PHILADELPHIA | W Hotel & Element by Westin | 617 FT | 51 FLOORS

[McBane]

I'm not so sure about the need for a sizable garage. Business travelers are probably not going to rent a car to do business or attend a conference in town. And leisure travelers, at least those not driving here, are also likely to forgo a rental car. In addition to rental fees, hotel garages charge exorbitant rates. Plus, a car in CC is just more hassle than hailing down a cab or walking. If you're doing business in the burbs, then you're likely staying in the burbs.

Also, underground garages are extremely expensive. I doubt that Blenfest has any desire to make the garage any larger than it needs to be - and my guess is that it won't be that big.

Isn't there poster here that works for Marriott. I'm curious to know what his/her take is. I checked the Marriott's convention center hotel website (largest hotel in the city) to see how many parking spaces there are but it didn't say.

[boxbot]

Originally Posted by 1487

For a hotel with 755 rooms I'd expect a sizable underground garage.

3 underground levels.

[MikeNigh]

Originally Posted by boxbot

3 underground levels.

"There will be strips of LED lights embedded in the tower’s facade, and they will change color and have a cascading effect at times."

Cool!!!!

[boxbot]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

"There will be strips of LED lights embedded in the tower’s facade, and they will change color and have a cascading effect at times."

Cool!!!!

I asked Blenfest about it a while ago on this thread. He said color changing was scrapped as cost prohibitive, but the cascading effect would remain.

...although that was before the millions in cost overruns plaguing the work site at present. I worry there may be a lot of design elements that get scrapped in the name of budget cuts.

[loves development]

Originally Posted by boxbot

3 underground levels.

171 total spaces (138 standard, 27 compact, 6 handicap),

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by loves development

171 total spaces (138 standard, 27 compact, 6 handicap),

Seems reasonable. This location is in the heart of the city. It will be used by more than just hotel guests. I assume it's going to be open to the general public.

[summersm343]

Renderings posted on Cope Linder's website:





http://www.cope-linder.com/project/c...ew/hospitality

[thisisforreal]

Hooray, now I know how inaccurate my rendering is.

I'll get a better one up sooner or later. Emphasis on later.

[Philly Fan]

Love the way this will read as two separate and distinctive hotels at street level. A feeling of more density and activity on that block of Chestnut that effectively gives us a two-fer: two interesting hotel facades at street level, with one terrific tower above.

[1487]

I was wondering why I saw nothing on CL's site when I checked it about 2 weeks ago for info about this project. I guess its been added.

[Jawnadelphia]

[IMG]Untitled by screennameLLC, on Flickr[/IMG]

^ guy was bookin'.. even on a crutch.

[IMG]Untitled by screennameLLC, on Flickr[/IMG]

[jsbrook]

So excited for this one. To me it's a architecturally unique and significant modern building. And that doesn't happen in Philly every day. For all its height, I don't think there's anything particularly special about CITC and some of the other buildings going up (not that I'm complaining). But this, to me, is a special building.

[MikeNigh]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

So excited for this one. To me it's a architecturally unique and significant modern building. And that doesn't happen in Philly every day. For all its height, I don't think there's anything particularly special about CITC and some of the other buildings going up (not that I'm complaining). But this, to me, is a special building.

I agree, Brook Lenfest is the man!

[apetrella802]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

So excited for this one. To me it's a architecturally unique and significant modern building. And that doesn't happen in Philly every day. For all its height, I don't think there's anything particularly special about CITC and some of the other buildings going up (not that I'm complaining). But this, to me, is a special building.

Citc is according to Sir Norman Foster the only vertical "cyber factory", an open floor plan to facilitate collaborative R&D in data/telecommunications with every set of three floors tied together to further enhance innovation . The W is a very handsome tower buy hardly unique. The Citc tower expresses its skeletal framing with dramatic exterior horizontal steel lines that accent every three floors and cross bracing that stiffens the exterior wall to minimise horizontal torque (twisting) and at the same time provide a rich geometric pattern. Other than that I don't have an opinion.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by apetrella802

Citc is according to Sir Norman Foster the only vertical "cyber factory", an open floor plan to facilitate collaborative R&D in data/telecommunications with every set of three floors tied together to further enhance innovation . The W is a very handsome tower buy hardly unique. The Citc tower expresses its skeletal framing with dramatic exterior horizontal steel lines that accent every three floors and cross bracing that stiffens the exterior wall to minimise horizontal torque (twisting) and at the same time provide a rich geometric pattern. Other than that I don't have an opinion.

I didn't mean to turn this into a building v. building contest so I'm not going to comment further on CITC other than to say I do like it as a building. But re the W, I have rarely seen a building with such thoughtful ground level integration, so complementary of adjoining structures with the unique organic eroding rock look that this has as the tower starts to climb.

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by apetrella802

Citc is according to Sir Norman Foster the only vertical "cyber factory", an open floor plan to facilitate collaborative R&D in data/telecommunications with every set of three floors tied together to further enhance innovation . The W is a very handsome tower buy hardly unique. The Citc tower expresses its skeletal framing with dramatic exterior horizontal steel lines that accent every three floors and cross bracing that stiffens the exterior wall to minimise horizontal torque (twisting) and at the same time provide a rich geometric pattern. Other than that I don't have an opinion.

Take ... it ... easy ...

Anyway you sort of expect something interesting from Sir Norman Foster. It's what he does. You don't really expect something this interesting from a small firm like Cope Linder.

[thisisforreal]

Since work is going so slow, I'll start doing before and afters for easier comparison. As you can see, some orange cones have definitely moved.

7 Aug:


14 Aug:

[1487]

i am wondering what is going on with that big hole in the center of the site. They have been working on that for a while.

[Philly Fan]

^^^ At the far left of the site behind the white pickup in today's photo, it appears that there may be stacks of lagging material to be used with the shoring soldier piles they're currently installing. So THAT would be progress (and should mean that the big dig is really underway). That big hole in the center would seem to be in the right location to be related to the core, but who knows?

[domodeez]

Originally Posted by 1487

i am wondering what is going on with that big hole in the center of the site. They have been working on that for a while.

Some old steel and and other materials from a previous building that they're trying to dig up. You can see it from photos on previous pages.