Freeport-McMoRan Center (One Central Park East) - Phoenix, AZ

[HX_Guy]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boeke/3649737728/

[Leo the Dog]

Crown looks good. The building would look better when the tenants start filling up all of those empty floors.

On a side note, one will easily be able to see vehicles in the garage. How is this considered a great design?

[AZ KID]

I think it looks awesome when cars are visable... It gives it a unique look which I think looks great.

[Evil Empire]

Originally Posted by AZ KID

I think it looks awesome when cars are visable... It gives it a unique look which I think looks great.

X2, I like it.

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

On a side note, one will easily be able to see vehicles in the garage. How is this considered a great design?

Well the garage is integrated into the building, so be happy about that first off. A lot of our buildings downtown have garages off to the side somewhere that create their own deadzones. An underground garage may have been preferable, but that would reduce height by a good bit.

I doubt youll be able to see the cars too well during the day since its always so bright outside. But at night when its dark outside, but the interior of the garage is lit up youll be able to see them and I think it might look kind of cool.

[CANUC]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Here are rephxguy's pictures so you don't have to follow the link. :p

Are those color coded doors in the garage levels or is it some type of effect from the lights?

[Sonoran_Dweller]

Originally Posted by AZ KID

I think it looks awesome when cars are visable... It gives it a unique look which I think looks great.

I think having cars associated with the building, undermines the design quality and visual aesthetics of the building, because it praises the automobile. I believe that the car is the worst invention of all time, and has destroyed the urban fabric of cities around the world. Almost everything negative about Phoenix originates because of the car: imagine how different Phoenix would have been if it developed prior to the mass production of the car. Without the car we would have the city that we desire already here today.

[Evil Empire]

Originally Posted by Sonoran_Dweller

I think having cars associated with the building, undermines the design quality and visual aesthetics of the building, because it praises the automobile. I believe that the car is the worst invention of all time, and has destroyed the urban fabric of cities around the world. Almost everything negative about Phoenix originates because of the car: imagine how different Phoenix would have been if it developed prior to the mass production of the car. Without the car we would have the city that we desire already here today.

You make some good points. I wouldn't say that the car is the worst invention of all time but it definitely has destroyed the urban fabric of cities, especially newer cities.

At the same time, even the biggest metropolises in the world that were densely populated and developed long before the automobile and that have a heavily developed public transportation system still depend heavily on automobiles. Personally, many places around the world could use less cars and dependence on them, but in my opinion, the car is ingrained into the fabric of that "city" feeling. Can you imagine the streets of NY or SF without the sights and sounds of cars filling the streets?

[Don B.]

^ I think this anti-car sentiment prevalent on this forum is asinine and not relevant to the real world outside of the internet. In the real world, most people drive in the U.S. It's just how things are. I personally enjoy driving a lot, and in fact just got back from a road trip (top down the whole way, baby!) to Flagstaff and Prescott. None of the experiences I had would be possible without an automobile.

Mass transit is great, and I support it as much as possible, because not everyone can drive all of the time. Even I will park my car and take the bus or light rail on occasion, but generally I prefer the flexibility and convenience of having a vehicle at my disposal. Nothing beats the visceral thrill one can get from hammering the accelerator at a red light to pass slower traffic or deftly knifing through a windy two-lane road. Of course, my dad was a race car driver and biker (my mom was a stripper, so I'll leave you to decide how that combo worked out) so driving clearly is in my blood. I like my tunes cranked out over the stereo as well, something you can't do in mass transit, and I like to drink and (gasp!) eat in the vehicle on occasion, again something not possible on a train or bus. I also lug around a lot of stuff, from my camera gear to my laptop to exercise shorts and tennies to costumes to other things I'm not going to discuss here, again not possible in the world of mass transit.

Future technology promises many developments that will improve vehicles for all. From electric vehicles to green hybrids, things will only get better over time. In addition, there's nothing that prevents us from building better over time. Phoenix is the result of a lot of bad choices. For example, a lack of shade and decent sidewalks hurts much of downtown as much as the car ever has. Since when does a plethora of dirt lots make for an exciting downtown experience? Downtown Phoenix has more vacant lots than any major city in the country that I've travelled to, like it is some sort of half-built thing in the middle of nowhere. As I have mentioned before, why can't we narrow some of these ridiculously wide 12-foot traffic lanes prevalent all over Phoenix and improve pedestrian amenities, including shaded medians and walkways? Why don't we focus on cooling the downtown area with more trees, greenery, shade structures and so forth? Why can't we paint the roads white with black stripes? Or build them with white asphalt instead of black asphalt? Do you know how much cooler Phoenix could be if we each (every home and building owner) just painted our roofs white and planted one or two trees? We could have 4 million trees planted all over the Phoenix metro area in one year. Why is this not higher on our agenda, instead of hunting down "illegals" at every turn?

Okay, to return my post to some semblance of relevancy to the thread topic at hand, I really like OCPE; I just wish it had a ten story addition placed on top of it (perhaps inset a little from the existing structure, to create a wedding cake effect). It just seems too short and stubby. By comparison, the CS tower going up now looks so much more like a real tall skyscraper, as it is much more slender.

--don

[HX_Guy]

Courtesy of gymratmanaz:

[plinko]

What is that in the first shot? HX, get out that zoom lens!

[gymratmanaz]

First shot is of the special glass thaT IS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING. It is the same panels as are on the south side.

[plinko]

^I understand that, it's just hard to see exactly what it looks like or how it's put together.

[Tfom]

Don,
I agree with a lot of what you say. I am hopeful that new residents will dilute the prevailing politics here now. Reading about the proposed budget "fix" today or the 5000th pointless money wasting illegal bill that the state senators pushed through this week... it sickens me how backward our state is.

