ATLANTA | Development Thread VI

[jayden]

Currently erecting the first tower crane at Midtown Union!

[Atlriser]

Originally Posted by jayden

Currently erecting the first tower crane at Midtown Union!

They are moving quick! Should see a crane for Emory soon and maybe even 903 (?) Peachtree. It seems we might see 30 or more cranes in midtown within 6 months or so. Also, NS Towers are at street level on the Spring Street side. That section has been moving very quickly since December.

Anyone know an update on the 5th Street Residential at Juniper. It hasn’t been mentioned in 6 mths or so.

[arctk2014]

Originally Posted by Atlriser

Every pic you show looks nice in my opinion. Better than just leaving a parking deck bare. Adds variety and color. Parking decks aren’t disappearing nor or solid blank walls as every building will have one somewhere unless it’s a glass box which will still have parking to hide. Respect your opinion but don’t agree at all.

Also, saying especially Atlanta is so tired and trite. Each city in America builds the same way. A city has a couple spectacular buildings but 95% are all twins from city to city. Atlanta has parking podiums because of our soil and bedrock type. Other cities have underground parking because of the different bedrock. It’s just form following function and cost. Even New York has many marquee buildings; but if you walk the streets, 95% are just brick buildings with blank walls that were built 40 years ago.

I think you're missing the point that these projects can and should do better to be more thoughtful about building orientation, layout, and programmatic requirements so that developers and architects aren't relying on a mural to cover up halfway baked designs. These are mere afterthoughts of bad design.

[Verge]

Originally Posted by arctk2014

I think you're missing the point that these projects can and should do better to be more thoughtful about building orientation, layout, and programmatic requirements so that developers and architects aren't relying on a mural to cover up halfway baked designs. These are mere afterthoughts of bad design.

I have to disagree as well-- graphics/ street art can be successfully integrated into a design-- and the examples you show by and large do this well-- there are other examples that don't do as good of a job-- perhaps you just picked the wrong ones. Suffice to say the design of big buildings and all of the infrastructure that they require can be quite daunting. Some architects handle this challenge better than others. In this case this is certainly one of the nicer design proposals to hit Midtown (or Atlanta in general). For the record I like the original screening proposal better than the mural idea (although I'm pretty soon the lunar landscape is a placeholder)--

[BlueSangha]

Originally Posted by Atlriser

They are moving quick! Should see a crane for Emory soon and maybe even 903 (?) Peachtree. It seems we might see 30 or more cranes in midtown within 6 months or so. Also, NS Towers are at street level on the Spring Street side. That section has been moving very quickly since December.

Anyone know an update on the 5th Street Residential at Juniper. It hasn’t been mentioned in 6 mths or so.

I drove by it on Piedmont, I think it’s nearly finished, and it looked pretty good.

[Atlriser]

Originally Posted by BlueSangha

I drove by it on Piedmont, I think it’s nearly finished, and it looked pretty good.

Sorry I was referencing the Street Lights Residential Tower. 5th (3rd?) and Piedmont is maybe the correct address. Agree though J5 is coming along nicely. A little slow it seems but looks nice.

[The Best Forumer]

Originally Posted by jayden

Currently erecting the first tower crane at Midtown Union!

pics???

[bigstick]

Originally Posted by The Best Forumer

pics???

Look at the webcams, their are four of them titled Midtown Union...

[Username123]

Originally Posted by Atlriser

Sorry I was referencing the Street Lights Residential Tower. 5th (3rd?) and Piedmont is maybe the correct address. Agree though J5 is coming along nicely. A little slow it seems but looks nice.

The Street Lights residential is going to be at the same intersection as J5, so 5th and Juniper applies to both. J5 should have people moving in in the Spring.

[arctk2014]

Originally Posted by Verge

I have to disagree as well-- graphics/ street art can be successfully integrated into a design-- and the examples you show by and large do this well-- there are other examples that don't do as good of a job-- perhaps you just picked the wrong ones. Suffice to say the design of big buildings and all of the infrastructure that they require can be quite daunting. Some architects handle this challenge better than others. In this case this is certainly one of the nicer design proposals to hit Midtown (or Atlanta in general). For the record I like the original screening proposal better than the mural idea (although I'm pretty soon the lunar landscape is a placeholder)--

No doubt that graphics and street art can be properly integrated into a project - but not at the expense of covering up bad architecture. It has to be a PART of the design rather than an afterthought.

Painting an exposed (or unexposed) parking deck and/or filling a blank wall with a mural just seems like an afterthought.






