Austin | The Republic | 710 Feet | 47 Floors | Complete

[N90]

Basically you want something like Dobie Center just on a much grander scale with a restaurant and bar at the rooftop and an IMAX movie theater.

[KevinFromTexas]

Sweet. I think this one will really exceed our expectations. I'm excited about it.

This is the view that won me over. Of course, too bad it isn't taller. It really could have been a signature tower had been about 200 feet taller.

[Syndic]

True but it will still be pretty identifiable and prominent in our skyline at this height. I'm just grateful they didn't make it 400 feet like the others in the area.

However, that rendering is a little deceiving. Maybe unintentionally. The light part at the top looks like it's the tower's lighting but really it the golden hour when the sun if not full set so it illuminates the top of the building.

[KevinFromTexas]

Yeah, I noticed that. Still, this one has a huge parapet over the main roof with a lot of height there to be potentially lit. I'm also wondering if that vertical strip of line up the middle of the tower is real or just artistic liberty.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I'm also wondering if that vertical strip of line up the middle of the tower is real or just artistic liberty.

After looking at all the renderings, it appears to be just a line of clear glass windows for "artistic liberty". This one shows it:

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Huh? You don't like it because all those future drone flybys will expose it for the flat roof that it is? At lease the flatness will be hidden from all other views.

Exactly, if they are gonna do a crown they shouldn't half ass it. When you look at Frost's crown from above, it still looks interesting and more than just glass or paneling surrounding the roof. Even 3rd @ Colorado's crown does a pretty good job with that.


Now they are just renderings and I would think the crown will likely be more than what is shown but yes I think crowns in themselves should be done well and done in a way where it covers the roof.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by N90

When DT ATX approaches 80k-100k residents then a building with 2-3 floors with an indoor shopping mall, on top of 1-2 floors of an IMAX theater, grocery store, a pharmacy, dental office, a few bank branches, a few restaurants could make sense. Right now it's not feasible and would bankrupt the developer. You need the neighborhood to have the population and income levels of a well off TX suburb like a Sugar Land, TX or Frisco, TX, etc to support all those things like that in one place.

I think DT ATX has ~15k residents right now. So we have a long way to go until its ready to meet your standards.

NYC, CHI, and SF are the only DTs in the US that can support stuff like that. Not even DT SEA which is 20-30 years ahead of ATX can support the things you described in one building like that.

DC could support it too, but then again, it's because every building is limited by height and space there.

Either way, as a downtown resident, I'd love for more shopping, movie theaters, etc. to be downtown. Especially something like a home depot, target, or a mall. But the way things are going we're more likely to see that get built in West Campus. For now, I'm happy when a building has more than 1 or 2 sides including public space or retail. the 4-story AMLI downtown is one of the best buildings downtown IMO simply because it has so much else going on. Compare to the Ashton which has literally nothing...

[We vs us]

Welp. It's a good looking building for what it is (though I'm still having a hard time not seeing it as Block 71 tweaked and reskinned). But I'm still deeply disappointed that this is not more of a signature tower, either in height, design, or both. It's one of the last full unencumbered city blocks. It's the blankest of blank slates.

Sorry, I really wanted something ballsier here. I'll get over it but it still kind of rankles.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by starboy92

When I was in New york I had to go into the Time Warner Center to use the restroom. The place was busy. There was a Whole Foods underground and the whole lobby atrium Was a shopping center. also when I mean mall I mean the basic shops Cosmetics, a bookstore, H&M, just a few stores but it was enough since its what people need on the go i think. It was awesome. And I'm not saying everything I listed should go in one building just ideas that could give more dimension to urban life in downtown that I don't think exist yet. Oh and I meant a Restaurant just high up does not have to be rotating I actually dislike those.

It's not like all of NYC is like this. There are 3-4 pockets of Manhattan that are more "mall-like" shopping districts. In the case of TWC and WTC they are literally malls.

You also have to remember that in NYC you aren't talking about "downtown" or "urban living". It's all downtown and urban in Manhattan. So if a chain department store or "mall" dependent stores want to exist in Manhattan they have to find a way to survive. TWC was just a smart build-out of a 4 story high-end mall on top of a major transit center for the UWS.

