AUSTIN | Projects & Construction III

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by migol24

those renderings look a lot like the Four Seasons Hotel here in San Francisco.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Francisco.jpg

I agree, but I also think that it'll end up looking better. The blinds in a hotel make glass buildings like this look like shit. Because its an office building, that effect won't take place so it'll look much nicer. Also, the design is much more intricate.

FWIW, we don't have a building like this in our skyline in terms of color. Diversity is nice.

[EncoderDecode]

Dang the Skyhouse is looking sharp! It should hopefully help set off the "domino effect" of more skyscraper development on Rainey St., and make the Legacy @ Town Lake look less isolated! I like the new renderings for Green Water, but I would have to agree that the bulky twin towers on the waterfront just aren't a great mix... Given that that's the second rendering based on the same concept I'm starting to get the feeling if the project goes through we're gonna have something very similar to that getting built...

[Syndic]

Wow. Those GreenWater renderings are the coolest thing I've ever seen on this forum, hands down. That development will change how Austin is perceived for good. None of us will look at our city the same way again. It will lead to Austin having a completed downtown, which is such an insane notion to me.

I may be the lone exception here, but I like the buildings immensely. I'm usually against similar or identical-looking towers, but I'm okay with this, for some reason. It just feels cool and something worth making an exception for. The height doesn't bother me, either. Guys, if we get this all built, we'll be an incredibly lucky city. The whole project is incredibly complex and elaborate. The Times Square-ish video boards on the outside of the one building are an amazing feature. That area is going to be so trendy and hopping in 2015.

Per Shonda Novak's Statesman piece yesterday, I added up all of the hotel rooms and residences that all of these buildings in the works would create and it added up to like 5,100. Think about that. 5,100+ new pedestrians populating downtown Austin. That's a lot of people. And that's not even including any of the offices or retail. In the end, we could be looking at close to 10,000 more people downtown. Tiny little downtown! 10,000 more people! By 2016! We need urban rail, ASAP. Otherwise, it's going to be hard to accommodate all of them. But it really could lead to a pretty intense pedestrian environment. There's going to be people everywhere. Hopefully, this leads to a deepening of Austin's culture.

[NYC_Longhorn]

Great looking buildings, those will be amazing... twins are fine as long as the design doesn't suck and aren't boring...i think the "keep austin weird" part of the buildings include the interestng materials, and the offset windows that will be very interesting when occupied... traditional large buildings... these are not ordinary twins... mark my words, those towers will only improve the skyline immensely... from the lake and from every angle... the lighted tops will be fantastic... the way the buildings are set back will look very good on the water... if anything those towers will push development higher in the area directly behind the towers ... expect to see spires in that area in the future... bravo! I predict this project and the cousins tower will exceed our expectations (I don't think they are done designing that tower at all)...

[East7thStreet]

I like the designs too but it seems that the video boards on the outside of these designs are never actually built. (Look at how the W in Austin and Houston Pavillions turned out). Hopefully they get included here.

[BevoLJ]

There are quite a few parts of the W that could still very easily add one. They could even put a massive one on the Guad side of the the Guad/2nd intersection by where those stairs are cut into the side of Moody. That could be pretty cool as it would be facing the Green area.

[nixcity]

love the cluster/density but that parking garage is so damn tall that it makes the towers look even shorter than they are, which is way too short for I remember to be out of the cvc. I do like the main towers ok, but the other 2 look better imo. The taller two's garage is also too imposing coming down cc. And to me they look like a mix between the W (bc of the strange placement of the windows and 360 (due to it being a rectangle with the extra decoration being on one side and becoming the crown. However, the crown on these seem to curve out some,,,now that's cool.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by austex

I agree! I like the density, however two hulking buildings that look the same on the waterfront is a colossal mistake. It will flatten our terrific skyline PERMANENTLY. The location absolutely demands that the two towers on the water front be varied by height at minimum and preferably by style as well. Twin towers at this location is a bad choice IMO. Keep Austin Weird! Don't homogenize our waterfront!

I wouldn't worry about the skyline being too flat. According to the City, below is a rendering of what Austin's CBD will look like if all the proposed buildings get built (image is from the Downtown Austin Plan Summary, page 2). You can read all about it at http://www.austintexas.gov/department/downtown-plan Scroll down the page to access all the links. If you have the time and patience, there's some very interesting development information, including renderings, in those materials.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by ahealy

That isn't planned for the post office site as far as I know...I believe IBC is adjacent to the PO.

