Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelB
Oh what I can tell.... I like the top one much better!
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The facade may be more interesting, though, honestly, I did like the facade design of the twin tower plan quite a bit. I will say, however, that wider is not better. Worrying over height isn't everything, and this project is a good example why. The shorter (wider) design will likely create more of a visible barrier than the twin tower design did. And unfortunately, this project will offer less to the neighborhood since it likely won't have any retail. That's a major loss for the neighborhood. A lot of the concern and resentment over the development moving into East Austin has been a sense that it's come with a concealed and shut-off-to-its-surroundings feel, a sort of middle finger or back turned to the neighborhood by not being exactly affordable or fitting in. Coming into a neighborhood with a new development and not offering retail is sort of like taking something away from the neighborhood and benefiting from it but also not contributing to it. I-35 may be buried or replaced someday so that that visible and cultural barrier between East Austin and the rest of the city is gone, but I'm thinking a new one will be created in the type of development that East Austin might see if developments don't commit to contributing retail to the area. I would even rather see bland designs there that actually contribute to the neighborhood than ritzy buildings that tell their surroundings that they don't want to interact with it.