Best of 2000 ~ 2010

[Bigtime]

Calgary is a tough one, I'm not going to include a bunch of our under construction buildings (the Foster designed Bow being #1 in my books) so here is what I come up with:

Centrium Place

Link

Children's Hospital

Link

Bankers Court

Link

Colours Condos

Link

arriVa condos

Link

The Water Centre

Link

Chocolate Condos

Link

Phase I of The Bridges TOD Development

Link

#1 in the 2011-2020 spot, The Bow (will top out Septebmer 2010)

Link

[SouthmoreAve]

1.1500 Louisiana

flickr

2.This building, still dont know the name(middle building)


3.Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza*
flickr Lanny Partain3.


4.The Royalton at River Oaks

flickr

5.Reliant Energy Plaza*

flickr Tom Hayes

6.One Park Place*

HAIF:userChannel2News

7.Harris County Civil Justice Center*


8.Mosaic & Montage


9.707 Texas

*These pictures make the buildings appear shorter than they really are...
Ill probably end up posting better picture, but this is what i came up with...

[JManc]

^ i'd add discovery green, 2727 kirby and that huge development across the street it.

[SouthmoreAve]

Originally Posted by JMancuso

^ i'd add discovery green, 2727 kirby and that huge development across the street it.

2727 Kirby

Swamplot

West Ave



I dont know what picture(s) one can post of Discovery Green, theres just so many....I could start a thread just on pictures of Discovery Green....

[Boquillas]

San Antonio's five (we didn't even have ten)
Tesoro HQ

source

Vistana


Grand Hyatt (even though it's a monster)




The Broadway

source



Vidorra


(pics are mine unless otherwise credited)

[Austinlee]

Haha, i love your framing of this photo:

[kznyc2k]

Originally Posted by Dac150

Other honorable mentions: Bear Stearns HQ, Random House Tower, Skyhouse & Westin Times Square.

The Random House Tower? You gotta be kidding me -- that thing is as mediocre as mediocre gets.

And since you think Skyhouse is "honorable," tell me how that massive blank west wall is honorable.

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by kznyc2k

The Random House Tower? You gotta be kidding me -- that thing is as mediocre as mediocre gets.

And since you think Skyhouse is "honorable," tell me how that massive blank west wall is honorable.

Ok, I'll take a crack at it.

Perhaps Random House is mediocre, but that’s fine, it’s not cheap looking by any means and it added some more depth to the area. I also admire the ‘double façade’ approach; incorporating offices on the bottom portion with luxury apartments on top. So no, it’s not as amazing as its close neighbor Hearst, but at the same time it’s not trying to be anything more that what it really is; and that is decent filler.

As far as Sky House goes, think about it. It’s taking the blank brick wall / brick tenement, which is a Manhattan staple, and turning it into a high-rise. Not the most attractive building when viewed by the masses, but it’s not terribly imposing nor all that hideous. It’s located in a part of town that could use a sprout up here and there, and this one delivered just that. It’s something different and out of the norm.

[kznyc2k]

I realize this is skyscraperpage, but there are so many other non-towering-yet-sizeable projects that deserve mentioning over those two. And not that I think they're super duper un-honorable, just they don't deserve any any kind of recognition what.so.ever.

As far as Sky House goes, think about it. It’s taking the blank brick wall / brick tenement, which is a Manhattan staple, and turning it into a high-rise.

Just because the blank brick wall is a NYC staple (which it most certainly is) doesn't mean it's worth repeating, especially so on that scale. Necessary at times? Yes. Desirable?

[Dac150]

Hey, if you feel that there are others worth mentioning then by all means, don’t be bashful, enlighten. In all honestly I just named a few that came to mind at the time; I know there are a lot more that could be mentioned. But I’ll leave it to you to bring those to the table.

And the red brick curtain wall is most certainly an NYC staple.

[2PRUROCKS!]

My top 10 list for Chicago (this was tuff, there are so many great ones). Sorry no pics, but most of these are already pictured in this thread. I made 3 lists, one for highrises, one for lowrises, and one for public spaces.

