design?
Heck, they've cut 120' off the building (not including the spire) and raised the budget by $20 million.
I wish they (Manchester & Gentler) could have added some swerves or undulations to the façade...at least it would be more interesting than a cookie-cut version of a convention hotel. However, I don't think anyone at Gentler's Austin office can draw anything but a straight line.