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Originally Posted by Geographer
I see now how podium's facade changes for the garage vs the hotel. The garage has more and thicker diagonal beams.
I'm happy that Austin is getting a huge tower like this as it's a major vote of confidence in the future of the city, but the design seems disjointed and unfinished. The prominent diagonal columns remind me up matchstick models and look cheap. They might look cool up close but not at a distance. The different facades for each section make it look like different architects worked on different sections rather than having a single vision for the project. I hope Austin's design commission recommends the developers tighten up and unify the design of the tower.
The ground level interaction with the lake and street is well-done. It is nice that they hide the parking garage away from the lake.
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The Design Commission looks for public benefits like retail, public art, street level interaction and this case the interaction with the creek. They don't decide anything about the buildings architecture. They may complain about parking podiums, but that's about it. This project should get a lot of love when it goes to the DC.