I'm not certain about the order, but here it goes:

Highrises
1. Trump Tower Chicago- great height, quality materials and finish, great public space and riverwalk at the base.

2. One Museum Park- unusual design that works IMO, cool crown that looks awesome lit with blue LEDs at night, looks different and good from every angle.

3. Legacy at Millennium Park- Tall, sleek, and fantastic, facadectomny on Wabash works in this case and has been well done.

4. Aqua- Unique, breathtaking design.

5. One Museum Park West- unique design, and good detail, interesting shape that looks different from all angles, the redisgned top looks good from all directions except unfortunatly the most important (the Grant Park, north side).

6. 340 Randolph- Good, solid overall design, Chicago's 1st LEED residential highrise.

7. Hyatt Center- Solid out of the box design for an office building.

8. Parkview West- interesting design and colors, underground parking with a cool park built on top.

9. Softel- Unique design with very good details and finish

10. Erie on the Park- Nice structural expressionism, and transparency.

Honorable Mention- 600 N. Fairbanks, 300 N. Lasalle, 111 S. Wacker, UBS, 155 N. Wacker, Envy, Blue Cross Blue Shield...

Lowrise
1. Art Institute Modern Wing

2. Speritus Institute

3. Soldier Field Renovation- took a little time for me to get use to, but the more I see it the more I like it, was really one of the vanguards of Chicago doing some edgy architecture during this boom, paved the way for Chicago to stop always playing it safe during this boom and start taking some risks.

4. Jahn's State St. Village

5. Jahn's Clyburn SRO

6. IIT Student Center by Koolhas

7. VTD's Blackhawk development on Clyburn

8. Erikson Institute

9. Gang's Columbia College Media Center

10. Jahn's chiller plant on the south east side of the University of Chicago

Public Spaces
1. Millennium Park

2. Northerly Island (it's design isn't final but what already exists is great)

3. Park at Lake Shore East

4. Trump Riverwalk and plaza

5. Riverwalk between Michigan and State

6. Stern's Quarry

7. Museum of Science and Industry lawn, garage, and lakefront connection

8. Park at Parkview West over underground garage

9. Alfred Caldwell Lilly pool in Lincoln Park (maybe this shouldn't count because it was designed and built long ago, but then it fell into disrepair and was turned into a rookery before going through a recent excellent restoration)

10. Pritzker Park

[Tom Servo]

my eleventh:

1401 S STATE





looking at pictures of EnV (vdt's newest hit) made me remember this overlooked gem in the south loop...

[Tom Servo]

also is the room for...

PURE


...i forgot about this one too... i just love it.

and while i'm at it...

DANA HOTEL


although i really didn't like to see the old dana hotel torn down...



...the building turned out to be very nice.

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by 2PRUROCKS!

3. Soldier Field Renovation

oooh yes. for sure a definite hit from this last decade!!

[Nowhereman1280]

Yeah when it comes to low rises Jahn's U of C utility plants are really quite awesome.

The South Campus Chiller Plant is my favorite of the two:


Architectureweek.com

I love how the massing mimics the old plant:


aiachicago.org

Its also a real stunner at night:


aiachicago.org


Have they completed the West Campus Plant yet?


uchicago.edu

Originally Posted by spyguy

I know this is subjective and all, but you really like RD659 that much? Whenever I see it (fairly often) the north and west sides look flat and dull, almost like a suburban office park building. The south side is alright and the balconies are interesting, but that will be partially hidden whenever they develop the lot next door.

Really? I think the North and West sides are beautifully detailed, yet still minimal at the same time. I also have a thing for the alternating balconies on the back side that are very similar to those on 235 Van Buren.

[Bedhead]

Great idea for a thread - in many ways this decade has been the triumph of transparency.

