Whoever reading this site that threatened Big Gene for posting here is a jackass. You know it and now we all know it.

http://imgs.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/ybenjamin/2010/02/25/big-brother-is-watching-you1.jpg

http://imgs.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/ybenjamin/2010/02/25/big-brother-is-watching-you1.jpg

Those aren't birds nesting, their surveillance devices disguised as birds.

At least you do describe yourself properly by name...you are hip...

Yeah I know...if people disagree with you..you start attacking them - I've already seen that.

Gene that sucks and am sorry that happened the way it did. Drunk Supers are horrible on a job site and can at best ineffective, at worst cause serious danger to self or worse others who are working there.

Years ago prior to completing my architecture degree I was a project manager for Sprint PCS putting up cell towers. One of my first sites was fraught with problems and the contractor tried to pull a fast one and pour a 11' dia. pier that was 44 ft. deep without me there. He was supposed to give me 24 hour notice prior to the pour but called me 20 minuted prior to when they were to begin pouring concrete. I was pissed and made them hold till I got there and left for Galveston from the Woodlands. When I got there the Super was flat out inebriated and was slurring his speech and was staggering around. Everything on the site was chaos, The steel reinforcing cage was sitting in 1'-0" deep mud, the Back hoe had a flat and was trying to pull itself out with its bucket, the pick crane on site contacted the neutral line on overhead transmission lines, they were trying to get away with not using a caisson as required in the Geo-technical report, and the site was at sea level or slightly below so the water table was just below the surface. Concrete trucks had been sitting longer than they should and the super was trying to convince me that they could just add water to the mix and it would be fine. Yeah right, so I rejected three truck loads, at the contractors expense, the sides of the hole kept caving in due to the ground water and the sandy conditions and lack of caisson...I could go on and on!!!!

After the whole ordeal was over and it was about 11:30 PM and since it was wet concrete and an open hole, OSHA required that it be supervised and fenced off until sufficiently cured. He was trying to leave and I caught up to him and informed him that he was required to stay and watch the hole and that if anything happened he was going to be personally responsible for it. I then called his boss the next day and informed him what was going on and needless to say he was quickly removed from the company.

Man alive!!! I laugh about it now, and in hindsight I learned a great deal from it, but at the time I swore that that day aged me 10 years!

Alcohol belongs no where on a construction site.

Good luck in all your future endeavors and I hope that you are successful in making OKC your home! Sorry that the politics reared their ugly heads, there is nothing more frustrating...Let us know where you end up!

Cool it! We don't need fight outbreaks. Back to topic.

Is there an underground parking? Or if the parking garage is enough, then what is the basement for?

Gene, that was VERY WRONG of Cruz to do that. I would like to see hundreds of people here in OKC to form a protest and demand Cruz to be fired. Also demand for you to be given the job back. Have you tried speaking to any Devon officials? 32 years experience and he just fires you like that... Did anyone get fired for that crane toppling few months ago? Didn't see any mention of that.

So you can't have any recording or photographic device, but you do have every right to be a member on this forum and post in this topic regarding the construction. Most of us know just about everything. You can discuss and such. There is nothing wrong with that. So, whoever threatened you is an idiot.

I am sure they used the crane excuse to get you gone, because those bastards know you are a member here. I will give the construction company an official F grade.

I hope officials at Devon are made aware of this. We can't have a drunk supervising the construction of a 50-story tower. That's bad news. This is a tight 24-hour schedule and they cannot afford to have people like that coordinating construction.

I got something good coming up soon...
You would have seen me on the web cam.

Someone ask for a closeup of those glass panels? :)


http://vimeo.com/14445489

Great video, thanks.

Someone ask for a closeup of those glass panels? :)


http://vimeo.com/14445489

I had to join since no one is asking......can we have a closeup of the panels!!!!!!!!

