PHILADELPHIA | American Commerce Center | 1,510' Pinnacle / 1,210' Roof | 63 FLOORS - Page 65

apetrella802 · #**1281** Posted **Feb 3, 2009, 3:05 AM**

from 1985 to 1991 Phila built 6 skyscapers

Orion1 · #**1282** Posted **Feb 6, 2009, 10:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photolitherland

^^^
The Chicago Spire office building? lol The guy who wrote this doesnt know his facts, anyways, the spire is dead most likely. I really hope this tower gets built. What an exciting time for Philly! If I were from there Id be super excited! Im just sort of excited about this one lol

Love your signature line!!
In total agreement.

citywarrior · #**1283** Posted **Feb 7, 2009, 6:03 PM**

exited about having it in the ciity, but can we every get something taller than 70 floors built in philly? its kind of annoying after a while

pwp · #**1284** Posted **Feb 7, 2009, 6:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by citywarrior

exited about having it in the ciity, but can we every get something taller than 70 floors built in philly? its kind of annoying after a while

HA, true. But I'd take 1,500 ft even if it had one freakin' floor!

Thymant · #**1285** Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 6:37 AM**

Wait a minute hold on, hold on, what do you mean the spire is most likley dead? It is suffering due to the economy at worst it is going to stay on hold untill it gets proper financing. Besides the ACC is less likley to happen than the CS, but I really want them both to be built and I think this is a really nice tower.

Plompy Lfeata · #**1286** Posted **Feb 9, 2009, 3:55 AM**

whether its dead or not. i was thinking that i would rather see two 750' towers than one 1500' one. i know it wouldnt give us bragging rights, but two creative smaller towers would bring our skyline the fill it needs to be able to take a large tower, im afraid if it were to be built now it may make the skyline look out of proportion. also it would allow them too be built in stages, so maybe one could be getting underway now.

just something i was thinking about, dont mean to upset anyone by it

NYC2ATX · #**1287** Posted **Feb 9, 2009, 3:50 PM**

chill plompy, I actually think that's very logical. I was in Philadelphia about two weeks ago and I was floored by how, from some angles, compact (almost ridiculously so) the skyline was. Because Comcast and the Liberty Place towers are so close to eachother and all of the other major presences in the skyline are also close by...it gives the impression that the entire downtown core only covers about 8 or 10 square blocks. (maybe it does, anyone? help me out here.)

.....the skyline ALREADY looks out of proportion. Anyone whose taken the R7 from Trenton into 30th Street, tell me you don't feel the same way when you look out the window. I mean, at the same time, I was definitely floored by the skyline and I think it is something that is unique to Philadelphia (great city btw, all you natives, I'm definitely coming back again soon.), but I can't help but wonder if the ACC will take Philly's skyline from unique to downright silly-looking. It's a risk I'd like to see though...maybe it will be a catalyst to more skyscrapers for a city in that would then be in still more desperate need of infill.

JDRCRASH · #**1288** Posted **Feb 9, 2009, 7:46 PM**

Tall is good. But density is important, too.

hammersklavier · #**1289** Posted **Feb 9, 2009, 8:10 PM**

...Which is why I like this design. It's cramming as much density as possible into that key Center City parking lot. If I may direct your attention to its surroundings...? Immediately to its south are the Sterling and Kennedy House, both Soviet-bloc style apartment buildings; to its east are Arch Street Presbyterian Church, the Comcast Center, and the small lot allocated to build 2 Pennsylvania Plaza; to its southeast is the Mellon Bank Building and Penn Center; to its north is 1 and 2 Logan Square and the Bell Atlantic Tower (once their corporate HQ); to its north-northwest is the Logan Square neighborhood; and to its west is a no-man's-land of lofts, surface lots, and random towers that characterizes western Center City, the district's current direction of growth (some of those towers: Murano, Cira, for example, are pretty new).

This is quite possibly the second-highest-density buildable lot in Center City (after 1441 Chestnut but before the Disney Hole and 1300 Market).

skyscraper · #**1290** Posted **Feb 9, 2009, 8:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Tall is good. But density is important, too.

