Devon Energy Center

[iMAX386]

I stopped by the Sunday night concert in the Myriad Gardens lawn adjacent to the Devon Tower accidentally (just didn't know it was happening). Watching a concert in that lawn made me feel like I was in Chicago or NYC. It is definitely the most urban/big city feel in Oklahoma IMHO. It's just a really great environment. The Gardens and the open area on the Devon property are going to really work well together. I really hope the buildings owned by Preftakes, the potential retail spots in the Devon parking garage, and the Garden wing help that area become more vibrant past 5pm because it has great potential to be something very different for Oklahoma. Very exciting.

Totally agree with this. Such an awesome perspective when you're at the north end of the Myriad Gardens. Hope it becomes 360 degrees of awesome when the Ford and Preftakes area is developed.

[Pete]

I think I may have figured out the mystery of the "V" and the yellow structure.

I believe what they will do is eventually drop steel beams into the pocket at the bottom of the V as shown in blue below.

Then, more steel will be used to form cross-beams more or less in front of where the yellow beams are now. The steel would have to be flush with the concrete in order to hang the windows -- and those yellow structures are definitely recessed. I believe they will be used to help them place the permanent steel and then be removed before the windows are dropped in.

[Mike63]

To bad we dont have that view as the webcam! This is fixing to get real interesting and I dont want to miss it.

[Pete]

Here's a better view where I believe the steel beams will go:

[Just the facts]

So in your scenario we get a glass curtain wall where the yellow beams are now. There is then a gap of several feet between the yellow beams and the concrete floor behind it. Do you think they will put another set of windows there as well or do you think it will open to a 2 or 3 story atrium?

[Pete]

Here's a photo of the crown of Duke Energy Center in Charlotte.

You see they have a few recessed floors inside a V shape, very similar to Devon. You can see the diagonal beams and steel grid they created to hang the windows:

[Pete]

Do you think they will put another set of windows there as well or do you think it will open to a 2 or 3 story atrium?

It will definitely be an atrium. And I believe it may go all the way to the top of the crown because if you notice, the floor of the mechanical level is open in that area as well. I think the mechanical floor will be walled off at that point but the glass will continue all the way up.

In other words, I think the entire V will be an atrium on all three sides and you'll be able to stand in the restaurant and look up and out the top of the building.

[Just the facts]

It will definitely be an atrium. And I believe it may go all the way to the top of the crown because if you notice, the floor of the mechanical level is open in that area as well. I think the mechanical floor will be walled off at that point but the glass will continue all the way up.

In other words, I think the entire V will be an atrium on all three sides and you'll be able to stand in the restaurant and look up and out the top of the building.

Gotch ya. It will be very interesting indeed. Not only could you look up, but you could down at 45 degrees and see outside the building, or at 75 degrees and see inside the building.

[holm1231]

Pete, You have any ideas as to why the concrete V columns did not get constructed on the 50th level? I am still very much confused if the mechanical floor will be built above the last completed level. Also, Pete, in that drawing of the building cut in half at the top, why wouldn't the mechanical area be the area where your words say 60' all steel crown? With that rendering it would appear that there is enough room in that area. And another thing, where the rendering tells us what floor level it is and what it is, on the right side of that pic, those drawings were the ones presented before they reduced the number of floors.

[Pete]

Holm, they probably only needed the concrete V on two levels to hold the steel beams to come. I believe the rest of the V will be framed with steel alone.

As for the mechanical, the top floor is labeled to be used as such but I'm sure there will be mechanical elements in/covered by the crown as well.

And yes, that labeled diagram is before they reduced the number of floors, but the crown should be exactly the same.

[holm1231]

I agree and figured the V would consist of steel in the crown. I just thought it was unusual that it wasn't concrete with the rest of the concrete floor and columns. On those "pockets" that you are referring to, is there a hole where a beam will go thru or were you thinking that the steel beams will connect above and below the pockets?

[Pete]

What I labeled pockets are just notches where I think the steel beams will sit.

[Pete]

Blurry screen capture from a webcam today, but from this almost due-north angle Devon Tower already looks twice as tall as everything else:

[ljbab728]

http://newsok.com/devon-tower-set-to...ad_story_title

[Thunder]

ljbab728, that story made me cry. :-(

[ljbab728]

ljbab728, that story made me cry. :-(

Don't worry, Thunder. We'll find new things to get excited and argue about.

[Thunder]

We're approaching 300 pages of memories. I don't think we will reach 500 or 1,000. :-(

[OKCisOK4me]

Ummmm, I know we've been talking about the crown, but I'm pretty sure they're working on it now. From one of my favorite views (west of Portland, just south of NW 39th) which is 5 miles Northwest of downtown, there appears to be a fine toothed comb on the southern portion of the top of the tower ;-)

[dmoor82]

We're approaching 300 pages of memories. I don't think we will reach 500 or 1,000. :-(

or in my case just 73 pages!

[metro]

I could see the tower really good from Sante Fe and Dandorth the other niht, could even see the top of first national and chase.

[shawnw]

Ummmm, I know we've been talking about the crown, but I'm pretty sure they're working on it now. From one of my favorite views (west of Portland, just south of NW 39th) which is 5 miles Northwest of downtown, there appears to be a fine toothed comb on the southern portion of the top of the tower ;-)

They're definitely working on it. The view is MUCH better from the front, but this is the one immediately available to me, which clearly shows much progress.

(8/13/11)

[Bunty]

Wow, we're not NYC... and how come I get phone books deposited at my doorstep every six months, not having a home phone line?

He probably thinks everyone throws their new phone books in the trash when they get them these days. I don't. I look for coupons in them.

[BDP]

Some pics of early crown work:



Closer up:

[jn1780]

If a taller building is ever built in OKC will they disassemble the crown and move it to that building?

I know, lame joke. LOL

[Thunder]

If a taller building is ever built in OKC will they disassemble the crown and move it to that building?

I know, lame joke. LOL

Nah. I think Devon will be pissed and build a gas pipe spiral rivaling all Olympic torches to reach a new high.