UnFrSaKn, that video is amazing! Just like the other two. If you haven't already I really think you should create an account for Skyscraperpage and Skyscrapercity and post these videos in the Devon Tower Construction threads! Great exposure and gives the posters following the construction over there some more interesting updates than the sporadic ones they get now. :P

Feel free to embed the videos where ever you see fit. I get statistics on Vimeo what country it was and the numbers.

Fantastic video UnFrSaKn! Thanks so much.


The glass panel on the building looks more blue/green and transluscent than the glazing used on the parking structure. Does it appear that way in person?

I got a windscreen yesterday for my external mic. So no more wind noise.

UnFrSaKn, Thanks again for the great video!!! I know that at least quite a few of us have been unable to access this site for the past couple of days. Something to do with the compression rate on the server or some such. It finally got fixed this afternoon so I am just now getting to see this! Great stuff thanks for taking the time to shoot that great video. I am going to have to watch that one several times to take it all in!

Looks great on a 55'' LED with the original 1080p video. :)

This thing is moving along quite nicely :)

NE side of the tower...
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll14/Platemaker_photos/082610a.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll14/Platemaker_photos/082610b.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll14/Platemaker_photos/082610c.jpg

The entire building will be covered with SMALL glass panes?!

Seems to me they alternate between square and larger rectangles.

Fantastic Video! Best yet. I really enjoyed it all. Thanks so much!

A few from tonight. They had 3-4 pallets of glass inside on the 3rd floor ready to install.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_CEoXlIKrtDY/THiAhG1bwiI/AAAAAAAAAB8/hoHLqN82wyc/s512/IMG_20100827_193026.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_CEoXlIKrtDY/THiBveBIWsI/AAAAAAAAACY/rjt_Y6j8Nec/s640/IMG_20100827_193057.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_CEoXlIKrtDY/THiCBFSUC2I/AAAAAAAAACc/tBqfJw7ud38/s640/IMG_20100827_193107.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_CEoXlIKrtDY/THiCI6iP8HI/AAAAAAAAACk/vzvXrlqOeAs/IMG_20100827_193133.jpg

Seems to me they alternate between square and larger rectangles.

Platemaker: Those photos made my night! Thanks for that!!!

Thunder the glazing is a lot larger than it looks from the angle of the shots, it is the ole' scale illusion, working against you. They are employing a mullion pattern that breaks it up. At the floors they use whats called spandrel glass. It is an opaque glass that is reflective and made to look the same color as the regular glass but that has either a vitreous frit or coating to hide the floor plates and the unseemly appearance of the sealant and fire stopping at the slab edge and the curtain wall framing. You can see it slightly in the first and third shot that Platemaker so graciously provided. Notice how you can see the re-shoring behind the glass and then at the floor slab area, (smaller panes) they are no longer visible.

I don't think you will have any complaints with the glazing once more of it is up and you can see the larger intent of the designers selections.

Kinggober fantastic shots as always what a rare treat it is to have so many dedicated folk who are willing to provide the imagery that makes this forum so unique and enjoyable!

sorry to hear gene. There are tons of construction opportunities in state right now, so hopefully you can find a new job here sometime soon. With 32 years of construction/crane experience you'd probably be near or at the top of the interview list at any construction company you apply for.


thanks guys.... I appreciate the support. Im sure something will come up soon. Just had to vent and get it off my chest. Just going to enjoy a week off and the holiday, then get serious about finding something here. Hope everyone else has a great holiday weekend!!!!

Ps....the window panels i had been unloading so far were all 25' panels.

More windows.... about midnight last night...
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll14/Platemaker_photos/Photo0753jpgPhoto0753.jpg
For size comparison.... that is a person at the top left of the window.

Very neat, thanks for all of the pictures!

Forms started on the 10th floor.

Forms started on the 10th floor.

Yep, they were doing that yesterday. Sorry, couldn't help myself...

I don't think I mentioned a specific time when they started.... No one else pointed it out so I thought I would. What's so wrong about that?

