Everyone seems to either love it or hate it. I don't actually find it boring, even though there are aren't alot of details. I would take the Bow over Commerz Bank, Torre Caja or HSBC without a second thought. I've been to those other buildings in person and I find the Bow to be nicer and more striking in person. As far as the Heart building....I've also seen that one in person and I don't find it any more impressive. The concave side of the Bow blows away those buildings.
St Mary's axe... well, it's in a league of it's own.
As far as the width and monolithic side of the Bow. There's no doubt about it's size, and personally I would have preferred it to be thinner. I still maintain that's it's not an 'unoriginal' building. In the end, no matter what city you put it in, it's a notable building, whether it's because of the size, or the curves. One of my favorite buildings is the US steel building in Pittsburgh...which has also been criticized at times for being too wide.
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Originally Posted by vid
I've never really been impressed by the Bow, I think it is probably Foster's worst building. It's monolithic, he simply took a crescent shape and stuck his trademark cris-cross on it. I've felt extremely let down by its design since it was first revealed and it isn't my favourite Calgary skyscraper.
It's no Hearst or 30 St Mary Axe, that's for sure. It's good for Calgary but honestly, other than Foster's usual facade treatment they building is pretty boring from the outside. And yes, from certain angles it appears to be a giant monolithic block, very ungraceful, but MB Hydro has the same thing when you compare views of it from the south versus the north; it's a V shape.
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