AUSTIN | Fairmont Hotel | 595 FEET SPIRE/456 FT ROOF | 37 FLRS | Complete - Page 6

Armybrat · #**101** Posted **Jul 22, 2011, 9:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

I'm hoping this and White Lodging along with the Airport expansion will spur the need for more office highrise construction. All the pieces are coming together for outside businesses to move to Austin who need 4 and 5 star accomodations for their clients and a big enough airport to get them here directly.

That's correct.

I hope ABIA has a plan to build a second terminal that will accommodate the new Boeing 787s and have a real port of entry station for direct foreign flights (Europe, Asia, South America).

Armybrat · #**102** Posted **Jul 22, 2011, 11:04 PM**

I wonder if they'll have some kind of cool club (not nightclub) or restaurant near the top?

It used to be fun going to the Headliner's Club at the top of the old golden American Bank Tower once in a while.

MightyYoda · #**103** Posted **Jul 23, 2011, 7:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Downtown_Austin

I really, really hope the building sports the blue-ish hue depicted in the rendering. The rendering seems to show lots and lots of glass, but it's difficult to tell what's holding that glass in. I will be pissed if this potentially great building turns out to be dominantly brown or beige. Just as I will be pissed if they skimp on the design of cap of the building - that should be as grand as can be.

This design... i'm ambivalent. Sure, the drama of the rendering's perspective had me at hello. As did the alignment with Waller Creek. As did its height.

But, I'm not completely sold on the design. From the few images we have, something about the design just doesn't seem timeless. Maybe it's the slightly trapezoidal floorplate. Maybe it's the slab between each floor, louvered, ribbed, and non-functional... similar to futuristic designs from the '50s. It's got a slightly retro-Jetson's thing going on.

I'm definitely optimistic, but I'm eager to see more renderings and models.

Finally created an account! I have looked at the second renderings in more detail and the second fox image shows a curve to the building if you look closely. Part of the first image may be the upwards/dramatic angle. If you compare the perspectives, everything lines up and it seems to only have the curve on one side. I do agree the building looks slightly bulkier in the low quality renderings and hopefully height is not reduced or could make that worse. It is hard to say how it will look when it is finished, but I don't think the design has been changed and at least they want it to be "architecturally" significant. My greatest concern is if they cut height or "forget" the green roofs.

KevinFromTexas · #**104** Posted **Jul 24, 2011, 8:26 PM**

Use your private messages.

KevinFromTexas · #**105** Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 10:51 PM**

I've been thinking about the height of this building. I recently emailed Shonda Novak at the American-Statesman. She does most of the development related articles. I was asking her if she'd heard anything official about the height. She said all she's heard is 45 to 50 floors.

I was thinking about Los Angeles' Ritz-Carlton Hotel that is part of their convention center. It is also designed by Gensler, as Austin's new hotel will be. That hotel is 663 feet tall with 54 floors. I figured the floor-to-floor heights should be similar for both hotels. So taking the numbers from LA's hotel, it is 663 feet with 54 floors.

So 663 feet /54 floors =12.2777778 feet per floor.

So if it's 45 floors, it would still be pretty tall.

12.2777778*45 floors=552 feet to the roof. The spire seems to be between 150 and 200 feet tall, so even if it's only 150 feet tall, the building will still be 702 feet tall.

And if it turns out that it is 51 floors as the original rendering suggestions, it'll be considerably taller.

12.2777778*51 floors = 626 feet to the roof + a 150 foot spire = 776 feet

Someone on the forum mentioned they thought the spire might be as tall as 180 feet. If the building ends up being 626 feet to the roof as my numbers above indicate, then it could be 806 feet to the spire.

By the way, 626 feet to the roof would put it only 4 feet lower than the main roof of the Austonian.

And here is the construction thread for the LA hotel. It's a really nice building, and was the tallest building LA has seen since the early 90s. Notice that the building hosts two different hotel chains. A Ritz-Carlton and a JW Marriott. One of the articles for the Austin hotel mentioned it will have two hotels in the building. So this LA hotel is a good hint at what we might see.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=129618

wwmiv · #**106** Posted **Jul 27, 2011, 12:41 AM**

That building is one of my favorite designs ever. Up with London's Gherkin, NYC's BoA Tower, and Barcelona's Torre Agbar.

KevinFromTexas · #**107** Posted **Aug 24, 2011, 7:15 PM**

I sent an email to Gensler asking about the heights. They said the building is still in the design phase and that they wouldn't want to release any specific height details until the design is finalized. They asked that I check back in a few weeks.

