PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[mcgrath618]

Also, could a mod get my 200 Race thread tagged as Philadelphia?
Thanks!

[Londonee]

Amazon still mulls HQ2 bids, will cut to a final group in ‘couple of months’

From the article:
"According to a report, Amazon executives have told the 20 finalists in the HQ2 process that the review process is ongoing and will be for a while.

As TechWire has reported, Amazon is expected to cut the field of 20 to a final group of five or so candidates."


So based on this leaked info I can conclude one of three things:
1) our intrepid forumer is totally full of shit
2) or, this is faulty reporting from a random source based on hearsay
3) or, our intrepid forumer is right, and this is all a dog and pony show perpetrated by Amazon since they already have their selection made

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by Justin7

This is comically bad.

You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled to tell you you're comically wrong.

Morris Adjmi is one of the best architects out there working in that particular aesthetic. These are some of their other works:











If anyone can pull off that joined-together Chelsea-Highline look, it's them, mostly because they created it in the first place.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled to tell you you're comically wrong.

Morris Adjmi is one of the best architects out there working in that particular aesthetic. These are some of their other works:

If anyone can pull off that joined-together Chelsea-Highline look, it's them, mostly because they created it in the first place.

I agree. I think it's arguably the most interesting proposal we've seen here in years. Some forumers think contrast is bad for contrast's sake - and that's just a specious line of thinking.

[iheartphilly]

^
No offense to any local architects, but it is well known that most of the world's best architects come from both NYC and Chicago. And their designs are showcased around the world to boot.

[McBane]

I'm still unsure how I feel about 200 Race. At first, when I thought the bottom portion already existed and this was an over build, I thought it was kind of cool. But knowing that they're building the entire thing from scratch, I have to wonder why they'd go with such a radically different top and bottom. It almost reminds me of the original Jewlers Row tower (aka Jekyll and Hyde tower). I'm a big fan of contrast, but I just find this one to be quite odd.

[Justin7]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

If you don't mind my asking, why?
It's a bit difficult for a discussion to start if you just give a blanket opinion.

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled to tell you you're comically wrong.

Morris Adjmi is one of the best architects out there working in that particular aesthetic. These are some of their other works:











If anyone can pull off that joined-together Chelsea-Highline look, it's them, mostly because they created it in the first place.

Originally Posted by Londonee

I agree. I think it's arguably the most interesting proposal we've seen here in years. Some forumers think contrast is bad for contrast's sake - and that's just a specious line of thinking.

Just looked through there work, and I agree, most of it is very very good. Doesn't change the fact that this proposal is not.

I actually tend to love the contrast of old brick buildings with contemporary additions.

This Race St building isn't that. It's a brand new brick building, and the odds are against it looking in any way authentic (though I hope to be proven wrong), which turns this into a phony attempt at something that has been achieved more organically in other locations.

In addition to this, I think the tower portion itself is awful. Rather than a clean contrast, the concrete/alucubond (can't tell which) frame makes the "addition" look too heavy, not to mention makes it look like a soda can. The cantilevers are half-hearted and lessened further by the frame. The 1/3 centered balconies look thoughtless.

So yeah, all my opinion, but there it is. Philadelphia has plenty of brick buildings that could use a contemporary over-build. This faux-historic attempt is embarrassing. Sorry to offend.

[MichaelScottsOffice]

^I like this building as a complement to the bridge apartments, and I think it does a good job blending old and new. I don’t mind the cantilevers being shorter here, if they were longer like the bridge it would look like 2 Pac-Man trying to each other.

I may agree with you on the balconies but it sells.

[jsbrook]

Those Adjmi buildings are all far superior to the 200 Race proposal. It's not awful, but it needs serious work on integration from what's shown on the render.

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled to tell you you're comically wrong.

Morris Adjmi is one of the best architects out there working in that particular aesthetic. These are some of their other works:

If anyone can pull off that joined-together Chelsea-Highline look, it's them, mostly because they created it in the first place.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Justin7

Just looked through there work, and I agree, most of it is very very good. Doesn't change the fact that this proposal is not.

I actually tend to love the contrast of old brick buildings with contemporary additions.

This Race St building isn't that. It's a brand new brick building, and the odds are against it looking in any way authentic (though I hope to be proven wrong), which turns this into a phony attempt at something that has been achieved more organically in other locations.

In addition to this, I think the tower portion itself is awful. Rather than a clean contrast, the concrete/alucubond (can't tell which) frame makes the "addition" look too heavy, not to mention makes it look like a soda can. The cantilevers are half-hearted and lessened further by the frame. The 1/3 centered balconies look thoughtless.

