Your City's Best Building Built This Century

[Nouvellecosse]

Well no one is denying there's a similarity of course. Some of the difference is just that Hancock is a cleaner, simpler, more classic design. Plus the way that Hancock integrates with its setting is so iconic totally dominating everything and standing out while acting almost as a "reflecting pool" for its neighboring landmarks which is an effect that the larger area of uninterrupted surface can provide. And its sheer heft (girth) gives it greater presence than if it were slimmer.

But I think part of it also comes down to the artistic canon. Art and design do not exist in a vacuum. Each piece or design relates to other designs and the wider world, and good examples always add something to the overall artistic storyline of beauty and human creativity. Over the decades we've seen countless examples of blue glass towers with some being better and some being worse. And while these are both high quality, Hancock is one of the originals. For me, when a design archetype becomes ubiquitous, every new iteration elevates the original to an ever higher status, while lowering the maximum amount of credit that each new example can be given. Simply because it represents less originality and less of a creative achievement. Kind of like how a classic sports car that represents a milestone in design and engineering will always be venerated more than one of the many contemporary models that draw inspiration from it.

[SIGSEGV]

The Legacy is pretty clearly a homage to JHT, and I guess in that sense it's hard to call it "better." But I think part of the reason the JHT gets so much love is that it's probably uncontroversially far and away the nicest postwar tower in Boston.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

The Legacy is pretty clearly a homage to JHT, and I guess in that sense it's hard to call it "better." But I think part of the reason the JHT gets so much love is that it's probably uncontroversially far and away the nicest postwar tower in Boston.

We take blue mirror-glass facades for granted, but that was unusual when JHT was first built. It was beautiful and inspiring, and still is. Also, the sharpness of the angles isn't an optical illusion--the tower floors are a parallelogram.

I'm old enough to have enjoyed the JHT's former skydeck. My favorite aunt would take me up there every summer. The views were breathtaking.

[Toasty Joe]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

Subjective opinion of course, but I think you guys are vastly overstating the aesthetic appeal of The John Hancock Tower. I mean, it's perfectly fine. But how you could say these two aren't pretty close approximations of each other, I have no idea.

I agree people overstate the beauty of JHT but also underestimate the (negative) impact balconies have. Case & point^. Legacy is still a great building though, and the contemporary look adds a welcome refinement to that portion of the skyline.

[Steely Dan]

JHT Boston is a timeless Pei masterpiece. The purity of its form elevates it to magical.

The Legacy in Chicago is a very nice homage to it, but it's not quite at the same level as the original.



But it's ok because Chicago has a masterpiece "John Hancock" building too that stands as one of the greatest skyscraper achievements of the 20th century.


Source: https://files.structurae.net/files/p...1/dsc06117.jpg

[MayDay]

For Cleveland, there are two buildings that qualify imho. The first is the expansion of the Cleveland Museum of Art - the museum has an amazing collection (free admission except for special exhibits) but for years was a maze of piecemeal additions. Vinoly demolished those and created a massive atrium to connect the original building with the new galleries and office space.

The next is probably more significant as it's being built on what was vast parking lots right in the heart of Downtown Cleveland. The Sherwin Williams World Headquarter building is a handsome but understated tower, but again - it's what it's replacing and filling in a gap on our skyline.

[Steely Dan]

Milwaukee is one the few cities which has built a 21st century building that in many ways has already come to define the city.

Calatrava's Milwaukee Art Museum addition:


Source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki...outh-west.jpg#





It's not just a great building, it's so damn iconic that it has come to be the defining image of the city now. And it also completely overshadows the original Saarinen art museum building built back in the '50 (which is pretty awesome in its own right, but nowhere near as flamboyant as calatrava's exuberant white palace next door).

And it has a special place in my heart because my wife and I had our wedding & reception there 10 years ago. It made for one hell of a spectacular venue for our big celebration.

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Source: https://files.structurae.net/files/p...1/dsc06117.jpg

I ate at the restaurant at the top on my first visit to Chicago in the late 70s. Sat right next to a floor-to-ceiling window at a table that I seem to remember was on the second level of the at least two-storey high room. View was to the South with some night time lake thrown in. Kind of scary, to be honest. Definitely left an impression. Food was excellent.

[The North One]

I hate how the bottom windows are a different color than the upper ones. Also triggers my OCD how the last X doesn't finish. Units there have beams that aren't flush with the ceiling. Chicago's John Hancock is iconic but kind of a mess.

