Founder's Tower is unique in its own I guess. Like Solitude said even if you find it unpleasant it still catches your attention. As most of you know one of the most talked about buildings in Tulsa is the University Club (syringe) Tower. While I am not a big fan of round buildings, especially the two mentioned above, they just seem to jump out at you.

Founder's Tower, Church of Tomorrow, fairground arena, Cocoa Cola bottling plant, Rose Bowl in Tulsa, Harvard Tower in Tulsa, etc, are all iconic of a period in time. It was that period of experimentation with light weight concrete and interesting shapes and a kind of futuristic optimism in the power of science and engineering.

These buildings are iconic because seeing any one of them reminds one not of a place but a time. The Chase (Liberty for me) Tower is like that. Seeing a tall glass tube makes one think of a time more than any specific place.

It is probably impossible for any building to completely escape the imprint of its time. There are those buildings which have managed to represent their places and have survived their times.

I think from what I've read that the ambition for the Devon building is to try to create something more identifiable with its place. I am certain it will be a wonderful structure regardless. But it will take the passing of time before anyone knows if it truly is iconic in that sense. I suspect a sure way to fail at that goal is to establish it as one of the design criteria at the beginning.

Founder's Tower, Church of Tomorrow, fairground arena, Cocoa Cola bottling plant, Rose Bowl in Tulsa, Harvard Tower in Tulsa, etc, are all iconic of a period in time. It was that period of experimentation with light weight concrete and interesting shapes and a kind of futuristic optimism in the power of science and engineering.

These buildings are iconic because seeing any one of them reminds one not of a place but a time. The Chase (Liberty for me) Tower is like that. Seeing a tall glass tube makes one think of a time more than any specific place.

It is probably impossible for any building to completely escape the imprint of its time. There are those buildings which have managed to represent their places and have survived their times.

I think from what I've read that the ambition for the Devon building is to try to create something more identifiable with its place. I am certain it will be a wonderful structure regardless. But it will take the passing of time before anyone knows if it truly is iconic in that sense. I suspect a sure way to fail at that goal is to establish it as one of the design criteria at the beginning.

Well said. I especially liked this:

"It is probably impossible for any building to completely escape the imprint of its time."

So very true.

What if Devon took a more artistic approach like The Blue Tower in Manhattan. I think it'd be cool to add a punch of color to our skyline with multicolored glass windows.

http://architectook.net/wp-content/gallery/blue-tower/Blue%20Tower.jpg

http://architectook.net/wp-content/gallery/blue-tower/Blue%20Tower6.jpg

These colored windows are too 1960's. I think in 10 years people will be saying "What the hell were they thinking". Watch an episode of Sweat Equity on DIY Network and see how many people are pulling those multi colored tiles out of old bathrooms.

I like it. EDIT: A lot.

Watch an episode of Sweat Equity on DIY Network and see how many people are pulling those multi colored tiles out of old bathrooms.

Maybe they do it because it's not avaialble at Home Depot any more, so they think it's not good looking? I don't know. But when all of these people make a similar change at once to their homes like that, all it does is make the preserved places more valuable and more in style. One of the functions of hipness and style is that the more popular it becomes, the less hip it becomes. And everything that is now considered "classic" at one time went out of style. You can pretty much count on it that whatever is most popular at the time is what people will look back on and say "what were they thinking?".

Santa Fe, New Mexico is a good example of a place iconic design which was created with that purpose.

Tetris!!!

It looks to me like a place that bought all of their windows at some discount place and couldn't get colors that match. Now if they went with some kind of gradiant effect that would look cool. Dark at the bottom and lighter as it goes up.

http://chau84.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/swiss-re-sm.jpg
I think something like this would be cool...we don't have a cone building in this part of the country...iconic...multicolored.

BTW, it is the SwissRE building in London.

Another cool building in the same city:

http://z.about.com/d/architecture/1/7/T/j/lloyds.jpg

Seth - I always thought that thing in London looked like it should have come out of Christi's Toy Box...LOL.

Not a fan of the round, but if it's curved, maybe. I don't think anyone here expects a square structure, so we're going to see something at least interesting. Otherwise how would it be "iconic"?

