There is definitely some sort of pattern with the glass. It may just be slightly opaque borders. You can see it in the last photo of post #1134.

Every other 6 window rectangle is bordered.

^^^^ If you look at the old glass in the photo right above the one you referenced you will see the same pattern. I think that may be opaque glass between floors...just a guess

The opaque glass is called spandrel glass (transparent is called vision glass), usually used in curtain walls to hide the spaces between floors. Here, the old spandrel glass is also used to hide the columns on the north and south facades. Looks like the new glass is doing the same thing, hiding the columns.

I don't normally get all that worked up over something like the remodel of a skyscraper but that new glass does look so much better.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst092720a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst092720b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst092720c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst092720d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst092720e.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst092720f.jpg

Dang...the bottom left corner is broken off that center slab of marble...

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst100420a.jpg

Looks like they've done a few more floors ?

Looks like they've done a few more floors ?

Yes, they've been finishing about 2 floors a week.

They have been making a lot of progress in the lobby and the plaza as well.

so finished with this face in December?

Perhaps they can repurpose some of the workers now in the lobby to the other face to expedite, otherwise we're looking at the entire next year into next December to finish the reskin. <shrug>

so finished with this face in December?

Perhaps they can repurpose some of the workers now in the lobby to the other face to expedite, otherwise we're looking at the entire next year into next December to finish the reskin. <shrug>

Still faster than Devon replacing a handful of windows...

January of 2022 is the expected completion of the glass up to floor 35, when they finish the north side they will move on to the east side, then west, then south. 36 and the crown will be completed separately

so I was right (sans 36 and the crown).

perhaps this lends hope that the height of the overall building structure will be raised a bit; let's beat 515'.

They have started to intstall pavers on the southeast corner of the plaza (first photo).

Also, they've uncovered the light pyramids. The one on the north will provide direct access to the underground; the other two will serve as light wells.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst101120a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst101120b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst101120c.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst101120d.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst101120e.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst101120f.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst101120g.jpg

Wow...so much to take in. As I have said before, when this is completed, a visitor not knowing the history of this building will think it is new construction. BancFirst has planned an amazing transformation!

Those pyramids will be lit at night and make a great impact at street level, as will all those massive planters and other improvements to that ridiculously large plaza.

Reminder of the finished product:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst101320a.jpg

If they are working to finish out the plaza, I hope this means the sidewalk and blocked lane of traffic will be opened back up soon. It's a great project, but it and the First National construction across the way really make for a painful pedestrian experience on that block.

I appreciate them improving the plaza, but it's still so much wasted space in the middle of the downtown... I would have rather seen new construction built around it. How cool would it be if a mixed use development wrapped around the building. It could make the location a lot more appealing, especially if some great restaurants or bars ended up in the retail.

That plaza is the windest place in all of OKC, and that's saying something.

I go down there a lot for photography (obviously) and I've been almost blown off my feet more than once. It's why the scaffolding on the south side of the building only lasted a couple of weeks before they had to come up with another method of construction.

The plaza will be rarely used other than by smokers but it will at least look a lot better.

You'd think with the past month of mild weather and very little moisture they would be killing it on the glass install ?

^

I went by Sunday and there had been no additional windows installed since the previous Sunday.

However, they are kicking arse on the lobby and plaza. I bet they largely finish both before the end of the year.

Thanks Pete !

Wow...so much to take in. As I have said before, when this is completed, a visitor not knowing the history of this building will think it is new construction. BancFirst has planned an amazing transformation!

I agree, this is going to look great when finished. The reflections off the new glass is nice.

16538

This was long before my time but what a cool throwback picture.

for some reason, the skyline seemed bigger then. . at least in that pic, the skyscrapers look like skyscrapers - dominating the landscape. For whatever reason they don't look as tall today.

^^ I think that is largely due to the visual command Devon Tower has over the skyline. It's not only tall but extremely wide and somewhat out of proportion when compared to the surrounding buildings. What I think is cool about this pic is the lighting at the top of BF tower (whatever it was called then). Going off the building plans, it sounds like the lighting in the crown may slightly resemble the pic above. Coming around full circle in a way.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst102520a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst102520b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst102520c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst102520d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst102520e.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst102520f.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst102520g.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst102520h.jpg

great progress with the plaza

They are really moving inside the lobby as well.

I bet they are done with the plaza and most the lobby in the next few months.

Really impressive how fast they are going. The glass is just going to take time.

It looks like one of panes on the middle dome/lightwell is broken, I assume from ice. I believe the lobby has two panes broken as well on that west side. My view is from first national

They are really moving inside the lobby as well.

I bet they are done with the plaza and most the lobby in the next few months.

Really impressive how fast they are going. The glass is just going to take time.