[Maldive]

The best addition to downtown Toronto imo isn’t a building (sue me), it’s the new family of bridges that were fabricated in Amsterdam, assembled and painted in Halifax-Darmouth, and shipped down the St. Lawrence Seaway to the city, part of the largest urban redevelopment in the country called the Lower Don Lands which includes carving a new river valley through 308 acres of former industrial portlands (eventually parks and a new mixed-use community).

Recent aerial:


3D

Cherry Street South.


UT

hawc

Cherry Street North twins.


skycandy

Traycer

Commissioners Street.


skycandy

UT

The future.


UT

P.S. the best new buildings in Toronto since 2000 are still u/c lol (Foster’s “The One” and Gehry’s “FORMA” ;-).

But the CIBC Square diamond twins (1 complete and 1 u/c) will be a handsome pair indeed.

Phase 1 completed, with Phase 2 u/c on the left:


BJT

CIBCSquare.com

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Maldive

The best addition to downtown Toronto imo isn’t a building (sue me), it’s the new family of bridges that were fabricated in Amsterdam, assembled and painted in Halifax-Darmouth .....


Commissioners Street.

Great choice but one small correction: the bridges were fabricated, assembled, and painted in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It was all done there. They were designed in the Netherlands.

https://portlandsto.ca/the-cherry-st...dge-timelapse/

[Maldive]

Actually all the steel curves were bent in the Netherlands, cut into pieces and shipped to Dartmouth and reassembled. Portlands.ca neglects to give credit for the hard part imo lol (perfect curves).

So it would seem perhaps the credit for "fabrication" belongs in both countries.

[SWDC]

Washington, DC

National Museum of African American History & Culture




https://civilrightstravel.com/washin...rican-museums/

[nito]

There are a few contenders, I’d personally lean towards the excellent restoration and expansion of St Pancras station, followed closely behind by 30 St Mary Axe (aka the Gherkin) and Battersea Power Station. In chronological order since the start of the century.


London Eye, Marks Barfield Architects, March 2000
A modern interpretation of the Ferris Wheel, opting for a cantilevered approach to provide unobstructed views. Originally only meant to be a temporary structure, it acted as a catalyst for similar versions to proliferate globally.

Tate Modern, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (original building) and Herzog & de Meuron (conversion and 2017 extension), May 2000 and 2017
Stunning conversion of a former power plant into one of the most visited art galleries, particular highlight being the Turbine Hall for unprecedented large-scale art installations.

The Great Court at the British Museum, Colin St John Wilson (original idea) and Foster + Partners, December 2000
Once a large book depository, the creation of the largest covered square in Europe, revitalised one of the world’s grandest museums with a new focal point that opened up and aided accessibility across the entire museum

30 St Mary Axe, Foster + Partners, April 2004
Derided by some for its unconventional shape, 30 St Mary Axe features a variety of innovative designs (six vertical chimneys, unique floor plans) and helped to rejuvenate the concept of high-rises in London.

St Pancras Station, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (hotel), William Henry Barlow (train shed), and Foster + Partners (renovation and extension), November 2007
An exceptional renovation of the historic Midland Hotel and Barlow train shed complimented by a sympathetic expansion using the old vaults created a major new national and international railway station, but also one of the finest transit interchanges on the planet.

Lee Valley Velodrome, Hopkins Architects + Grant Associates, February 2011
Akin to a giant pringle, the wood cladding set amongst the parkland setting was one of the highlight (and permanent) venues from London 2012.

Aquatics Centre, Zaha Hadid Architects, July 2011
A highlight of London 2012, the unique organic structure that to this day is an example of exemplary modern architecture.

King’s Cross Station, John McAslan, March 2012
Another renovation and modernisation project of a dilapidated station that created a vast new concourse and opened up the front to create a new piazza

The Shard, Renzo Piano, July 2012
Akin to a church steeple, London’s tallest tower that pushed the boundaries of high-rises in London.

Canary Wharf Station, Foster + Partners, May 2022
Once a dock, the station structure rises up like an island and is capped by a giant roof garden

Battersea Power Station, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (original power plant) + WilkinsonEyre (and others), October 2022
One of the world’s largest brick buildings, this vast Art Deco building was derelict until it and the surrounding 42-acre site was redeveloped. Consisting of several large halls, and developments by Ghery and Foster. The old control room is now a bar.