Wow such a nicely detailed and articulated framing/glazing system with the vertical fins and horizontal element..........1st class all the way.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/gandjdunlap/082610c.jpg

Wow such a nicely detailed and articulated framing/glazing system with the vertical fins and horizontal element..........1st class all the way.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/gandjdunlap/082610c.jpg

Does anyone know if the small, thin, white tube looking parts might be for lighting?

Does anyone know if the small, thin, white tube looking parts might be for lighting?

God, lets hope!!!!!!!

If I were a to hazard a guess, I would instead of the tuble like structures, (which of course could be a possibility although I would be skeptical of how that would look visually overall) I would guess that it was more likely the vertical glass fins that you see in the image above. They could use LED or fiber optics and run the fiber vertically and it would illuminate the fins all the way up. That said, would love to see what the lighting consultant on this project has in mind and thier model to see its impact on the night skyline. (Ahhh if wishes were ponies....) I just want this buildings lighting scheme to be dramatic yet classy so as not to totally over power the rest of the city, but compliment and augment what we have. I have high hopes on this one!

Does anyone know if the small, thin, white tube looking parts might be for lighting?

I don't know, but what I do know is that if they're just metal then that French guy is probably planning to come over to OKC and climb the tower!

And Skywest, I was only kidding. They'll start 11 this Saturday...

I just want this buildings lighting scheme to be dramatic yet classy so as not to totally over power the rest of the city, but compliment and augment what we have. I have high hopes on this one!

But Oklahoma City has virtually nothing now. A simple strand of Christmas lights would over power most of downtown OKC.

But Oklahoma City has virtually nothing now. A simple strand of Christmas lights would over power most of downtown OKC.

I don't quite agree with you on this. First National Center with its well done lighting that can be changed to Thunder Blue, or Christmas Themed Red and Green is always nice and adds color to the Downtown Skyline at night. Also the Chace Tower with its corner lights almost make the buildings form apear to change from its extruded rectalinear form to an almost tapered effect at night, again very unique in the skyline, washing the edges of the building. Even Sandridges building (Kerr tower) with the even wash of ultra bright light actually makes that building look alive and more current than it appears in daylight. Then with the addition of Devon I think it will add substanially. My point was that we don't need to try and out do the Dallas Skyline with one building. I favor a well done and appropriate lighting scheme that will compliment the class of design and contribute to the emerging and uniqe skyline that is OKC. There will be others coming to the neighborhood, we definately don't need neon tracers on every building to have a great impact on the skyline.

Also the Banc First has some nice LED lighting at a lower level.

Don't forget the "old" Devon sign on the current HQ building. It changed colors with the season/occasion.
Could even have motion added to the color changes.

It is cool to see the formwork going up for the Lower level 1 (basement) on the NW side of the tower I would imagine this will lead the way for the podium building to begin to extend further westward. Would love to see some shots of the glazing work that was completed over the weekend if any. Nice to see them working on the 10th floor!

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/webcam/DevonConstructionCam.jpg

I notice the floors are shorter now. Why are they doing this? This shortens the height of the tower. :-(

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/webcam/DevonConstructionCam.jpg

I notice the floors are shorter now. Why are they doing this? This shortens the height of the tower. :-(

Their working on the standard office floors now, no point in having wasted space.

Their working on the standard office floors now, no point in having wasted space.

How tall is the standard height?

Thunder. It does not shorten the tower height, the forms are supposed to get shorter for the office floors. It's still at 850'.

Thunder. It does not shorten the tower height, the forms are supposed to get shorter for the office floors. It's still at 850'.

I'm saying if they stick with the same height for all floors then it could easily be over 900'. Just don't like lowered ceilings. But I guess they prefer to touch the ceilings easily with their hands.

How tall is the standard height?

I think its about 12 ft with the suspended ceiling. The height of the entire floor is 16ft. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is slightly above average.