[Evil Empire]

Originally Posted by Tfom

Don,
I agree with a lot of what you say. I am hopeful that new residents will dilute the prevailing politics here now. Reading about the proposed budget "fix" today or the 5000th pointless money wasting illegal bill that the state senators pushed through this week... it sickens me how backward our state is.

No, I don't care what you say, I'd rather the state spend money trying to raid corn vendors' carts and janitors' closets than educate the future of our state...

We've certainly got our priorities straight

[Tranquility]

Originally Posted by Evil Empire

No, I don't care what you say, I'd rather the state spend money trying to raid corn vendors' carts and janitors' closets than educate the future of our state...

We've certainly got our priorities straight

i don't know exactly how this discussion got sidetracked to illegal immigrants but i'll be happy to provide the opposite point of view: imo, illegal immigrants are on the whole detrimental to the state. due to having a lower socioeconomic status, they have higher rates of crime. they leech off of our social programs and get medical care without paying the bill at much higher rates than legal citizens. you believe that teaching arizona's kids is important and so do I. but how can arizona kids learn when half the class doesn't speak english or doesn't have a very good grasp of it. how can we teach even more kids when our classrooms are already full and we have a budget deficit. it doesnt add up
but back on topic: 1cpe looks — amazing with that crown lit up.

[ljbuild]

Originally Posted by Sonoran_Dweller

I think having cars associated with the building, undermines the design quality and visual aesthetics of the building, because it praises the automobile. I believe that the car is the worst invention of all time, and has destroyed the urban fabric of cities around the world. Almost everything negative about Phoenix originates because of the car: imagine how different Phoenix would have been if it developed prior to the mass production of the car. Without the car we would have the city that we desire already here today.

Imagine walking or riding from Mesa to Dtwn. Phoenix when the Temp. is or

above: 110 DEGREES !!

In cities like San Diego or San Fran. or basically( Cooler cities) you could get

away with that. But PHOENIX! or any Desert city: HELL NO!

Yes the auto. has its bad points. But it has more good points like:


AIR CONDITIONINNG!

I dont recall ever see A/C on a BIKE

or seeing a bus going from ANTHEM to Dtwn. Phoenix

or light rail going from Chandler to Dtwn. Phx

or light rail going from even U.O.P. Stadium in Glendale to Dtwn. Phx.

[Evil Empire]

Originally Posted by Tranquility

i don't know exactly how this discussion got sidetracked to illegal immigrants but i'll be happy to provide the opposite point of view: imo, illegal immigrants are on the whole detrimental to the state. due to having a lower socioeconomic status, they have higher rates of crime. they leech off of our social programs and get medical care without paying the bill at much higher rates than legal citizens. you believe that teaching arizona's kids is important and so do I. but how can arizona kids learn when half the class doesn't speak english or doesn't have a very good grasp of it. how can we teach even more kids when our classrooms are already full and we have a budget deficit. it doesnt add up
but back on topic: 1cpe looks — amazing with that crown lit up.

I've seen the exact opposite as far as what you mentioned about them having higher rates of crime from different sources, you can find most of the studies on Google, especially from the Center for Immigration Studies. And, no, I'm not saying that they have an amazing effect on society here...there definitely needs to be a change in the policy and there needs to be enforcement for the offenders but not in the way they're going about it...spending millions of dollars, then getting millions of dollars EXTRA to raid workplaces, block off streets, disrupt neighborhoods and put on a big show for everyone when the state is sinking financially? It's ridiculous.

Just because you invite every cameraman in the Phoenix metro area to witness the amazing Joe arrest 40 people and have 12 of them turn out to be undocumented doesn't mean he's the "only one doing something about it", while probably a couple hundred more crossed the border during his "crackdowns." Phoenix PD and the other law enforcement agencies in the valley routinely try to make a dent in the problem by quietly arresting and deporting offenders but they don't make a — circus out of it.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Imagine walking or riding from Mesa to Dtwn. Phoenix when the Temp. is or

above: 110 DEGREES !!

In cities like San Diego or San Fran. or basically( Cooler cities) you could get

away with that. But PHOENIX! or any Desert city: HELL NO!

Yes the auto. has its bad points. But it has more good points like:


AIR CONDITIONINNG!

I dont recall ever see A/C on a BIKE

or seeing a bus going from ANTHEM to Dtwn. Phoenix

or light rail going from Chandler to Dtwn. Phx

or light rail going from even U.O.P. Stadium in Glendale to Dtwn. Phx.

Stop making sense!

[Tfom]

Originally Posted by Tranquility

i don't know exactly how this discussion got sidetracked to illegal immigrants but i'll be happy to provide the opposite point of view: imo, illegal immigrants are on the whole detrimental to the state. due to having a lower socioeconomic status, they have higher rates of crime. they leech off of our social programs and get medical care without paying the bill at much higher rates than legal citizens. you believe that teaching arizona's kids is important and so do I. but how can arizona kids learn when half the class doesn't speak english or doesn't have a very good grasp of it. how can we teach even more kids when our classrooms are already full and we have a budget deficit. it doesnt add up
but back on topic: 1cpe looks — amazing with that crown lit up.

Check your research. Every scientifically conducted study has shown the illegal immigrants have a lower rate of crime than low socioeconomic americans. Its on par with college educated americans. People whine about education but the funds for that come from property taxes and some sales taxes which illegal immigrants pay. Everyone wants to focus on the "leaching" of our social programs but doesn't want to admit that they don't mind the lower cost of construction that comes from illegal labor. People say they want to hire americans right up to the point it costs more or produces less efficient work. If we had a real solution to this problem it coulf benefit everyone.