AUSTIN | Misc. Discussions - No Politics

[ILUVSAT]

Yeah. I can see that.

I guess an intriguing question to answer is how many (overall) trees lost 30% or more of their canopy.

[We vs us]

Yup, we'll see. I think one way or another it's going to take weeks (months?) to get a full view of the damage.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Yup, we'll see. I think one way or another it's going to take weeks (months?) to get a full view of the damage.

I guess I'm just going to have to wait until spring to see if new leaves pop out from my bushes and hedges that tool a major hit from last December's freeze and to see how my Bradfer Pears and Crepe Mertles have a chance to survive

[KevinFromTexas]

Ugh still no power for us. I spent the afternoon on the roof removing tree limbs. No damage to the roof but our neighbor's tree dropped a limb on our driveway gate and flattened it. The tree damage in the neighborhood is pretty crazy. I've never seen it this bad in the 40 years we've been in this neighborhood.

[LoneStarMike]

From a friend in NW Austin at the Riata near the Apple campus:

[We vs us]

Wow. We’re right around the corner from Riata. But gotta say it looks about right for our neighborhood, too.

EDIT: and Kev, still no power for us either. I know there are legitimate reasons but I’m really starting to not give a shit.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Ugh still no power for us. I spent the afternoon on the roof removing tree limbs. No damage to the roof but our neighbor's tree dropped a limb on our driveway gate and flattened it. The tree damage in the neighborhood is pretty crazy. I've never seen it this bad in the 40 years we've been in this neighborhood.

I was actually typing this at the restaurant last night. And man were they ever busy. It was our 2nd choice as the first one had a 100 minute wait time for a table. We'd see areas with power on the way there and areas without. The area around Westgate Boulevard & William Cannon was completely dark. There's actually a good view of downtown from the hill up there and it was especially impressive last night looking out over the darkened neighborhood. Anyway, on the way home I started noticing areas that had power that didn't the night before and then streets in our neighborhood that had power that didn't the night before and even earlier in the evening. We turned down our street and it was mostly dark as the street lights were out and it was dark on one side, but then we realized the power was on on our side. I think several people had actually opted to get a hotel or stay with friends as our neighbors did. That was a beautiful sight having electricity again. haha We were without power for a solid 60 hours since Wednesday morning.

[enragedcamel]

I didn't have power from Wednesday morning to early afternoon today. So three and a half days. Pretty insane to think about America's tenth largest city experiencing prolonged outages like this.

We really need to start burying our power lines. First the February 2021 deep freeze, and now this... they've got to be a wake-up call.

[Jdawgboy]

Got power lastnight!!! This has been extremely stressful and I hope those still without power can get restored as soon as possible.

[ArchGuy1]

Originally Posted by myBrain

As great as an observation deck would be, that's just not going to happen / is not feasible for a residential tower, especially one as skinny as this. It would require at the very least dedicating an entire elevator shaft to the deck, and elevator space comes at a premium for skinny towers.

I think if we're going to see an observation deck it's going to be as part of a hotel or office development. Waterline could actually be a great candidate.

How skinny are the Palm Tower in Dubai, Eureka Tower in Melbourne, and the Sapphire Tower in Istanbul, all of which have observation decks, but are purely residential otherwise above the ground or a little above that.

[jake.robs]

Originally Posted by ArchGuy1

How skinny are the Palm Tower in Dubai, Eureka Tower in Melbourne, and the Sapphire Tower in Istanbul, all of which have observation decks, but are purely residential otherwise above the ground or a little above that.

Well, the Sapphire Tower has a skinny ratio of about 7.5:1, Eureka is 6.1:1 and Palm is about 8:1.

Wilson is about 16:1, meaning it's twice as skinny as the skinniest tower you mentioned, while also not having a hotel included in the building.

Not to be a downer on observation decks, but all the buildings you mentioned are much more similar to Waterline (which we know will not get a deck) than Wilson. And I just don't see Wilson having the space for a dedicated elevator shaft for an observation deck.

[ArchGuy1]

Originally Posted by jake.robs

Well, the Sapphire Tower has a skinny ratio of about 7.5:1, Eureka is 6.1:1 and Palm is about 8:1.

Wilson is about 16:1, meaning it's twice as skinny as the skinniest tower you mentioned, while also not having a hotel included in the building.

Not to be a downer on observation decks, but all the buildings you mentioned are much more similar to Waterline (which we know will not get a deck) than Wilson. And I just don't see Wilson having the space for a dedicated elevator shaft for an observation deck.

The Palm Tower, Sapphire Tower, and Eureka Tower do not have hotels or offices either and yet have public observation decks on their top floors. Also, an observation deck at the top of Waterline would not have been that difficult as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and The Shard in London both have observation decks for sky high views despite being mixed use residential, office, and hotel skyscrapers.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by clubtokyo

I love the Tokyo Tower

Agreed. I was lucky enough to go up in the tower when I was in Tokyo. They've built the absolutely monstrous Tokyo Sky Tree now as well.

The Tokyo Tower is featured in this video.

• Video Link

[ArchGuy1]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

• The current location of Austin Parks & Rec HQ is the ideal site for any observation tower, with an already protected view of the capitol building. Observation towers are usually on city owned property with private contractor operators, although exceptions do exist. The purpose of an observation tower is essentially a park in the sky, with tremendous viewsheds, and if sold correctly could add to the city’s parks amenities.

• All that said, a tasteful and classic design that would age well is necessary. Something sleek, modern, and minimalistic that doesn’t overpower the skyline and complements it. Having it set aside from the bulk of urban density to the southwest also allows it to be shorter (~800’) and still capture impressive city views with unobstructed views of the hill country. I’ve actually fiddled with heights at this location, and it takes about ~1700’ to have a view of Lake Travis, the Pennybacker, and the Dam.

