Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanRevival
I understand the notion of trying to bolster architectural standards. I really do, and it's a noble cause.
But the constant, almost knee-jerk reaction to so many proposals as though it's the worst thing designed on the face of the planet is just not constructive. And, again, not every building has to be a work of art.
Not to get into a protracted debate, but I think there needs to be a balance of constructive criticism that recognizes development in context of achieving good urbanism and active streetlife. The aesthetic nitpicking that seems to dominate this forum does not do much to further that cause.
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Exactly. I'd honestly prefer a building that literally looked like a pile of shit stacked 32 stories high that met the street well and had a vibrant ground level use as opposed to a building that looked like a work of art for stories 2-32 but had entrance to underground parking on street level. That type of stuff is simply more important to me and this rendering doesn't even make it clear what the first floor will even look like, so as I said, at this point it's really hard to have any type of meaningful discussion about the merits of the architectural design of this building.
That's not to say that there isn't room for criticizing the aesthetics of a building, you just have to do so in context. This reminds me of the complaints of the new chinatown gateway tower. Sure that building doesn't look great, but it faces a highway barricade and is surrounded by a whole lot of nothing. What could you realistically expect there? Situations like that you take what you can get. Same thing here, this is a narrow lot that never in a million years did I think we'd get a building of this magnitude here.
That's why it's a lot more understandable to me when people complain about how ugly and cheap 1919 Market is. That's a prominent lot where the sky was the limit. I don't blame people for expecting the best there and that building fails to even come close to meeting expectations aesthetically or in size. This lot is not 1919 Market. Not even close. So even if this building doesn't look great, it's still going to bring a lot of people and vibrancy to a location no one would have even guessed something like this was happening. It's not about not wanting to strive for the best, it's just about being a realist.
So I'll hope this turns out nice and be happy regardless, but if something like this gets proposed on the 1911 Walnut I'll grab pitchforks with the rest of you.