If they kept going with the original height, every floor would have 16' ceilings, which makes no sense. once the load-bearing (taller) floors are done, they can make all the floors have 10' ceilings which is normal for an office.

I'm saying if they stick with the same height for all floors then it could easily be over 900'. Just don't like lowered ceilings. But I guess they prefer to touch the ceilings easily with their hands.

Thunder that makes no design sense. The larger height for the lower 6 floors is for the rotunda because it is going to be a large open space. Of course the height of the tower can surpass 900' if all the floors were hugely spaced but that doesn't mean it's going to cost the same not to mention the increased heating/cool costs.

Well, since Devon produce natural gas, don't they have free gas to heat the building?

Can we implement an IQ test qualifying people to post on here?

Can we implement an IQ test qualifying people to post on here?

LOL! That's great!!!

I'm saying if they stick with the same height for all floors then it could easily be over 900'. Just don't like lowered ceilings. But I guess they prefer to touch the ceilings easily with their hands.


Well, since Devon produce natural gas, don't they have free gas to heat the building?
Wow, I haven't had to track down this image in a while. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/Mad_Monk/Smileys/icon_lol.gif
http://www.redstate.com/neil_stevens/files/2009/09/doublefacepalm.jpg

Well, since Devon produce natural gas, don't they have free gas to heat the building?

Is that a serious question?

Its not free it takes energy and resources to get that oil and natural gas out of the ground. Even if they had a ridiculous amount of money to spend cooling and heating 18ft high floors, one of their PR goals is to look environmentally friendly.


Here is a quote for you Thunder:

"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."- Antoine de Saint-Exupry

You have completely misunderstood. I am not talking about the cost and resources to drill for oil and natural gas. I am talking about the standard bill that we all receive to pay for the use of gas. Devon don't have to pay for the use of gas. Just to make myself clear to jn1780, Devon do not send a bill out in the mail to Devon for gas bill.

You have completely misunderstood. I am not talking about the cost and resources to drill for oil and natural gas. I am talking about the standard bill that we all receive to pay for the use of gas. Devon don't have to pay for the use of gas. Just to make myself clear to jn1780, Devon do not send a bill out in the mail to Devon for gas bill.

Ever heard of OGE? Devon does not have a dedicated gas line from their well going to the Devon Tower. This is such juvenile logic Thunder.

Ever heard of OGE? Devon does not have a dedicated gas line from their well going to the Devon Tower. This is such juvenile logic Thunder.

Not my fault that the info was not available to me. I thought Devon caters to large companies and businesses.

Thunder: You might spend some time reading up on the difference between utility companies, oil and/or gas exploration companies, oil and/or gas service companies, and on and on. Devon will have a BIG utility bills to pay, just like the rest of us.

If I were a to hazard a guess, I would instead of the tuble like structures, (which of course could be a possibility although I would be skeptical of how that would look visually overall) I would guess that it was more likely the vertical glass fins that you see in the image above. They could use LED or fiber optics and run the fiber vertically and it would illuminate the fins all the way up. That said, would love to see what the lighting consultant on this project has in mind and thier model to see its impact on the night skyline. (Ahhh if wishes were ponies....) I just want this buildings lighting scheme to be dramatic yet classy so as not to totally over power the rest of the city, but compliment and augment what we have. I have high hopes on this one!

The tube structures don't, at least, appear to serve any structual use. That's why I was wondering about esthetical purposes.

but more along Thunder's thoughtline, if Devon did maintain bigger fsr throughout the building - it could be of the more energy efficient design that the Hearst Corporation's new skyscraper in NYC (that's LEED Platinum if Im not mistaken). It has very large fsr and allows for lots of natural lighting and ventilation, uses recycled rainwater for cooling, green roof, etc etc. And if 18 feet was maintained, the tower could easily be a near supertall with only 50 floors. It's only 2 feet difference.

Let me get this straight - Devon is touting the energy efficiency of their building, a building that has it windows light up for no other reason than it looks cool?