In Austin, if you want to build a mall, you build it where pretty much every other city on earth would. Where the land is cheap.

[The ATX]

Geez. Not enough Design Commission members showed up at the meeting to discuss the density bonus for the Republic and 600 Guadalupe today. So the meeting was cancelled.

[Vexal]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Geez. Not enough Design Commission members showed up at the meeting to discuss the density bonus for the Republic and 600 Guadalupe today. So the meeting was cancelled.

Does that mean they have to wait another month?

[austintilIdie]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Sweet. I think this one will really exceed our expectations. I'm excited about it.

This is the view that won me over. Of course, too bad it isn't taller. It really could have been a signature tower had been about 200 feet taller.

this is amateur AF. looks like worn of an eraser from grade school and you know it. garbage.

[KevinFromTexas]

Nah. I like it. Besides, this is the trend of modern architecture. The whole philosophy of less is more, minimalism, simplicity of design, etc. Like I said, look at all the big cities that are getting big modern office towers. I'd say it's mostly original, but is definitely taken from the same vein of architecture as some of the big office towers in places like San Francisco, New York and even in some Asian cities - Hong Kong and others.

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Nah. I like it. Besides, this is the trend of modern architecture. The whole philosophy of less is more, minimalism, simplicity of design, etc. Like I said, look at all the big cities that are getting big modern office towers. I'd say it's mostly original, but is definitely taken from the same vein of architecture as some of the big office towers in places like San Francisco, New York and even in some Asian cities - Hong Kong and others.

That south view definitely shows that there is nothing else like it in the skyline. The added variety is definitely a plus.

[NYC2ATX]

I keep going back and forth on this one. There's no denying that it feels like a cross between 609 Main in Houston, and 1144 15th Street in Denver...which itself is basically a knockoff of Eighth Avenue Place in Calgary.

The major distinction here which could make it stand out is the fact that it has a mass that rises on a slope and recedes nearly all the way up, while all of the aforementioned buildings have masses that mostly rise straight up to a crown that then takes on a slope. Even 609 Main, which has some tapered corners still rises straight up on all sides. That being said, I too also feel like the vast void of that crown could easily accommodate a layered crown the recedes similarly (and could be a tribute to) the Frost Tower...so that feels a little like a missed opportunity.

The one thing I think is appropriate, believe it or not, is the height. I've come to realize that Austin is becoming very taken with a gradual rise from the lake in terms of building heights, because a city skyline usually always looks good in such a way. I think the taller proposals going forward will likely be further away from the lake, and 6th & Guadalupe is a great example of that.

Design-wise, I just remain cautiously optimistic. I mean, at least it's not a box

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by NYC2ATX

.

Design-wise, I just remain cautiously optimistic. I mean, at least it's not a box

What redeems it (IMHO) is that it's not a box. Especially in conjunction with the Independent and the W, it's much smoother, rounded, shinier, organic.

[the Genral]

I'm pretty much ok with it, height and all, I'm a bit on the fence with the color of the glass. But what sells me about it is everything that's already been said in the last few post, plus it fills that gaping hole west of the W looking from the south. Back to the glass, just for shits and grins, how about a reddish tint to really make t stand out...

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by the Genral

I'm pretty much ok with it, height and all, I'm a bit on the fence with the color of the glass. But what sells me about it is everything that's already been said in the last few post, plus it fills that gaping hole west of the W looking from the south. Back to the glass, just for shits and grins, how about a reddish tint to really make t stand out...

Or why not some black glass instead. I hate how the bank of america building is really the only good building in Austin with black glass. Hasn't anyone looked at Chicago and wondered why their skyline looks so good?

[futures]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

Or why not some black glass instead. I hate how the bank of america building is really the only good building in Austin with black glass. Hasn't anyone looked at Chicago and wondered why their skyline looks so good?

Seconded! A black spear poking through the skyline would be awesome.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

Or why not some black glass instead. I hate how the bank of america building is really the only good building in Austin with black glass. Hasn't anyone looked at Chicago and wondered why their skyline looks so good?

Because it has lots of really tall buildings?