AUSTIN | Shoal Creek Walk | 219 FEET | 15 FLOORS | COMPLETE

[The ATX]

In this rendering it looks like the facade juts out slightly in every other group of four windows on the office levels.


http://shoalcreekwalk.com/building/#building-1

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by The ATX

In this rendering it looks like the facade juts out slightly in every other group of four windows on the office levels.


http://shoalcreekwalk.com/building/#building-1

Nice catch. So this building may not look so generic after all. I had never noticed that before, but that makes it feel fluid rather than a box you'd typically see in an office park.

[Syndic]

Oh that's super weird. I can't wait to see this effect in real Life.

[427MM]

This developer has a looong history of skimping out of great streets sidewalks (they even have a cheesy name for what they call their version of sidewalks). I truly hope that they do not do that with this block.

[Digatisdi]

It appears they're under quite a bit of scrutiny at the moment so I should hope they don't try something.

[smith_atx]

Originally Posted by Syndic

Oh that's super weird. I can't wait to see this effect in real Life.

Our version of the Beekman Tower

[427MM]

Originally Posted by Digatisdi

It appears they're under quite a bit of scrutiny at the moment so I should hope they don't try something.

Ah, Richard--had he replied maybe he would have talked about some of his past successful projects such as the Hobby Building?...

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by smithlua

Our version of the Beekman Tower

Petition to move that to the post office site?

[ahealy]

Just a little baby dash of Gehry

[drummer]

Originally Posted by AustinGoesVertical

Petition to move that to the post office site?

Set it up and I'll sign it.

[Syndic]

Originally Posted by 427MM

This developer has a looong history of skimping out of great streets sidewalks (they even have a cheesy name for what they call their version of sidewalks). I truly hope that they do not do that with this block.

Well, they're already shitting on the urban fabric of downtown Austin by putting in steps and a railing, ruining any chance of any street interaction, so I can't say I'm surprised.

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by Syndic

Well, they're already shitting on the urban fabric of downtown Austin by putting in steps and a railing, ruining any chance of any street interaction, so I can't say I'm surprised.

Because the building has to deal with the flood plain. Which is certainly not the developer's fault.

[wwmiv]

Plus, this type of mini plaza type setting can actually break up an otherwise monotonous urban environment, thus providing more character and unique natural gathering places of people. In a city like Austin, diversifying the way that buildings interact with the streets not just horizontally, but vertically as well (especially when it interacts with the natural geography, as it does here), would actually aid in creating a more pedestrian friendly environment precisely because it creates a more unique urban atmosphere with places people actually want to experience. These kinds of designs have actually won cities like Greenville (S. Main Street / Reedy River area) Columbia (Congaree Vista) awards for their downtown redevelopment efforts.

For a wonderful example of why these kinds of designs are amazing at creating sustained pedestrian life, see Asheville, NC. It works there, it could work here. How involved is Austin in the craft beer industry? I imagine that probably helps Asheville, but we're also a tourist and music city with a vibrant downtown, so why aren't there more ad hoc public gathering spaces?

[claustrum]

This one's from the Shoal Creek Conservancy website; don't think it's been posted here before (apologies for the size, but this forum doesn't seem to support size attributes on IMG tags, and the image isn't isn't CC-licensed, so I can't resize it myself):

[lzppjb]

Originally Posted by Syndic

It's pretty bad. There's almost no street interaction at all. It makes me sad to see downtown Austin dying a slow death one sterile behemoth of an office building at a time. What reason would anyone have to go to this place during the weekend or off-peak hours? None. Too many of these and you have a ghost town like downtown Dallas or Houston.

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Floodplain issues. It's unavoidable. Also, retail ground level this project has.

Originally Posted by Syndic

Sorry, I just randomly navigated back here and saw your comment. And I would go with no. Stairs and railings and shit have no place in a downtown environment (unless it's like a government building or something).

Originally Posted by ChrisBBradford

As someone else pointed out, it's a floodplain issue. The ground floor has to be elevated above the flood plain. The Memorial Day flood shows why it's necessary.

All of the buildings along Shoal Creek are like this for just that reason - Monarch, Austin City Lofts, the forthcoming 5th & West. It's not because the developers think that stairs and railings are swell things.

Originally Posted by Syndic

Well, they're already shitting on the urban fabric of downtown Austin by putting in steps and a railing, ruining any chance of any street interaction, so I can't say I'm surprised.

Originally Posted by paul78701

Because the building has to deal with the flood plain. Which is certainly not the developer's fault.

lol

[drummer]

Originally Posted by claustrum

This one's from the Shoal Creek Conservancy website; don't think it's been posted here before (apologies for the size, but this forum doesn't seem to support size attributes on IMG tags, and the image isn't isn't CC-licensed, so I can't resize it myself)

I appreciate the larger size - gives a better perspective on the wave effect. I actually like that a lot.

Edit: Looking at it more, it reminds me of some MC Escher stuff...makes you wonder if your eyesight is messing up, but in a cool way. He drew some things as if they were reflections in a mirrored sphere.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

How involved is Austin in the craft beer industry?

Very

http://www.winemag.com/listicle/grea...n-beer-cities/
http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival...ition/winners/
http://www.craftbeeraustin.com/


However, many (though not all) of the breweries (as compared to brewpubs) in Austin are in the more industrial areas of town.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by claustrum

This one's from the Shoal Creek Conservancy website; don't think it's been posted here before (apologies for the size, but this forum doesn't seem to support size attributes on IMG tags, and the image isn't isn't CC-licensed, so I can't resize it myself):

http://www.shoalcreekconservancy.org...ck-NW-VIEW.jpg

I dusted off my shrink ray for the rendering.

[_Matt]

The street interaction is 10x better than Whole Foods next door. It's really amazing that even with such a large block to work with, they managed to mangle it so badly and put a damper on walking in the area (anybody who has walked in the area will know what I'm talking about). They basically dropped a suburban design on a large downtown lot with little thought to making it pedestrian friendly. Sure, it's a popular destination and you see many people there, but a lot of them are driving, contributing to traffic in the area. It would never pass muster today.

East Side: A long flat wall, with 5 lanes of vehicle entrance/exit. Poor designed sight lines. Have to walk in the lane, through parking garage traffic to enter from this side.
North Side: A friendly looking, but void-of-purpose corner plaza. Two more lanes of vehicle egress (difficult visibility). At least there is a proper walk-up entrance here, but they missed a possibility for pedestrian interaction as it is mostly a wall since the eating area is raised up.
West Side: Disconnected from the building, just a parking lot, more entrances/exits to dodge. This would never be allowed with current urban design practice. Doesn't even have shade down the block. Not a great streets sidewalk.
South Side: Big blank wall, about half of the block has some minor shade, none otherwise, barely hidden loading facilities, more entrances/exits. Peds required to cut through main parking lot entrance to get to store.

[nixcity]

^There was quite a political battle that went into that, but yes, you are right, it has no place downtown....