Broadtsone Midtown was done pretty well but is really just a marketing guise to try to tie the branding within the leasing/common spaces with the rest of the exterior. There's nothing else about the exterior or even unit interiors that screams of "art-deco-nouveau" vibes.

[finergrain]

Originally Posted by arctk2014

No doubt that graphics and street art can be properly integrated into a project - but not at the expense of covering up bad architecture. It has to be a PART of the design rather than an afterthought.

Painting an exposed (or unexposed) parking deck and/or filling a blank wall with a mural just seems like an afterthought.

Totally agree. Murals will come and go. The form of the building (all 360° of it) should be compelling regardless.

[Tuckerman]

Originally Posted by Atlriser

Every pic you show looks nice in my opinion. Better than just leaving a parking deck bare. Adds variety and color. Parking decks aren’t disappearing nor or solid blank walls as every building will have one somewhere unless it’s a glass box which will still have parking to hide. Respect your opinion but don’t agree at all.

Also, saying especially Atlanta is so tired and trite. Each city in America builds the same way. A city has a couple spectacular buildings but 95% are all twins from city to city. Atlanta has parking podiums because of our soil and bedrock type. Other cities have underground parking because of the different bedrock. It’s just form following function and cost. Even New York has many marquee buildings; but if you walk the streets, 95% are just brick buildings with blank walls that were built 40 years ago.

Totally agree on both counts. Parking decks are here and ubiquitous, but so are very interesting murals. Atlanta is lucky to have such a dynamic art community that produces many excellent murals. Consider the parking garage as just another canvas. It is in many ways no different from all the "decorative stuff" that has always been attached to buildings, e.g gargoyles, pinnacles, turrets, stained glass, video monitors, etc. They are interesting architectural fluff.

As to most cites, NYC, Chicago, included, most buildings are unoriginal, repetitive and insignificant from an aesthetic perspective. It is just the inner city equivalent to the suburban sprawl housing development - repetitive and non- distinctive. Nonetheless, there is something about the collectivity that make such areas interesting and compose the urban scene. My view, relax and enjoy it.

[Terminus]

The mural on the wall with the bird is a side lot line, where the International Building Code generally prohibits windows.

[Martinman]

Yeah I think Modera is a bad example. It's on a lot-line wall facing another building that happens to be visible from the street. Broadstone's art is on the facade of the building rather than a blank wall. Otherwise, I can certainly agree that "lazy", cut-n-paste architecture is a thing.

[Verge]

Originally Posted by arctk2014

No doubt that graphics and street art can be properly integrated into a project - but not at the expense of covering up bad architecture. It has to be a PART of the design rather than an afterthought.

Painting an exposed (or unexposed) parking deck and/or filling a blank wall with a mural just seems like an afterthought.






Broadtsone Midtown was done pretty well but is really just a marketing guise to try to tie the branding within the leasing/common spaces with the rest of the exterior. There's nothing else about the exterior or even unit interiors that screams of "art-deco-nouveau" vibes.

Actually I do agree that in general we do need to up our design game especially the typical 5 over 1 multi-family-- absolutely. I would also say that architecturally in general Atlanta is on an upward trajectory-- design matters more than it used to. Can we and should we do better-- YES, YES, YES!--

[Atlantis]

Greenstone officials recently announced they’d secured construction financing and broke ground on the office component at the long-vacant site.
Greenstone reps tell Curbed Atlanta the full development is on track for a summer 2022 delivery.

https://atlanta.curbed.com/atlanta-d...town-connector

[Atlantis]

The office tower is expected to ascend 12 stories and would feature retail space and a restaurant at the ground floor
Dubbed NOVEL Midtown, the luxury apartment tower sharing the site with the office structure is being developed by Crescent Communities. It’s slated to stand 14 stories with a retail “jewel box” at ground level that would contain another restaurant, fronting Spring Street.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by Verge

Actually I do agree that in general we do need to up our design game especially the typical 5 over 1 multi-family-- absolutely. I would also say that architecturally in general Atlanta is on an upward trajectory-- design matters more than it used to. Can we and should we do better-- YES, YES, YES!--

Just curious Verge, do you know if that is actually Atlanta's Broadstone Midtown? If so, I would have never imaged the courtyard looked so fantastic!

[tdawg]

^ That's the Denizen in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by tdawg

Pretty sure that's not Broadstone Midtown but wherever it is it's f'in gorgeous.

It absolutely is, tdawg! Our Broadstone turned out very well imo, but it isn't quite that tall - from the street anyway.