So yeah, all my opinion, but there it is. Philadelphia has plenty of brick buildings that could use a contemporary over-build. This faux-historic attempt is embarrassing. Sorry to offend.

I doubt that the 'base building' would be brick. I think it is a very good modern look that 'fits' into the old city neighborhood without trying to look 'historic'.

I agree with you about the tower, to me it seems rather ham handed. The north cantilever is weak, and that frame that defines the corner looks like its out of a Popular Science magazine from the early 1960's.

[Skintreesnail]

Article in Curbed:
https://philly.curbed.com/2018/6/20/17481432/old-city-development-hotel-condo-parking

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Amazon still mulls HQ2 bids, will cut to a final group in ‘couple of months’

From the article:
"According to a report, Amazon executives have told the 20 finalists in the HQ2 process that the review process is ongoing and will be for a while.

As TechWire has reported, Amazon is expected to cut the field of 20 to a final group of five or so candidates."


So based on this leaked info I can conclude one of three things:
1) our intrepid forumer is totally full of shit
2) or, this is faulty reporting from a random source based on hearsay
3) or, our intrepid forumer is right, and this is all a dog and pony show perpetrated by Amazon since they already have their selection made

Fourth, the forumer is half right. The decision may not be final, which might explain the otherwise "playin wichyouse" drip of eliminated cities that he is releasing.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Those Adjmi buildings are all far superior to the 200 Race proposal. It's not awful, but it needs serious work on integration from what's shown on the render.

If they pull something off like those other renders, I'll be happy. This looks like their summer intern did it.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by City Wide

I doubt that the 'base building' would be brick. I think it is a very good modern look that 'fits' into the old city neighborhood without trying to look 'historic'.

Supposedly actual hand-laid brick, at least until the value engineering team gets ahold of it. That's what they're telling the Historical Commission, so they'd have to go back to them later if they change their mind.

Masonry: Brick (red) with matching mortar, hand laid in the tapestry style with corbeled brick cornice

Further on in the presentation, they illustrate red brick with matching (red) mortar. Don't ask me why red mortar, unless it's to avoid totally mimicking historic brick buildings with regular gray mortar.

http://www.phila.gov/historical/meetingsandevents/Applications/152-64_N2ndSt_IC-lowres.pdf

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by Londonee

From the article:
"According to a report, Amazon executives have told the 20 finalists in the HQ2 process that the review process is ongoing and will be for a while.

As TechWire has reported, Amazon is expected to cut the field of 20 to a final group of five or so candidates."

Further, the Article says: "Amazon has sent “emails to all 20 finalist cities” about the status of the HQ2 process noting that it will be “a couple of months to whittle down the finalist list to around three cities,” WSB-TV says". I find it difficult to accept that a major TV station of this character would make such a statement without substantial proof. I have also read elsewhere that there are going to be 3 Finalists for a final negotiation. This, however, comes from some "inside source", so its reliability is at least questionable.

[mcgrath618]

Why can’t it be both?
Perhaps our forumer is correct, and people at Amazon that he knows are only going to feed him cities that we know didn’t make the cut to those final five. He hasn’t actually said who won.

[GtownFriend]

Exterior work on the Stephen Girard Building.


on Flickr

[ScreamShatter]

What Amazon is doing at the moment is no different than a vendor assessment. They are going down their list of requirements from the RFP and marking each requirement as "Exceeds Expectations," "Meets Expectations," "Below Expectations," etc. They assigned a value to each of those and then add up all the total to rank each of the cities. In the end, they'll have a smaller group of cities with the highest scores that end up being the core cities they focus on negotiating with.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

Supposedly actual hand-laid brick, at least until the value engineering team gets ahold of it. That's what they're telling the Historical Commission, so they'd have to go back to them later if they change their mind.

Masonry: Brick (red) with matching mortar, hand laid in the tapestry style with corbeled brick cornice

Further on in the presentation, they illustrate red brick with matching (red) mortar. Don't ask me why red mortar, unless it's to avoid totally mimicking historic brick buildings with regular gray mortar.

http://www.phila.gov/historical/meetingsandevents/Applications/152-64_N2ndSt_IC-lowres.pdf

Well I'll be damned. Thanks for the real news!

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by ScreamShatter

What Amazon is doing at the moment is no different than a vendor assessment. They are going down their list of requirements from the RFP and marking each requirement as "Exceeds Expectations," "Meets Expectations," "Below Expectations," etc. They assigned a value to each of those and then add up all the total to rank each of the cities. In the end, they'll have a smaller group of cities with the highest scores that end up being the core cities they focus on negotiating with.

IMO this, but also with the caveat that the first round (i.e. before they narrowed it to 20) was really nothing but a dog and pony show meant to get as much interest in them as possible. The second round (what they're doing now) is the serious part.