I've always liked the SwissRE building in London, one of my favs. Definitely iconic and different.

SwissRE is really nice, especially close up. The atria that circle up the sides of the building are a great feature making it unique in London, although it does echo the Commerzbank building in Frankfurt.

For OKC though I think this might be just a bit too much. I would love to see a building that fits into the existing surroundings, but STILL stands out for its uniqueness. This sounds contradictory, but IMO is the test of a truly great building.
In other words, classic!

http://chau84.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/swiss-re-sm.jpg
I think something like this would be cool...we don't have a cone building in this part of the country...iconic...multicolored.

BTW, it is the SwissRE building in London.

I'd prefer not to have a 650 foot ***** in downtown OKC. But thats just me...

I'd prefer not to have a 650 foot ***** in downtown OKC. But thats just me...

Where would you prefer it?

I could give you a few ideas, but i think this is a family friendly forum :D

Where would you prefer it?

Funniest thing I heard all day. Thanks, Kerry.

If they build the "Energy Tower" oil derrick. :lame: maybe

Devon should pick a design something like a gas pump shaped building.

:lol2:

Another cool building in the same city:

http://z.about.com/d/architecture/1/7/T/j/lloyds.jpg

What exactly makes a building like this "cool"?

http://chau84.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/swiss-re-sm.jpg
I think something like this would be cool...we don't have a cone building in this part of the country...iconic...multicolored.

BTW, it is the SwissRE building in London.

Yes, the building design inspired by a glass faberge' egg...............Bad Architecture.

It is pretty much the most iconic non-historic building in London.

What exactly makes a building like this "cool"?

If you really have any expertise in architecture, you know how loaded a question like that is.

If you really have any expertise in architecture, you know how loaded a question like that is.

I don't know this building, but it looks like a large scale regurgitation of Richard Roger's and Renzo Piano's Pompidou Center.

Are these expressions of architecture something we want to see in Oklahoma City? A building dropped into the skyline like the alien mothership. The Blue Tower, the SwissRE, the expressed building systems in the other building? Or do we want to see something which responds to the people, the context, Oklahoma City, etc.....?

More loaded questions.

Now this is cool...............

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/gandjdunlap/aerialview.jpg

Weird and shocking seems to me to be the closest we can come to creative and original. Have to come back in 75 or 100 years and see how the buildings we are building today fare. We still have a kind of short term thinking on buildings I think.

I just returned from a trip to take my oldest daughter and her family home to Wheeling, WV. Going we passed through Tulsa, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Columbus. Returning, Columbus, Cincinnati. Louisville, St. Louis, and Tulsa. I saw some very nice skycrapers and skylines. Cincinnati has a very cool looking skyline set on the river and a building that reminded me a lot of our FNC. I looked it up on Emporis, it is the Carew Tower. Two buildings that really stood out as eye-catching, and "iconic" I guess, were the Chase Tower in Indy and the Aegon Center in Louisville. I am computer stupid, or I would post those in pictures. Maybe someone who is computer savy could do that. The most impressive skyline to me, overall, was Columbus. But, I must say, the Aegon Center in Louisville was very, very impressive and immediately draws ones attention.

Cuatro..., that looks like something out of Blade Runner. Very cool building, but a little too imposing for me.

What exactly makes a building like this "cool"?


That building looks unfinished, like it is in the middle of construction. I do not like it.

Now this is cool...............

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/gandjdunlap/aerialview.jpg

That is actually quite impressive. Of-course I think anything that would replace that scandal of a parking garage would be an improvement! When I see the beautiful buildings in historical photos that that horrible thing replaced, I get sick to my stomach at the loss.

Having said that, the building you have really ingeniously patched into the skyline is a bit bulky for my taste. It distracts too much from the views of the fnc. If a skyscraper does eventually replace the parking "carbuncle" I hope it is slimmer and placed slightly to the east.

Sooner8693 I hope this is the two buildings you were talking about.

Chase Tower Indy
http://www.gdilegal.com/images/gdilegal_tower.jpg

Aegon Louisville
http://www.hines.com/toolkit_images/Project%20Photos/AEGON%20Center/%20AEGON%20Center%20Signature_lres_web.jpg

Exactly. Thank you very much.

architect5311 - If that was supposed to new Devon Tower you have it in the wrong place. It needs to go one block West on the Galleria Garage site. Other than that - it is pretty cool.