JAM · #**108** Posted **Aug 25, 2011, 4:18 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I sent an email to Gensler asking about the heights. They said the building is still in the design phase and that they wouldn't want to release any specific height details until the design is finalized. They asked that I check back in a few weeks.

lol.... are these two hotels waiting for the other one to announce final height and then add something at the last minute like the did in NYC in the early part of the twentieth century...

Jdawgboy · #**109** Posted **Aug 25, 2011, 10:12 PM**

Well we know the Marriott is not going to be anything to sneeze about as far as height so I doubt that the Manchester project even cares what White Lodging does.

KevinFromTexas · #**110** Posted **Aug 29, 2011, 7:58 PM**

Ok, I got an email back this morning from someone at Gensler about the height. Some interesting info about it.

First, the heights.

It's planned to have 50 floors at this point, not 51 as I had counted.

It will be 600 feet to the very top of the roof and 554 feet to the main roof. The podium area, that is the lower section of the building that covers the whole block, it will be 105 feet tall.

She said there will be a "skydeck" on the 33rd floor at 375 feet above the street. So I guess maybe they're planning an observation deck of some kind.

I asked about the height of the spire, too, and she said at this point they're not sure if they'll keep the spire because the client is wanting a helipad. So that's interesting. It's unfortunate that the spire would go away, but that would be interesting to see helicopters landing atop the hotel. I'm assuming the new Formula 1 race track had something to do with this, since the track promoters were saying one of the preferred methods of transportation to and from the track would be helicopter ferries.

wwmiv · #**111** Posted **Aug 29, 2011, 8:15 PM**

600 feet is not bad. A little bit shorter than we thought it was going to be to the roof, but not bad. They're probably going to scrap the spire in light of that information.

BevoLJ · #**112** Posted **Aug 29, 2011, 8:58 PM**

That is to bad about the spire, although the helipad does make a lot of sense, so I can understand that. But a spire on there would have been very very cool.

KevinFromTexas · #**113** Posted **Aug 29, 2011, 9:16 PM**

That's actually about what I had expected to the roof. Between 550 and 600 feet. If they keep the spire it would be close to 800 feet. We had measured the spire to be about the height of 15 floors. Each floor apparently has 12 feet, so that would put the spire at around 180 feet - so roughly 780 with the spire.

If they can get clearance for the helipad from the FAA they'll probably go for it. It could also depend on whether or not they have helipads at the F1 track. I can't imagine why they wouldn't have them, and they'll need at least one for medical emergencies at the track.

BevoLJ · #**114** Posted **Aug 29, 2011, 9:26 PM**

I think I read they are going to have 6 helipads at the track.

The ATX · #**115** Posted **Aug 29, 2011, 10:29 PM**

A sleek glass 600 footer so close to I35 will look great. I don't see a spire happening because we are at the point of congestion where helipads on tall buildings are desireable.

Jdawgboy · #**116** Posted **Aug 30, 2011, 6:55 PM**

While not what I was hoping for as far as height, at least it will be another 600 footer. The Austonian will continue to be the tallest for now. Now looking on to T Stacy and the County Courthouse Block for some super height...

Spaceman · #**117** Posted **Aug 31, 2011, 12:00 AM**

T. Stacy ???

BevoLJ · #**118** Posted **Aug 31, 2011, 12:05 AM**

At this point, I have more faith in Travis County building at 71 story tower than T. Stacy building that project. That in itself should suggest it is next to zero. lol.

But there is always hope, and one never knows. I mean F1 in Austin? Who would have guessed that one? =)

Anyone heard the rumor that the Green Bay Packers were moving to Austin? I kid! I kid!

Jdawgboy · #**119** Posted **Sep 1, 2011, 4:22 AM**

Either way wether its T.Stacy or some other unknown future project, Austin will get something over 700 feet, and likely in less than 10 years.

The ATX · #**120** Posted **Sep 1, 2011, 6:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Either way wether its T.Stacy or some other unknown future project, Austin will get something over 700 feet, and likely in less than 10 years.

We shouldn't even bother mentioning T. Stacy around here any more. His project was announced in 2004 before all of the other projects built during the boom were even proposed. The fact that it wasn't built during the boom years makes it nothing more than a developers old wet dream. (ie., bed spread stain.)

But I must say, Jdawgboy, I really like the eternal optimism of your posts over the past few years.