Austin | Hanover Brazos Street | 513 Feet | 45 Floors | Complete

[migol24]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I really don't get the hate on this building. I think the panels look good, though, I'm not so crazy about the holes in them. I wonder if anyone ever has a good idea about what a good parking garage facade looks like.

I am so with you. It's not an exceptional building, for sure, but its far from the ugly than the other towers we have. And those have rarely gotten any hate.

[78701]

To me it's very specific: the garage panels look like they've been cut out of a rusty tin can. They are too thick to be perceived as a mesh, and too thin to convey a solid feeling of high-quality steel paneling. The way they're put together without any spacing between panels makes even minor warpage stand out - imagine tile work without any grout lines between the tiles. And all this is visible before the building has gone through a single full season cycle.
And did I mention the weird uneven horizontal climbing ladders? WTF???
Above the garage the rest of the building looks fine.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I wonder if anyone ever has a good idea about what a good parking garage facade looks like.

A few examples:
-The Austonian
-Silicon Labs
-Hotel Zaza
-Frost Bank Tower

[ahealy]

360 has a pretty attractive open air garage. I think we're feeling passionate about this because these cheap materials are so prevalent in developments all over the country, and especially Austin.

The facade reminds me of those new construction homes with all the raw unfinished wood slat crap that has mold / mildew growing in it after one season. Y'all know what I'm talking about

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by ahealy

360 has a pretty attractive open air garage. I think we're feeling passionate about this because these cheap materials are so prevalent in developments all over the country, and especially Austin.

The facade reminds me of those new construction homes with all the raw unfinished wood slat crap that has mold / mildew growing in it after one season. Y'all know what I'm talking about

The problem is that rich people are hoarding their money, using the government to do so, and the rest of us get allocated scraps:

Infrastructure sucks, unless it has to do with business.
Housing sucks, unless it houses a rich person.
Jobs and pay suck, unless you come from a rich family with connections (and even then, for many of those they still suck)
Should I continue?

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

A few examples:
-The Austonian
-Silicon Labs
-Hotel Zaza
-Frost Bank Tower

I mean, we have some for sure, but everyone seems to be sour on parking levels. It's not like they're the most exciting part of a building, so I don't know why people are surprised they aren't...excited about it. They are the most utilitarian part of a building, and often are very visible.

I'll grant you those other ones, and would probably add elements of 360's garage. Even the Frost Bank Tower's panels aren't perfect, especially not up close, and while the Silcon Labs buildings were cool back in the day, they just feel out of place now.

I'm not sure there are any non-cheap materials you could add to a garage. And it's not always the material, but the design that is unfortunate, unless it becomes stained.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I mean, we have some for sure, but everyone seems to be sour on parking levels. It's not like they're the most exciting part of a building, so I don't know why people are surprised they aren't...excited about it. They are the most utilitarian part of a building, and often are very visible.

I'll grant you those other ones, and would probably add elements of 360's garage. Even the Frost Bank Tower's panels aren't perfect, especially not up close, and while the Silcon Labs buildings were cool back in the day, they just feel out of place now.

I'm not sure there are any non-cheap materials you could add to a garage. And it's not always the material, but the design that is unfortunate, unless it becomes stained.

The point is, these parking podiums are the closest part of the building (besides street level) to pedestrian interaction. They should be designed for human scale. If not, you just get a canyon of scale-less screened dead spaces that completely deaden the pedestrian/street experience.

I mean, imagine walking down the street and all you see is stuff similar to this on both sides of the street for as far as the eye can see. It wouldn't be a great public space at all.

Compare that to say second street, which I think we can all agree is a great public space.

Great building designs need to consider the public space that they carve around them as much as they consider their own exteriors and interior designs.

[papertowelroll]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

The point is, these parking podiums are the closest part of the building (besides street level) to pedestrian interaction. They should be designed for human scale. If not, you just get a canyon of scale-less screened dead spaces that completely deaden the pedestrian/street experience.

I mean, imagine walking down the street and all you see is stuff similar to this on both sides of the street for as far as the eye can see. It wouldn't be a great public space at all.

Compare that to say second street, which I think we can all agree is a great public space.

Great building designs need to consider the public space that they carve around them as much as they consider their own exteriors and interior designs.

To be fair, this building has a facade that is designed to fit in the warehouse district. That was my favorite part of the initial design.

It will be interesting to see how it looks when the construction fencing is down.

[davidtexan]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

A few examples:
-The Austonian
-Silicon Labs
-Hotel Zaza
-Frost Bank Tower

My favorite approach is definitely buildings such as The Republic, Waterline, Block 185 (Google), where the parking levels are covered by glass, integrated into the design of the building, and you can’t even tell there’s over a dozen floors of parking.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by davidtexan

My favorite approach is definitely buildings such as The Republic, Waterline, Block 185 (Google), where the parking levels are covered by glass, integrated into the design of the building, and you can’t even tell there’s over a dozen floors of parking.

I agree, but open air ventilation is far cheaper than the mechanical fume extractors these buildings you mentioned will require. I guessing when there is also underground parking included requiring mechanical ventilation, you might as well tie into that with the above ground parking opening up the opportunity to hide the parking portion to glass.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by the Genral

I agree, but open air ventilation is far cheaper than the mechanical fume extractors these buildings you mentioned will require. I guessing when there is also underground parking included requiring mechanical ventilation, you might as well tie into that with the above ground parking opening up the opportunity to hide the parking portion to glass.

And it's not just the capital cost of installing the ventilation equipment, they require significant ongoing cost and energy usage to operate every single day after installation. I'm not saying I prefer passively ventilated garages, but they are more sustainable than enclosed garages and it is easy to understand why they are the default solution. Of course, the most sustainable solution would be to not build so much parking to begin with.

[Urbannizer]

Now leasing

[We vs us]

I can't remember, that's a full restaurant space, isn't it?

[gillynova]

Looking forward to that spot to be even more activated. I used to go to Cedar Door pretty often

[Urbannizer]

Originally Posted by We vs us

I can't remember, that's a full restaurant space, isn't it?

That’s the residential entrance along Brazos, restaurant space is still fenced off along 3rd St.

[gillynova]

[valhalla]

Brown panneling looks a ~little~ better in the lighting of these photos. Still a face slapper though.

[Bblasa]

Podium debate aside, I really love how these towers turned out. Although they may be cookie cutters I appreciate the way the white masonry ties the dark glass into all of the other existing buildings. I think this one really surprised me and turned out very sleek and complimentary to the skyline.

[drummer]

I personally like the white accent on the dark glass where it happens throughout downtown, and this is no exception. Things that help towers to stand out a bit and not just blend into their surroundings (i.e., a glass tower among glass towers that end up looking like a giant glass blob).

[Urbannizer]

Sidewalk along 3rd Street now open.