Originally Posted by JoninATX

The IBC Bank site is directly across 5th Street from the Federal Courthouse, one block west of the Post Office. The above rendering you have from Gensler is old and that grass lawn you see on the right side of the rendering is where the Federal Courthouse is now (they thought their building would be finished first - that old). The new architect is HKS and the new rendering looks completely different. I have a copy of the new rendering but I can't post it because the brokers/developers don't want it leaked to the press before they announce the project, likely before the end of the month. In the new rendering, there's no big floating arm. It has grey/blue glass upper floors with a curved front sort of like Capstar at Compass Plaza, and lower floors have what looks like sandstone/limestone accents. It'll be called IBC Bank Plaza. It'll be about 15-16 stories tall, so not huge but definitely bigger than a mid-rise.

[JoninATX]

Originally Posted by AusTxDevelopment

The IBC Bank site is directly across 5th Street from the Federal Courthouse, one block west of the Post Office. The above rendering you have from Gensler is old and that grass lawn you see on the right side of the rendering is where the Federal Courthouse is now (they thought their building would be finished first - that old). The new architect is HKS and the new rendering looks completely different. I have a copy of the new rendering but I can't post it because the brokers/developers don't want it leaked to the press before they announce the project, likely before the end of the month. In the new rendering, there's no big floating arm. It has grey/blue glass upper floors with a curved front sort of like Capstar at Compass Plaza, and lower floors have what looks like sandstone/limestone accents. It'll be called IBC Bank Plaza. It'll be about 15-16 stories tall, so not huge but definitely bigger than a mid-rise.

Cool, I can't wait to see it.

[Kotliz]

Lovely watercolor. What is that contraption next to the four seasons (east)? and also, no planetarium!? And I don't see the Fairmont. Wow, with those added in, the skyline is really filling up.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by Kotliz

Lovely watercolor. What is that contraption next to the four seasons (east)? and also, no planetarium!? And I don't see the Fairmont. Wow, with those added in, the skyline is really filling up.

That skyline watercolor render was done a few years before the Fairmont and Planetarium were proposed.

[KevinFromTexas]

This view will be different in a few years. It's kind of a shame that The Monarch and 360 Condominiums will be blocked. They're such great waterfront skyscrapers - especially at night.


Stand up rowing. This always gets me whenever I see it. And man, with the new buildings planned for the Rainey Street area, the water reflections here are going to be nice.






RiverView Apartments.

[WestAustinite]

I was just looking at the overall ranking of building heights in Austin and 9 of the top 11 tallest buildings were opened in 2004 or after. Just 8 years. That's pretty amazing. By 2016 it will probbaly be 15/15 with the addition of fairmont, Marriott, 311bowie, green, others...

[Jdawgboy]

City Council is now hearing statements about Imagine Austin, I really wish a bunch of us were there now and even speak in support of Imagine Austin. Im thinking of going in a bit, pm me if anybody is interested in going. Its one thing to sit on the sidelines and admire city development but we need to get involved and show support to the city. We have enough NIMBYS in this city that get out their views its time we do the same...

[The ATX]

Things just keep getting better around here.

http://www.statesman.com/business/re...t-2399700.html


HKS Architects/HKS ARCHITECTS

[NYC2ATX]

Nice rendering!

[KevinFromTexas]

If this happens, it could mean 6 to 7 million square feet of development/redevelopment in the Capitol Complex. The plan is to develop the empty parking lots and redevelop the hulking parking garages. Some of the space would be state offices, while other space would be the private sector with everything from commercial office space to residential, hotel and retail. There's even a planetarium planned with a 655 foot 47-story tower attached.

http://www.statesman.com/business/re...l-2399766.html

State weighs $500 million in proposals for Capitol complex development

By Laylan Copelin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 10:00 p.m. Thursday, June 14, 2012
Published: 9:53 p.m. Thursday, June 14, 2012

The private sector is knocking on the Capitol's door.

Officials with the Texas Facilities Commission told state lawmakers Thursday that they are studying five unsolicited proposals, worth an estimated $500 million, for possible public-private partnership projects at the Capitol complex.

The proposals are moving faster than the process, as the Partnership Advisory Commission — mostly lawmakers who will backstop the Facilities Commission — took testimony from public-private partnership pioneers from Virginia and Canada.

[Syndic]

Mixed-use! Apartments! Breaking ground in September! That's about as good as it gets.

[KevinFromTexas]

And office space. My first reaction was, oh no, it'll affect the Colorado & Third and Green office buildings. But the office space going in that tower will be for Endeavor's own headquarters. They were already downtown, but this is still good news. I think this tower will compliment 360 well. The two have similar design characteristics.

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

City Council is now hearing statements about Imagine Austin, I really wish a bunch of us were there now and even speak in support of Imagine Austin. Im thinking of going in a bit, pm me if anybody is interested in going. Its one thing to sit on the sidelines and admire city development but we need to get involved and show support to the city. We have enough NIMBYS in this city that get out their views its time we do the same...

Via Facebook about an hour ago.

Originally Posted by Greg

Imagine Austin: our new comprehensive plan passes on all three readings. Kudos to the CoA and all the participants who helped shape it.