PHILADELPHIA | River Walk | Two Towers | 363 FT & 315 FT | 32 FLOORS & 28 FLOORS

[City Wide]

Just as a voice calling out in the wilderness---------

Until concrete trucks pull up to pour the foundations, I will still hope that the building gods will have pity on us and somehow cause this typically poor PMC project to be redesigned, top to bottom.

But I won't be holding my breath!

I'm one of the minority that thinks the parking lot and the potential for something special to be built here is much, much better then the latest junk to come from PMC. Its almost like no one in the company cares about design, or their concerns are for very mediocre design, in which case they reach their goals time and time again.

[iheartphilly]

This spot deserves a bold design because it's in a high profile/visible area. But they are at a price point that gives the usual bland box design IMHO.

[McBane]

Where are the latest renderings? Not on page 1.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by McBane

Where are the latest renderings? Not on page 1.

I've managed to dig up this rendering of Building A, Building B is almost identical:



http://www.iconarchive.com/download/...ding-black.ico

[Jawnadelphia]

https://philly.curbed.com/2016/11/28...mc-information

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

https://philly.curbed.com/2016/11/28/13762610/river-walk-towers-schuylkill-gensler-pmc-information[/URL]

The first paragraph from the "curbed" article is classic architect speak, lots of words that generally have absolutely no basis in reality. (don't get me wrong, I appreciate what a good architect can bring to a project, but being a good architect doesn't always mean what you design is any good)

Finished projects generally don't look as good as the architects renderings. I hope that's not the case with these buildings. Please god, make them go away.

[1487]

no permits showing up for this yet. Let's see what happens come september

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by McBane

Where are the latest renderings? Not on page 1.

When I'm not as busy as I've been, I'll make sure the renderings are showing on Page 1 of ever thread.

[Gonzo the Great]

Originally Posted by summersm343

When I'm not as busy as I've been, I'll make sure the renderings are showing on Page 1 of ever thread.

I sure hope , covering those ugly ass train tracks is in the proposal

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by Gonzo the Great

I sure hope , covering those ugly ass train tracks is in the proposal

Don't hold your breath.

[700 Level]

I think the crowd is being a little too rough on this design. This is a patch of Center City that has sat underutilized for decades. This project brings more density to the neighborhood and adds to the midrise lined east bank of the Schuylkill. I like it a lot, and of all the proposals floating around out there, this one is near the top of my list of projects that I would like to see completed.

[Jawnadelphia]

As far as the east bank of the river... why settle for mid-rise mediocrity when Philly once dreamed of--


http://ilovebricks.blogspot.com/2015...-on-river.html

and


http://www.richardmeier.com/?project...eville-place-2
----------

[1487]

if no one will finance such proposals it really doesn't matter how many cool renderings were developed. It's not settling, it's moving forward with something than get financed and built.

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by 1487

if no one will finance such proposals it really doesn't matter how many cool renderings were developed. It's not settling, it's moving forward with something than get financed and built.

Exactly, demand ultimately determines all.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by 1487

if no one will finance such proposals it really doesn't matter how many cool renderings were developed. It's not settling, it's moving forward with something than get financed and built.

Bullshit! Again, I suggest that you don't be so narrow.

Yes its true that PMC or whoever can only build what they can afford, but design is not as simple as going to some book someplace and punching in a dollar cost that you are willing to work with and other factors ($80M, 150 units, 40 parking spots, and a 100K sq.ft. total space) and out pops a design. But good design and the better architects can sometimes find creative ways to take those same factors and make some magic from them. The developer also has to be open to being creative.

And please, lets be honest, if PMC ends up with a project that has better then "C-" design its only by complete accident. Their track record speaks for itself. I appreciate that they do get projects built, that they are very steady and I suppose, successful builders. They are seemingly good at what they do. I just wish that they would push themselves to work harder on the design end of their projects; especially this one.

Now, let the argument begin!

[El Duderino]

guys, can we seriously stop with this shit? message each other in private and stop taking over every board.

[Knight Hospitaller]

A large portion of my feed these days is taken up by entries that say "This message is hidden because [insert name here] is on your ignore list." When it comes to posts on this site, my tastes are similar to those of my younger children with respect to books: I like them with pictures (or at least discussion actually relevant to the thread).

[Jawnadelphia]

PMC owns so many buildings in this city... yet, their new construction sure makes them look like a start up or something. That's all I meant by settling. They could certainly afford to design something a little bolder, daring.. look at what Brown Hill did with 'the bridge' and they aren't some huge development firm.

[1487]

Originally Posted by City Wide

Bullshit! Again, I suggest that you don't be so narrow.

Yes its true that PMC or whoever can only build what they can afford, but design is not as simple as going to some book someplace and punching in a dollar cost that you are willing to work with and other factors ($80M, 150 units, 40 parking spots, and a 100K sq.ft. total space) and out pops a design. But good design and the better architects can sometimes find creative ways to take those same factors and make some magic from them. The developer also has to be open to being creative.

And please, lets be honest, if PMC ends up with a project that has better then "C-" design its only by complete accident. Their track record speaks for itself. I appreciate that they do get projects built, that they are very steady and I suppose, successful builders. They are seemingly good at what they do. I just wish that they would push themselves to work harder on the design end of their projects; especially this one.

Now, let the argument begin!

most modern apt buildings are not inspiring. Not in Philly, not in other US cities. Just the way it is right now. So I don't think PMC is some evil entity that thrives on delivering boring new buildings. They are just a regular developer out to make money. You have a minority of developer that are willing to do the extra mile in terms of design- and often that is based on what is near the new building. Not much of major architectural significance near this building.

[McBane]

Of course, it's no Mandeville Place. There hasn't been a proposal as awesome (height and design-wise) as Mandeville Place since.....Mandeville Place. That was (unfortunately) a rare gem. One of us will become incredibly wealthy and build it, right?

As far as this pair of towers, not bad. At least it's oriented so that the wide part is not blocking the river. Unlike 2400 Chestnut and 2400 Market. That's really all you can ask for especially since this is PMC.