AUSTIN | Aloft Austin & Element Hotel Downtown | 328 FEET | 31 FLOORS | Complete

[myBrain]

I work across the street, here's from the top of my garage:

[Geckos_Rule]

Here is is from around 7th and Red River this evening. Signs look awesome IMO.

[Geckos_Rule]

Here is is from just now, showing the signs on both the south side, and the east side. Sorry for the crappy picture quality as I'm taking this with my phone from Rainey st., but it looks really awesome.

[KevinFromTexas]

I doubt this building will have any decorative lighting. There isn't much to do with that roofline and it would likely distract from the signs.

[drummer]

I like the signs on the glass background.

[We vs us]

Opening is slated for July 27th.

http://austin.culturemap.com/news/tr...hotel-opening/

[Syndic]

So, guys, I didn't get any pictures but this one is pretty much done. They had a bunch of pallets out there yesterday morning so they were stocking it up with stuff. Probably the restaurant. The chairs and tables are all out there now, the sidewalk is open.

It looks beautiful at street level.

[the Genral]

I can get passed the negatives on this building because its such an important add to that area of Congress Ave. But I agree, it probably looks best, and impressive, from street level. I think I need to rent a convertible and cruise downtown in the near future.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by the Genral

I can get passed the negatives on this building because its such an important add to that area of Congress Ave. But I agree, it probably looks best, and impressive, from street level. I think I need to rent a convertible and cruise downtown in the near future.

I could understand the complaints about the design for this building, but there are so many other things they did right, that I can't help but love it. I mean, think about all of the things this building did that we don't see elsewhere:

1. Not 100% blue glass

2. Doesn't take up an entire city block with a parking podium

3. For that matter, doesn't have a parking garage taking up 50% of the building

4. Nice lighting/signs at top of building

5. Has a slightly unique design, even if it's only because it's two colors instead of gray

6. Is built on a thin piece of land, and gives room for more buildings near it.

7. (from renderings and news, at least) seems to have great street-level interaction

8. ???

[Syndic]

Oh yeah, I think the general consensus is that this building is a success, right? I mean, it should be. It's a nice building and interesting to look at. Especially at ground level. Pretty soon, it will be a bustling cafe, right smack dab in the heart of downtown, at 7th and Congress.

I work right across the street so I can take some pictures on Wednesday.

I agree with all of your positives, Geckos. Not taking up too much space is huge for me. Looking at AusTxDevelopment's drone aerial shots got me thinking that Austin isn't going to turn out as dense and vibrant as it could, largely because of the fact that all of these gigantic buildings are being built with huge podiums; be they for parking or something else. In that way, we're still paying for the destruction the automobile wrought upon the urban landscape. And I guess the city council gives 0 fucks to stop it.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by Syndic

Oh yeah, I think the general consensus is that this building is a success, right? I mean, it should be. It's a nice building and interesting to look at. Especially at ground level. Pretty soon, it will be a bustling cafe, right smack dab in the heart of downtown, at 7th and Congress.

I work right across the street so I can take some pictures on Wednesday.

I agree with all of your positives, Geckos. Not taking up too much space is huge for me. Looking at AusTxDevelopment's drone aerial shots got me thinking that Austin isn't going to turn out as dense and vibrant as it could, largely because of the fact that all of these gigantic buildings are being built with huge podiums; be they for parking or something else. In that way, we're still paying for the destruction the automobile wrought upon the urban landscape. And I guess the city council gives 0 fucks to stop it.

Yup, I agree with all of that. Basically, some buildings can take up an entire city block and still be pretty nice (Frost Bank has 90% of one, One Congress Plaza should be awesome once the food court thing gets built). But, for the most part, these huge buildings being built are causing me to think that our skyline is tending towards one like Houston's or Dallas's or Los Angeles's, where there are a lot of tall, cool looking buildings, but still nothing to really do.

Compare that to US Cities with awesome urban centers, like Chicago, NYC, or D.C. These cities certainly have large buildings, but they're few and far between. Building things on smaller pieces of land forces the developer/architect to be more creative with the space, and it lends itself towards more "stuff" in a downtown generally. If every city block in Austin is reserved for a huge building, then there's no room for retail, restaurants, and other stuff that would naturally come after the demand rises.

So for now, it looks like anything that really adds to to livability of downtown is going to need to be planned into the developments from the outset. Unlike in Chicago, DC, or NYC, where a developer could buy a space, and build a grocery store, or 3 small retail stores, there's no room for that in Austin because all of the blocks are already "reserved" for larger developments. I suppose Congress Ave. is really the only exception to this rule, since the blocks are already individually divided up so small, and there's already something built on basically every space there.

EDIT: One Congress Plaza looks cool and should be great for Congress Ave. after the food court thing gets built, but of course I forgot that they actually use 1.5 entire city blocks, since they have that monstrous parking garage right behind it.... And since it's tied to the building, it will basically never become anything more for the next 50 years...

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

2. Doesn't take up an entire city block with a parking podium

3. For that matter, doesn't have a parking garage taking up 50% of the building

I really really hope we start seeing more of this.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

I really really hope we start seeing more of this.

Well we've got "The Avenue" apartments that looks like a good step forward. So the best we can do is hope that's a success...

[Syndic]

[drummer]

^ I really like what they've done with the tables and chairs...upside-down, stacked on top. Very bold.

[JoninATX]

Excited, there's going to be alot more foot traffic once it opens.

[MichaelB]

It's hard to tell in the photos.... but my favorite "moment" is that the glass canopy on the Congress side extends towards the corner of Congress and 7th. Such a friendly gesture
to those waiting for the light to walk. Like seeing that.

[We vs us]

They've definitely been very thoughtful about their street presence. Say what you will about White Lodging builds, between this and the JW they've done quite a bit to bolster Congress Ave street life.

[clubtokyo]

Looks really nice! Cant wait for it to open.

[JoninATX]

Sneak peak at the new Caroline restaurant

Street level


Upstairs




https://austin.eater.com/2017/7/18/1...nt-open-photos