Quote:
Originally Posted by dlg569
I think the height restrictions cause many projects to look the same in order to maximize space.
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Well, that's great planning
A good way to make a dull city. Where is the modern architecture? Where are the innovative low rise buildings? Given that people don't come down town to shop other than office workers, they needed to do something special to attract them. This isn't Tokyo where the density is enough to make up for bland architecture.
Downtown DC is too full up with bland offices, and there isn't enough room for major retail developments IMO. Why are there so few retail stores downtown, why so many empty storefronts? Why don't people come downtown to shop?
The paltry amount they are planning will never be enough to create a real retail scene downtown given that most plots of land are taken by hulking groundscrapers with token amounts of retail space. The 7th street project was pretty pathetic IMO. What DC needed was large retail blocks with massive amounts of window frontage for large stores, shopping centers, etc.. Yet, there is only CityCenter DC which won't be enough IMO. DC needed a mini-5th avenue, with large retail displays and floor space to attract people from around the metro area to come downtown. Also, the dull architecture that they are building or have built is too corporate or dull in style to really attract international attention.
Hence, I find myself never going downtown b/c it isn't a pleasant experience. There is little to see that delights my eyes once you have lived here for years and few exciting projects that break design barriers to make me want to go down there. To be honest, they needed to zone the city differently to prevent it becoming a ghetto of offices.
Also, the height limit has made DC a boring office ghetto. Would have been better to plan offices skyscrapers further away from the mall in old industrial areas and leave downtown for more entertainment, residential and retail purposes with mixed heights. To be honest, I doubt the mall and monumental core would suffer much if high rises were planned in areas far enough away. That would free space for more interesting designs in the downtown core. Really, London can do it, why not DC? The only thing one needs to do is create a new planned development on old rail yards somewhere that doesn't impinge too much on sightlines or the monumental experience.
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