I’ve heard they expect to have lobby done by this January and then move to completing the south lobby which won’t take very long.

I believe petro deli and hot tamale will be able to move into their new locations once lobby is complete in January. I assume that means the basement lobby is also complete by January as well

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst110820a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst110820b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst110820c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst110820d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst110820e.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst110820f.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst111420a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst111420b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst111420c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst111520a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst111520b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst111520c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst111520d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst111520e.jpg

I’m not sure how feasible this would be but it would be pretty cool to see some old English ivy draping from the top of the Santa Fe parking garage. It would give a cool old time feel to contrast this area.

English ivy would help...but it would be awesome for a whole new facade...while I'm spending their money, a new facade ala the Convention Center garage would be crazy awesome...I mean if it is possible to give a skyscraper a new skin, let's go all the way

Landscaping has started. They have installed string lights on the pergola.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112120a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112120b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112120c.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112120d.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112120e.jpg

this is such an improvement

It looks fantastic in person; even better than I had hoped.

Great credit to BancFirst for making such a huge investment and doing this right.

It's hard to see, but they are making very good progress on the lobby. I'm sure they'll open that up in the next few months along with almost all or the renovated outdoor space, then finish up the south side of the lobby and plaza. They've removed the storage containers that were in the north plaza near the Skirvin.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112820a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112820b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112820c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112820d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst112820e.jpg

I heard the petro deli cashier tell a customer that they would be open in the lobby on January 4.

Plantings being installed. They are almost complete on the north and east sides of that massive plaza.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst120520a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst120520b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst120520c.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst120520d.jpg

looks like 7-8 more floors to skin on the N side of the tower. Aligns perfectly with the end of this year.

looks like 7-8 more floors to skin on the N side of the tower. Aligns perfectly with the end of this year.

And the weather is great this week. Should make some progress.

They are doing our 2 floors (28 and 29) this week.

166091661016608

How it works! They just pop right it (after a week of prep work). They look so nice from the inside! What an improvement.

^

Wow, very cool.

Nice!

Interior progress from Tietsort Design, the local glass manufacturer.

I believe these are from the concourse (Underground) level; the same light-colored wood will be used in the lobby:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121120a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121120b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst091319l.jpg

Here's the old and the new together from the inside. The difference in the glass is even more stark than what you see here. The new blue-gray mullions look great. They are a bit wider than the old ones to cover the edges of the new glass, but the look is so much nicer and cleaner. There is also a large difference in the temperature of the inside glass. The building may actually stay at a constant temperature now.

16622

^

Very nice!

Credit to BancFirst for making this a first-class project all the way around.

What an incredible improvement from the previous out-of-state owner.

Oh wow, that really is a stark visual difference from the inside.

It makes sense that the temperature difference is so significant too, the glass being installed is Solarban 67 Solar Control Low‑E Glass (https://www.vitroglazings.com/products/low-e-glass/solarban-67-glass/) which is usable in LEED certified buildings based on my reading of their product data sheets. The materials science behind modern glass is light years past what went into the decades old glass that is being replaced.

BancFirst really does deserve a great deal of credit for going all out on this renovation and doing it right.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121120a.jpg

Really appreciate they added in these quarantine pods. ;)

Interior progress from Tietsort Design, the local glass manufacturer.

I believe these are from the concourse (Underground) level; the same light-colored wood will be used in the lobby:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121120a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121120b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst091319l.jpg

That second picture would be the entrance to hot tamale and then the executive barber shop which is currently in underground of the old banc first building
Looks really nice!

I agree 1000%! The investment in downtown OKC from Bancfirst and the First National project is so encouraging. If, somehow, Devon will step up their game with their broken glass issue and remove all the barrier fencing then downtown a year from now could be quite a site to behold.


^

Very nice!

Credit to BancFirst for making this a first-class project all the way around.

What an incredible improvement from the previous out-of-state owner.

You can see they are almost finished with the north plaza and the main part of the lobby.

Also, the blue glass is completely installed on the north side; all that remains is the crown which will come after the other 3 sides are finished.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121720a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121720c.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121720f.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121720g.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121720b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121720d.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst121720e.jpg

I really, really hope the night accent lighting on the building will be great. If the building has adequate night lighting, along with the completion of First National project, then the night skyline view of OKC will be fantastic!

^

At the very least, the crown will have LED lighting.

And at street level, the new glass pyramids along Broadway have LED lights as well and of course the lobby is already really open and brightly lit. Looks a thousand times better.

^

At the very least, the crown will have LED lighting.

And at street level, the new glass pyramids along Broadway have LED lights as well and of course the lobby is already really open and brightly lit. Looks a thousand times better.

Yay! Our sign is up on the west side of the building

16632