SandRidge Center & Commons

[Rover]

AIA awards for buildings not landscape architecture. They have neve won an ASLA award and definitely won't for this. It is ugly and I hate looking out my window at it!

Awards for streetscaping. This is a prestigious firm and not stupid. You may not like this project, but their peers recognize their expertise. People need to wait to condemn.

[lasomeday]

Awards for streetscaping. This is a prestigious firm and not stupid. You may not like this project, but their peers recognize their expertise. People need to wait to condemn.

I doubt any of their peers will give them any kudos for tearing down historic buildings to plant rows of threes that obstruct views to the street.

WASTE OF MONEY!

[Snowman]

Get ready for lots of trees planted in rows with diagonal sidewalks. And we might just like it when it's all said and done.

Perfectly strait lines of equally spaced trees, guess they were not going for a natural look for the park.

[jn1780]

The trees are laid out exactly like the renderings.
Not sure why there are so many negative comments about this now

You can say a lot of things, but you can't really say people have just now started complaining. The complaint has always been that Sand Ridge was demolishing a bunch of historic buildings and replacing them with an artificial looking corporate plaza. This thread started in July of 2008 and went silent for over a year until the official plans were announced. It pretty much remained active with complaints and the occasional update ever since.

[redrunner]

^

That's a new rendering because it shows the proposed new tower (looks like 15 floors here).

Although it can't be too recent because the canopy design between the tower and Braniff is completely different now and that was changed over a year ago.

Pete can you point out the new 15 story tower? I'm not seeing it in the rendering.

[Pete]

It's immediately to the right of SandRidge Tower.

Presently, that site is occupied by a 3-story parking garage / multi-purpose building.

[UnFrSaKn]

Not too crazy about the look of the new buildings in the rendering. See-through looking glass with a mini golf course thing on the new "tower"? Will just have to wait until a final design is presented of course.

[jn1780]

Not too crazy about the look of the new buildings in the rendering. See-through looking glass with a mini golf course thing on the new "tower"? Will just have to wait until a final design is presented of course.

I'm sure their just placeholders. Not really the final design or anything.

[LockeDown42]

You can say a lot of things, but you can't really say people have just now started complaining. The complaint has always been that Sand Ridge was demolishing a bunch of historic buildings and replacing them with an artificial looking corporate plaza. This thread started in July of 2008 and went silent for over a year until the official plans were announced. It pretty much remained active with complaints and the occasional update ever since.

I already stood corrected earlier.

I have only skimmed though this thread and didn't notice many complaints specific to the layout of the trees. I just thought it was a new concern and was questioning why it's just coming up now. Regardless if I think it is good or bad, it is just not a surprise to me and remains accurate to the renderings. Since this has been discussed already in this thread, my point is mute.

[metro]

Seriously? I must assume you are unaware of the numerous awards the architect Rogers Marvel have received for their urban designs, particularly in NYC and Boston, and for urban streetscapes. Including the AIA urban design award. You can have a different opinion as to this project, but to try to discredit their expertise is just a denial trying to justify an opinion.

Sandridge NOT Rogers Marvel, and OKC is no NYC or Boston.

[metro]

It's immediately to the right of SandRidge Tower.

Presently, that site is occupied by a 3-story parking garage / multi-purpose building.

If I counted correctly, it appears 11-12 stories, and would go to the 8th or 9th floor of the current tower. Surely, they would build something bigger than this.

[mburlison]

I like the renderings, I worked down there for years and this looks like a nice upgrade from the way it was.

[betts]

I don't like the look of the current landscaping. I guess I'll reserve judgement for the final product. I may be no landscape architect, but the current landscaping and drawings remind me of a tree farm.

[Rover]

Sandridge NOT Rogers Marvel, and OKC is no NYC or Boston.

Wow. Sorry they don't meet your high standards as an expert. Lol. I am sure their work in Boston and NYC proves they don't know as much about urban issues.

[Just the facts]

Wow. Sorry they don't meet your high standards as an expert. Lol. I am sure their work in Boston and NYC proves they don't know as much about urban issues.