"I am your density."

buildup · #**1291** Posted **Feb 10, 2009, 12:15 AM**

There are some odd views to our skyline. I think this is part of what StatenIslander237 is saying. The taller towers line up diagonally looking toward the southeast or northwest. For example, from the Art Museum Two Liberty is blocked by One Liberty and Citizens Bank blocks One Liberty. And Comcast is mostly blocked by Verizon. The ACC will stand alone from this point of view. The skyline looks the best looking due north or south and looking southwest.

Don098 · #**1292** Posted **Feb 10, 2009, 12:40 AM**

I dunno, I'm not terribly worried about the scale, because it's only going to be like 200 feet taller than the Comcast building in actual girth. This thing is not going to look 1500 tall, and it's going to be rather slender for a building of this magnitude. I actually think building this building anywhere OTHER than where it's proposed would suddenly make the ACC look horribly out of scale, and this is why.

The Comcast Center's addition really began the bridge from the tall to supertall. Liberty One is kind of stubby in relation to it because only the spire is at what, 950 feet? Comcast's entire girth goes up to 975 making it a much more imposing structure. The surrounding buildings also give the Comcast Center aesthetic support, they create a visual crescendo that gives the whole area a transitional scale. Comcast Center looks like it needs something above it to announce the end of the skyline, and it gives support for the next height scale of the ACC. Just look at the renderings, the building does not look ridiculous at all. Some angles are going to look odd because we have such a thin skyline (it's not arranged in a circular pattern when looked at from above...it's all within a straight line which makes the skyline look huge from some angles (say from the NW and SW and relatively pathetic from others (directly viewing from the east or west).

I think this building gives the city the final threshold of scale which 700 footers would fill in nicely. If we had an overload of 700 footers with the comcast center as the highest point, I think the skyline would look very truncated and it would beg the question, "where's the satisfactory visual climax in that city?"

But let's take a step back for a minute and remember the frustrating 90s where very little happened in the way of skyscraper construction in Philadelphia, and those 7 years it took to build Comcast. We used to imagine if the day ever come for something over 1000 feet, and I get the feeling that a number of forumers here experiencing a little bit of "be careful what you wish for". I think in the end this thing is going to be a huge boost for the city, and let's be thankful that we're one of the few cities in America where their prized construction project is still (by all observed, reported and documented measures) full speed ahead. Chicago can't say that. Just go over to the Spire thread and read some of the comments. The defensiveness on there is really something to behold, and I don't blame them. The Spire is simply awe-inspiring. Well, at least on paper...

3rd&Brown · #**1293** Posted **Feb 10, 2009, 2:01 AM**

i'm not opposed to height...but i agree with plompy too. i'd rather see two 750 or so foot towers than this thing. it is going to be incredibly out of scale and it is too close to comcast physically and visually. this would be like putting the empire state building and the new freedom tower right across the street from each other. it's silly. and i think the spire looks gimmicky. i do like the base of the building hower...even though many don't. it will provide a lot of vibrancy at street level.

WonderlandPark · #**1294** Posted **Feb 10, 2009, 2:29 AM**

^^ Well, you don't have to worry, it isn't getting built in this economy.

a chicago bearcat · #**1295** Posted **Feb 10, 2009, 3:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WonderlandPark

^^ Well, you don't have to worry, it isn't getting built in this economy.

agreed

a building that stands 15,010 ft tall called the American Commerce Center, being built at a time when American Commerce resembles the hole that the Chicago Spire is right now would be IRONIC.

Ninjawho · #**1296** Posted **Feb 10, 2009, 3:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by a chicago bearcat

agreed

a building that stands 15,010 ft tall called the American Commerce Center, being built at a time when American Commerce resembles the hole that the Chicago Spire is right now would be IRONIC.

15,010 ft! Wow that sure is TALL! It really sounds like you know a lot about this project! And really really really tall buildings! I trust you!