GAME: Steal 1 building from another city and put it in yours (Mountain West edition)

[Cirrus]

Inspired by this ongoing thread in City Discussions, I thought it would be fun to have a Mountain West version.

The rules of the game are simple:

• Select a city in the Mountain West, and pick one (and only one) building from elsewhere in the world that you would steal and relocate to that city.
• Post one (only one) photo of your relocated building. Don't forget the SSP rule to provide a photographer citation.
• It's more fun if you explain your thinking!
• You do not have to pick a skyscraper, although that is sort of the spirit of the game.
• Feel free select multiple DESTINATION cities. That is, if you want to list a few different cities and pick a building to move into each of them, that's fine. But restrain yourself to only one building added to each city you list. Do not give us multiple buildings that you'd add all to one single city.

Got it? Good! Let's play.

[Cirrus]

I'll kick it off by copying a couple of my answers from the other thread:

DENVER steals Houston's famous Phillip Johnson skyscraper because it's:

• A bit taller than Denver's current tallest
• Earth tones, the only permissible color choice in Denver
• 1980s-tacular
• Vaguely recalls mountains

from republicabuildings.com

-----------

BOULDER meanwhile steals Lynchburg, Virginia's Allied Arts Building because:

• Boulder needs a building in the 200' range to normalize tall buildings there.
• It's better if it's old so the NIMBYs can't say it's against the "historic character".
• Lynchburg does not deserve it.

from kipp teague on flickr

[Snoogalator]

I Would move "the copper" building from NYC to SLC, I think it fits because the copper represents kennocot, and the oxidation of the copper will be really neat. its also a bit taller than what we have now at 540ft

[Cirrus]

^
This one?


The Copper building, New York. Photo from Acroterion via Wikipedia

[Snoogalator]

yes, thats the one

[Cirrus]

For COLORADO SPRINGS I'm stealing another one from Virginia and taking The Bartlett apartments from Arlington, VA because:

• Downtown Colorado Springs needs people in it, and The Bartlett has 700 units
• Colorado Springs needs to be more walkable, and The Bartlett is a wonderfully walkable building with nice human details and good ground floor retail, including a coffee shop and a grocery store
• At 261' this would only be a bit taller than Colorado Springs' current tallest (247')

photo from google maps 3d

[mr1138]

Cirrus - to take a cue from your comment in the City Discussions thread about importing a "block of normal Parisian apartments," I was almost going to try to find something similar. Your example from Arlington, VA is probably better than anything I could find myself. If CO Springs gets one, then can Denver have five of those please? It reminds me a bit of a modern version of "The Arconia" (aka the Belnord) from "Only Murders in the Building."

Perhaps more in keeping with the intent of the thread though, I'd probably steal a current one and choose The Post from Rotterdam, NL

I love the way it plays with the rectangular form of the building, but infuses it with both timeless elements (arches) and playful ones. And Denver's blue sky would look fantastic through those corner balcconies. It reminds me of the formalism of Republic Plaza but combined with the modern playfulness of the Populus hotel.

Since The Post is also a renovation of a historic structure, I suppose I should choose a historic Denver building for it to arise from. I choose the Paramount Theater. Plus, then it would be only two blocks away from Republic Plaza and would make for a fun juxtaposition. At 155 Meters (~508 feet), it is about 2/3 the height of Republic Plaza.

[mr1138]

For Boulder, I really am going to take a cue from those Paris apartments and choose this block from Rome. I actually respect Boulder's choice not to have skycrapers, and firmly believe there is PLENTY of density to be had with midrise architecture (although this would probably still need to push beyond Boulder's 55-foot height limit).

I'd probably put where the Whole Foods Market on Pearl Street currently is - between Downtown and Boulder Junction.

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by mr1138

The Post from Rotterdam, NL... rising above Paramount Theater

What a quirky building! I want to hate it but I do kind of love it, lol. You're right; it would look good in Denver.

Originally Posted by mr1138

re importing a "block of normal Parisian apartments"... I really am going to take a cue from those Paris apartments and choose this block from Rome

Yeah I mean, TBH I don't think there's a single US city anywhere that I would actually prioritize a single glitzy skyscraper over a whole bunch of dense midrise urbanism. That makes for a less eye-candy thread though.

I guess for Colorado Springs I like their current tallest building and want it to stay the landmark.

[Cirrus]

Fort Collins' has two buildings in the 150' range that stick up like sore thumbs and give just the most frustrating hint of a skyline. They're both sort of 80s-ish. Apologies to Boise, but I'm stealing your Hoff Building. At 165' it would just barely be the new tallest for F.C., would add needed bulk making it plausible to actually call what F.C. has "a skyline," and its eccentric 1970s addition atop a 1930s original imparts both old school and modern legitimacy. It's perfect. (Boise can steal something in the 400' range from Denver to compensate; everyone will be happy.)


photo from hendricks group

[Craxo]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Fort Collins' has two buildings in the 150' range that stick up like sore thumbs and give just the most frustrating hint of a skyline. They're both sort of 80s-ish. Apologies to Boise, but I'm stealing your Hoff Building. At 165' it would just barely be the new tallest for F.C., would add needed bulk making it plausible to actually call what F.C. has "a skyline," and its eccentric 1970s addition atop a 1930s original imparts both old school and modern legitimacy. It's perfect. (Boise can steal something in the 400' range from Denver to compensate; everyone will be happy.)


photo from hendricks group

As soon as I saw the Hoff building I knew exactly what was happening. Thanks though for choosing a building from Boise, we don't have very many architecturally impressive buildings so it's nice to see at least someone appreciate our buildings.
Also we are already getting a 400'+ building (FINALLY), so I don't need to steal one from Denver.

The building I would steal is 8888 Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis, because it combines both brown and blue tones (2 of the main colors in Boise) to create the perfect style to fit Boise. It is also in the height range that we are missing (230-240ft) because of the jump from One Capital Center to US Bank Plaza (206' to 267', 61' difference), and it is also designed in a style that I feel that we need in a decent sized building here.

link

[Cirrus]

^
I can see how that would look great in Boise.

I want a similarly shiny building for Pueblo, which has a couple of residential towers outside downtown, but only midrises downtown, and they aren't especially pretty. I want for Pueblo a sparklingly contemporary downtown office tower to offer optimism, at around 150 feet or so tall. It should be a bit delicate to counterbalance the industrial feel of the rest of the city. Postmodern for sure. Soooo how about 1511 N. Westshore Blvd in Tampa, FL?

Actually I had a really hard time settling on something here, and am still not quite happy with the choice. I want a glassy postmodern landmark but no taller than about 200', and I want it to be plausibly urban (ie have a boxy footprint) to fit downtown. Most buildings similar to what I want are either too tall or too suburban.

I am avoiding taking more from Virginia--where I know of a lot of good options--just because at some point that gets old and I've already gone to that well multiple times.


photo from highwoods properties

[SkyBoi]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Fort Collins' has two buildings in the 150' range that stick up like sore thumbs and give just the most frustrating hint of a skyline. They're both sort of 80s-ish. Apologies to Boise, but I'm stealing your Hoff Building. At 165' it would just barely be the new tallest for F.C., would add needed bulk making it plausible to actually call what F.C. has "a skyline," and its eccentric 1970s addition atop a 1930s original imparts both old school and modern legitimacy. It's perfect. (Boise can steal something in the 400' range from Denver to compensate; everyone will be happy.)


photo from hendricks group

[Rileybo]

https://www.reddit.com/r/SaltLakeCity/s/BQBccyTTsO

[Cirrus]

Certainly a choice, lol