The long-awaited exterior design of the dunnhumby centre, already under construction Downtown at Fifth and Race streets, will be publicly unveiled for the first time Tuesday.
That’s when dunnhumbyUSA and 3CDC officials will present preliminary plans to the city’s Urban Design Review Board. In an appearance at a Commercial Real Estate Women lunch a couple of months ago, dunnhumbyUSA CEO Stuart Aitken said the company had seen several designs, but they either weren’t right or cost too much money.
Groundbreaking on the project was held in January, and construction is expected to be finished January 2015.
The most striking aspect of the nine-story dunnhumby centre, whose design was finally revealed Tuesday, is a jagged “zipper” of glass cutting through a facade of dark gray concrete and windows on two sides of the building.
“We wanted to show what we do,” Dave Palm, senior vice president of dunnhumbyUSA, said in an interview. “The data we work with with our clients is not symmetrical.”
In addition, Palm said, the “zipper” is made of glass to provide a sense of openness: “We’re not behind a fortress of secrecy.”
I drive by this everyday on my way home from work. It's looking good. I love the structure. I'm going to miss being able to see the interior columns haha. Though not a super tall building it certainly has a presence. So much better than the parking lot that was there before.