I think London's had its best decade of building for over a century, even without u/c buildings. The gherkin, the millenium bridge and the restoration of St Pancras have been instant classics (I haven't posted pics as they are all shown frequently on this forum). On top of that there has been:

The Grand Court at the British Museum (Foster & Partners):


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/92...3c3d1e41c2.jpg
Kingston Chang, Flickr

Wembley Stadium (Foster & Partners):


http://london.diarystar.co.uk/images...ey-stadium.jpg
London Diary Star

The Laban Dance Centre (Herzog and de Meuron):


http://enabledbydesign.org/lovehates/laban_large_1.gif
Graham Cardiff, Enabled by Design


The Lloyds Register of Shipping (Richard Rogers(which I prefer to the Lloyds of London building - it entrance is set in a beautifully preserved old churchyard, giving the high tech building it a fantastic courtyard)):


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/12/13...514da4f474.jpg
-sou- Flickr

Peckam Library (Will Alsop)


http://static4.venicebiennale.keepth...am_library.jpg
Alsop and Störmer, British Council

There hasn't been so much on the residential side, but two that buck the trend are the Fashion Architecture Taste house in Hackney, providing that PoMo still has some life left in it:


http://www.hughpearman.com/illustrat...tbluehouse.jpg
Hugh Pearman, Gabion

and the Donnybrook Quarter in Bow by Peter Barber Architects:


http://www.peterbarberarchitects.com...20ammended.jpg
Peter Barber Architects


The 2010s promises big skyscrapers and sexy residential towers. Can't wait!

[kznyc2k]

Originally Posted by Dac150

Hey, if you feel that there are others worth mentioning then by all means, don’t be bashful, enlighten

Enlightening commenced!.... in chronological order:

Perry West, Richard Meier, 2002: they started the starchitecture boom in NYC


Link

Time Warner Center, SOM, 2004:


Link

Seven World Trade Center, SOM, 2005: That glass!


Link

Apple Store, 5th Ave, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, 2006:


Link

New York Times Tower, Renzo Piano Workshop, 2007: The only tower in recent memory that IMO truly captures the spirit of Gotham.


Link

25 Bond Street, BKSK Architects, 2008:


Link

15 Central Park West, Robert A.M. Stern, 2008: Glassy towers FTW!


Link

The renaissance of Columbus Circle to Times Square via Broadway, 2005-09: This refers to three separate projects: the new Columbus Circle, the new TKTS Booth and red glass stairway in Duffy Square, and the pedestrianizing of Broadway. By far the greatest improvement to the public realm this decade (and probably more), all three projects have been instant successes with both tourists AND residents (no small feat considering the typical jaded NYer).


Link

Link

Standard Hotel, Polshek Partnership, 2009: Le Corbusier would be proud.


Link

Cooper Union's new building, Morphosis Architects, 2009: Must be seen in person to truly appreciate.


(my picture)

--

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
--The dynamic duo of Frank Gehry's InterActiveCorp HQ and Jean Nouvel's 100 Eleventh Ave

(my picture)

--Bear Stearns HQ

Link

--The Visionaire in BPC

(my picture, doesn't do it justice)

[pico44]

Thats a pretty good list

[pico44]

Here are some of my favorites.

1. NYTT - IMHO, the best skyscraper of the decade.






http://flickr.com/photos/martinrp/2313969853/


2. Cooper Union



Copyright Iwan Baan


3. Vision Machine


http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmanviz...-47438114@N00/


4. HL23


Tectonic @ wiredny


5. Time Warner - Maybe not the most brilliant, but probably the most succesful piece of American architecture in the last decade.


http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chri...nation-edition


6. IAC - Gehry is hit or miss. This is certainly one of his greatest hits.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukonblizzard/3026886471/


7. Hearst


http://www.talmuhanna.com/images/Hearst_Tower2.jpg


8. MOMA


http://www.experientia.com/blog/category/art/page/3/


9. Standard


http://observatory.designobserver.co...tml?entry=5637


10. Trump World Tower


Krull at SSC


Ax SSP

[Tom In Chicago]

^Great stuff from New York. . . there's more where that came from. . . all those Chelsey mid-rise buildings popping up along the High-line are pretty cool. . .

. . .