LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[LAisthePlace]

Originally Posted by badrunner

Agreed. It was the best this thread had been in years.

Totally agree. Everything just goes off topic and vibe totally changes when that one posts or replies.

[dktshb]

Christopher Rising, whose firm Rising Realty Partners owns two office buildings there. The final piece will be Angels Landing, he said, a $1.6-billion hotel-housing-retail complex set to rise next to Bunker Hill’s historic Angels Flight railway in time for the 2028 Olympics.

Thought this was dead. This is terrific news if true. It would have to break ground any day to be ready by 2028.

[Quixote]

^ Well, they better get started sooner rather than later.

To be honest, I've never been too crazy about MacFarlane's proposal for Angel's Landing. The multi-story retail plaza is not unlike that of the Grand (albeit this one would sit atop a subway station), and that concept feels outdated. I don't completely hate it though.

Looking back at the three competing proposals, I actually prefer the one proposed by... Onni (middle one). It's the most unusual and would immediately become an icon. This is what DTLA needs... stuff that you're less likely to find in other cities.


Urbanize LA

[milquetoast]

I still think Los Angeles, while being held hostage
currently, has more potential than any other city
in the world, and remains different than the others.

I wasn't speaking of towers in general, just the one
proposed by the Chicago firm for Little Tokyo or Chinatown.
Too long and narrow a footprint, the quake would just ruin it.

With some on here bemoaning the direction the city is
taking ... they wouldn't be doing that if they didn't feel
passionately about it.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Looking back at the three competing proposals, I actually prefer the one proposed by... Onni (middle one). It's the most unusual and would immediately become an icon. This is what DTLA needs... stuff that you're less likely to find in other cities.

It might be the boldest and most unusual, but it's also the ugliest and tackiest of the three. It would be an eyesore in an otherwise classy skyline.

[scania]

Originally Posted by badrunner

It might be the boldest and most unusual, but it's also the ugliest and tackiest of the three. It would be an eyesore in an otherwise classy skyline.

I agree…I think most people would say “that’s different” but never think twice about the tower. I think the tower that won, if built, will be more stunning in person, than the rendering.

[craigs]

From Reddit:

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by milquetoast

I still think Los Angeles, while being held hostage
currently, has more potential than any other city
in the world, and remains different than the others.

I wasn't speaking of towers in general, just the one
proposed by the Chicago firm for Little Tokyo or Chinatown.
Too long and narrow a footprint, the quake would just ruin it.

With some on here bemoaning the direction the city is
taking ... they wouldn't be doing that if they didn't feel
passionately about it.

This. Illithid Dude said it best when he said that it's almost as if our civic leaders hate LA.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by badrunner

It might be the boldest and most unusual, but it's also the ugliest and tackiest of the three. It would be an eyesore in an otherwise classy skyline.

That's fine. I used to be of that opinion as well. The architect (Stanley Saitowitz) does classy work, although their portfolio doesn't have as much of a track record. But to quote ocman, you can tell the quality of a firm's work based on the drawings they produce:

https://www.saitowitz.com/angels-landing

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by scania

I agree…I think most people would say “that’s different” but never think twice about the tower. I think the tower that won, if built, will be more stunning in person, than the rendering.

It's nice, but countless cities around the world are building similarly "nice" towers, including second- and third-tier Chinese cities (well not so much today).

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by Quixote

That's fine. I used to be of that opinion as well. The architect (Stanley Saitowitz) does classy work, although their portfolio doesn't have as much of a track record. But to quote ocman, you can tell the quality of a firm's work based on the drawings they produce:

https://www.saitowitz.com/angels-landing

I'm sure they do fine work overall, but that building is nothing more than a stack of balconies arranged like childrens blocks. It's horrible.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by scania

I agree…I think most people would say “that’s different” but never think twice about the tower. I think the tower that won, if built, will be more stunning in person, than the rendering.

Yeah they shortened it to a two tower design, and revised it further. I posted about it at the time. This was before our "civic leaders" allowed this thread to become absolute gutter trash and unusable.

Originally Posted by badrunner

Slight changes to the towers as well. Before and after:

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by Lovely1993me

New here. But I have a real question. Does Citywatch live in LA? It seems like they get a lot of their impressions of downtown from videos on YouTube. In my opinion this videos don’t always give the correct impressions all the time. For them to say “People in LA live in their car and it will always be this way” is a bit ignorant. I work Downtown and I’ve definitely seen an uptick in pedestrian activity lately.

No, he doesn't.

Also, welcome and goodbye.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by badrunner

I'm sure they do fine work overall, but that building is nothing more than a stack of balconies arranged like childrens blocks. It's horrible.

I agree. I never cared for the "child's toy" skyscraper style--London's weeble-wobble skyline being among the worst offenders--and I don't like this version of the proposed Angel's Landing project either. I prefer something more mature and refined.

Also, Saitowitz (who I occasionally spoke with on the phone in a prior position) has done some hideous work. If you think the rendering looks simplistic but somehow it would come out better in real life, think again. He designed a residential project a few blocks from my old place in SF that was so simplistic and plain that it amounted to an overpriced, overhyped human warehouse.

Saitowitz in all his glory:

Source

[wisheye]

Originally Posted by craigs

From Reddit:

Man, I love these aerial pictures with the space shuttle in the foreground and USC and Downtown in the background.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Quixote

This. Illithid Dude said it best when he said that it's almost as if our civic leaders hate LA.

Did I say that?

And re: Saitowitz, I've seen good projects of theirs and middling projects of theirs, but I'd prefer the project posted above to any of the Mincraft derived apartments that have promulgated across our city over the past few years.

And concerning Angels Flight, I'm not sure that article has new information. They may just be regurgitating info from a few years ago. I'd be happy to be wrong, but I'm not putting my faith in that reporting

[craigs]

I'm going to repost this since I want people to see it, but it got buried so quickly in nonsense:

From Reddit:

[badrunner]

dead thread

[Doctorboffin]

Found this image of the 3rd and Flower project. Unfortunately it does seem a bit stumpy, but I really like the design as a whole.

Also found this project for 4th and Hewitt. Not sure if it's a serious proposal or not...

https://www.officeuntitled.com/proje...hewitt-campus/

[LAsam]

As far as podiums go, this one is particularly unattractive. Granted, Flower is unattractive to begin with in that area... but this certainly won't help! The other side is nice, though.

Originally Posted by Doctorboffin

Found this image of the 3rd and Flower project. Unfortunately it does seem a bit stumpy, but I really like the design as a whole.