Oxford Tower

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by RyLucky

The lukewarm acceptance of this Oxford tower brings a question to mind:

Given that the main criticisms of the tower are that it is generic, devoid of distinguishing features, and conservative, how much should (or can) a project strive to suit a particular location?

The Bow reflects several elements of local geography, but in my opinion is fairly insensitive to its immediate surroundings. Brookfield Place somewhat responds to its surroundings, but would not be out of place in Houston, Toronto, or Sydney. Telus Sky seems to fit its environment well, but will forever be compared to Beach and Howe. In a globalized world, are urban environments becoming more and more the same? Should walking down the street in Calgary feel like walking down the street in Toronto?

Is it possible to get an iconic 1-of-a-kind tower in 2014? Starchitects tend to protect a brand, and shareholders expect a functional, conservative investment. Obviously, these rules are different in Asia and the Middle East, where labour is dirt cheap and companies may be controlled to single families..

I'm not sure what exactly I would have liked to go in the place of Oxford's tower. Other than vague comparative adjectives like "taller", "more beautiful", "better", I don't know what to say. By no means do I think curvier is better, though I think most SSPers would prefer curves. After all, curves are easier to design and build than in the past, and therefore might be indicative of our era of architecture.

What do you guys think?

No need to worry. One of a kind buildings will continue to get built with the majority of them turning their back on fitting into the urban fabric. Fitting in defeats the purpose of most star architect's visions.

The aspect that a few curves will improve a design does often rub me the wrong way. There have been some well done "boxes" that get lumped in with the rest. There have also been some poorly thought out designs featuring curves and such that get praised. Of course, I want better but, the reality is tenants are demanding highly efficient, identical floor plans and developers are filling that demand with extruded right angled forms.