• Reunion and Americas are awful towers, and so is the above proposal even if some nod to a star would he nice—the shape of the deck itself, two dimensionally from below, for instance. Would love to see materials nods to the Texas Capitol itself.

• Paris’s Eiffel Tower, Seattle’s Space Needle, and Canton’s Canton Tower are the preeminent examples of well-aged designs.

There could possibly be a SkySpire or Polercoaster built in Austin.
https://attractionsmagazine.com/thri...e-attractions/

[bismuth96]

Originally Posted by ArchGuy1

There could possibly be a SkySpire or Polercoaster built in Austin.
https://attractionsmagazine.com/thri...e-attractions/

That company is pretty much dead. The last major news from them was ~2016, but no ground moved in either Atlantic City or Orlando. COTALand might build some kind of tower in the future once it's finished with its coaster buildout, but that's doubtful given the other observation tower already at COTA.

Not to be a downer on your observation deck paradecrusade, but like another said, the Waterline was probably the best bet downtown Austin had for one given its mixed use and great location, but we know that won't happen, no matter how much one person on the internet wishes it would. And Wilson Tower is just not going to build a floorspace-taking observation deck that few if any will use--either tourists or locals--and that will only be a nuisance to its residents. Just in general, unless Austin becomes known for its tall architecture, it won't get spontaneous places like that; pretty much all the places/buildings you've listed are notable for being tall cities in their country or uniquely tall towers in their cities.

I think you're just going to have to come to terms and be happy with the COTA observation tower as Austin's only built observation location until Austin gets more supertalls or we get a realistic proposal for a purpose-built observation tower downtown. Or you could go out to some of the great viewing locations to the west (360 Overlook, Mt. Bonnell, Pennybacker Overlook, or some of the CVCs) and get some of those great views of the city that no observation tower could ever provide.

[We vs us]

Preach.

[KevinFromTexas]

I doubt we'll see any observation decks although I wouldn't rule it out. The main thing is they aren't profitable enough. I could see one popping up with some kind of specialty project possibly outside of downtown to draw people there and add something different.

[ArchGuy1]

Originally Posted by bismuth96

That company is pretty much dead. The last major news from them was ~2016, but no ground moved in either Atlantic City or Orlando. COTALand might build some kind of tower in the future once it's finished with its coaster buildout, but that's doubtful given the other observation tower already at COTA.

Not to be a downer on your observation deck paradecrusade, but like another said, the Waterline was probably the best bet downtown Austin had for one given its mixed use and great location, but we know that won't happen, no matter how much one person on the internet wishes it would. And Wilson Tower is just not going to build a floorspace-taking observation deck that few if any will use--either tourists or locals--and that will only be a nuisance to its residents. Just in general, unless Austin becomes known for its tall architecture, it won't get spontaneous places like that; pretty much all the places/buildings you've listed are notable for being tall cities in their country or uniquely tall towers in their cities.

I think you're just going to have to come to terms and be happy with the COTA observation tower as Austin's only built observation location until Austin gets more supertalls or we get a realistic proposal for a purpose-built observation tower downtown. Or you could go out to some of the great viewing locations to the west (360 Overlook, Mt. Bonnell, Pennybacker Overlook, or some of the CVCs) and get some of those great views of the city that no observation tower could ever provide.

In addition to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and The Shard in London, other mixed use hotel, residential, and office skyscraper with an observation deck is the Lotte World Tower in Seoul and the China Zun in Beijing, therefore this explains why Waterline should have had a public observation deck. The Landmark 81 in Saigon and King Power Mahanakhon in Bangkok were built with observation decks on their top floors despite being mixed use residential and hotel skyscrapers. The Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai Tower, and Shanghai World Financial Center all in Shanghai have observation decks on their top floors despite being mixed use hotel and office skyscrapers. Also, the Four Seasons Hotel & Residences in the former International Trade Mart in New Orleans has an observation deck on top despite being converted to a mixed use residential and hotel high rise.

Is there one single urban public observation tower still open in the State of Texas that isn't part of a publicly funded entity? No, I wouldn't include the COTA tower - that's ridiculous. There was one in Houston I believe, in one of the 80"s skyscrapers Downtown, but I bet that closed.

Maybe Reunion Tower in Dallas, if that's still open? I would guess that entire complex was publicly, or partially publicly, funded, however.

An urban observation tower is by its nature a communal experience and, as much as most Forum members love their developers, communal is just a short slippery slope from communism.

[ArchGuy1]

Originally Posted by smallfrie

Is there one single urban public observation tower still open in the State of Texas that isn't part of a publicly funded entity? No, I wouldn't include the COTA tower - that's ridiculous. There was one in Houston I believe, in one of the 80"s skyscrapers Downtown, but I bet that closed.

Maybe Reunion Tower in Dallas, if that's still open? I would guess that entire complex was publicly, or partially publicly, funded, however.

An urban observation tower is by its nature a communal experience and, as much as most Forum members love their developers, communal is just a short slippery slope from communism.

There were actually two skyscrapers in Downtown Houston that had skylobby observation decks open to the public. They are the Wells Fargo Plaza and Chase Tower, which were closed to the public in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Another idea that I could see in Austin is a tall ferris wheel along the lines of the London Eye or High Roller in Las Vegas, but taller. Such a ferris wheel was proposed by someone for San Antonio in 2017. Austin would be a better location for such a huge ferris wheel.
https://www.ksat.com/news/2017/11/30...n-san-antonio/