Now this is cool...............

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/gandjdunlap/aerialview.jpg

My suspicions were confirmed...



lame.

please tell me that's not a leaked rendering...

please tell me that's not a leaked rendering...


It's in the wrong spot, so I doubt it.

if you squeezed up the sides and popped it up another 200', then it would good I think. Not in the location of the photo but in the proposed tower location.

Actually...that is a great spot for a new tower also. Fills in an empty spot in our skyline and replaces a mediocre buiding that shouldn't exist in our downtown. I also like how a tower would hide the ugly backs of the First National Center buildings...

What is that? Did you make that yourself Architect5311?

this is prettty dope... moving skyscraper by those b@st@rds in dubai.

YouTube - The first skyscraper that will be first building in motion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEMktee0JLA)

I hate it...but love it.

Here's one I ran across that looks really nice.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9f/Teninnerharbor.jpg/200px-Teninnerharbor.jpg http://www.arcwheeler.com/projects/414lightstreet/414lightstreet_2_lrg.jpg
10 Inner Harbor

Baltimore, Maryland
59 Floors
$600 Million dollars
1.5 Million square ft
Due to be completed in 2010

10 Inner Harbor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Inner_Harbor)

I think this one would work here.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Dubai plans 'moving' skyscraper (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7472722.stm)

that's amazing.

i'm not a big fan of moving buildings.

i'm not a big fan of moving buildings.

Might put us on the map though.

Might put us on the map though.
most definitely.

i do not know how these buildings work, but the maintenance must be monsterous. i just don't see working in one. if i wanted to work in a moving building (besides your typical sway), i will move to san francisco:)

Might put us on the map though.

Not everything that puts OKC on the map is a good thing.

i.e. Murrah bombing.

I agree with Cuatro. But my opinion is that we are already on the map. I don't need a building to prove that. That building in Baltimore would be great. SLeek and modern.

Usually when I see a giant building go up in another city it represents progress to me. And when people see Devon's tower it will add to the growing list of things going on here that shows out of towners that we are moving forward.

of course we are all ready on the map. most of America knows we are in the state of Oklahoma, but that's it. Cuatrode is right, waite till we build that giant oil dereck over the oklahoma river, that will get peoples attention, and comments. giant buildings going up, up, up is a sign of progress and OKC is on the way.....NBA, Devon tower and who knows what elese. OKC is no denver, houston, st. louis, atlanta as far as being on a map. we need all the help we can get, and a moving building in dt OKC will turn heads.

this is prettty dope... moving skyscraper by those b@st@rds in dubai.

YouTube - The first skyscraper that will be first building in motion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEMktee0JLA)
i guess everyone but cuatro missed this when i posted it a couple weeks ago...

Nope, I saw it. I was going to point out that it was already in the thread, but I decided not to.

Just think, a month from now, we'll have the name/colors of our NBA team, some of the team will be here by then, AND DEVON will have its first renderings of it's new building available. Exciting times ahead!

very exciting indeed!

OKC is definitely on the move, and truly yet ANOTHER Renaissance is just beginning!

Continue the Renaissance!

Yes, some high-profile things coming very soon!

But I still say that the central city passed a critical tipping point just a couple of months ago, with Plaza Court becoming full of tenants and open to the public.

I believe this signals the arrival of that part of town as a true *neighborhood* and that things will really start to snowball in terms of people moving down there and breathing life back into the heart of town.

And the raging success of the business at Plaza Court underscores this point.

Agreed.

that's why I said Oklahoma City is experiencing another Renaissance. This one is 'Welcome to Tier II' of national cities!

It will be very interesting to watch Devon Tower climb into the sky while construction cranes are also performing major surgery on the nearby Ford Center.

Lots of great symbolism there. :)

Are there any new developments with the new tower? Do we have any new information...number of floors, leaks on possible design, etc? Does anyone know when all of this information will finally be released?

according to metro, we should see some renderings in about a month.

Awesome...thanks. I can't wait to see what it's going to look like and how TALL it's going to be! What a great addition to our skyline this will be.