All the stuff I looked at on their web site indicates they create open space in high density urban areas. In downtown OKC we need LESS open space. Sandridge and Rogers Marvel solved a problem that didn't exist in OKC.

[Rover]

All the stuff I looked at on their web site indicates they create open space in high density urban areas. In downtown OKC we need LESS open space. Sandridge and Rogers Marvel solved a problem that didn't exist in OKC.

Now this I can agree with. However, their job was site and job specific and not charged with fixing OKC's problems. Whether they should have or shouldn't have might be debated.

[hoya]

I've seen that rendering before. If I remember correctly, the building to the right of the current tower was not supposed to be the "new" tower. It was something else.

[metro]

All the stuff I looked at on their web site indicates they create open space in high density urban areas. In downtown OKC we need LESS open space. Sandridge and Rogers Marvel solved a problem that didn't exist in OKC.

This

[Rover]

I think selling Rogers Marvel short is a bit of revisionism to make a point. They have a large portfolio that includes street-scaping, urban building projects, urban planning (including the Technology Merit Award on the The City of the Future Design and Engineering Challenge for NYC) and many international and national awards, most of which do not include specifically public greens, parks, etc.. Whether you have another notion as to what they needed to do here is fine and dandy, but to not recognize them for what they are would be silly. Sandridge hired a first class firm to handle this, and I am sure they are looking long term as to the interplay with all the current and future projects in mind whereas we are looking only at a point in time and judging. We are only at the starting point of what they are doing and everyone is already wanting to prove how stupid SR and RM is. LOL.

[Pete]

Rogers Marvel is teaming with Hoerr Schaudt landscape architects and they have a big body of work, including the Hyatt Center And Trump Tower in Chicago:

http://www.hoerrschaudt.com/main.php

[wschnitt]

I find it weird that the rendering does not show the new facade of the Dowell Center.

[Pete]

That rendering was obviously done at least a year ago because the canopy shown was completely redesigned some time ago.

So, they probably didn't have any idea of what Dowell planned to do at the time.

[Just the facts]

Rogers Marvel is teaming with Hoerr Schaudt landscape architects and they have a big body of work, including the Hyatt Center And Trump Tower in Chicago:

http://www.hoerrschaudt.com/main.php

They have 7 pictures on their home page - all showing open space, which makes sense considering they are "landscape architetcs". What OKC needs is some "streetscape architects".

[Rover]

They have 7 pictures on their home page - all showing open space, which makes sense considering they are "landscape architetcs". What OKC needs is some "streetscape architects".

Don't know what you are looking at but they have 23 projects (with photos) in their "Public Spaces" section alone. They have 31 more in their "Historic Preservation". They have five catagories of projects, most of which do not involve open spaces. You need to look at their entire offering, not just the ones you wish to point out. Thankfully, others on this board can go to their website to see a balanced and objective representation of their work and reputation, not just the one you give to try to promote because you hate SR and anyone associated with it. RM has an extensive streetscaping background.

Devon and SandRidge have brought world class expertise to this city. Even if you don't like the projects, you still have to respect the expertise of the people involved.

BTW, the landscape architects aren't chumps either. This is a list of awards the landscape architects have been bestowed with:

ASLA National Honor Award for UNC Historic Landscape Plan (2011)

ASLA Illinois Presidential Award for Uptown Normal Circle (2010)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award for Woodland Residence (2010)

ASLA National Honor Award for Gary Comer Youth Center (2010)

SCUP Design Excellence Award, UNC Historic Landscape Plan (2009)

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Award, Gary Comer Roof Garden (2009)

AIA Chicago Honor Award for Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Master Plan (2009)

ASLA Illinois Presidential Award for Harbor Springs, MI Residence (2009)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award for Chervon Trading Company, Nanjing China (2009)

ASLA Illinois Presidential Award for Urban Chicago Garden (2008)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award for Uptown Normal Circle, Normal IL (2008)

SCUP AIA/CAE Design Award, North Park University (2008)

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Award, 900 N. Michigan Ave. (2008)

Nathan Phillips Square International Design Competition (2007)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award, Weekend Retreat, (2007)

ASLA Illinois Honor Award, Garfield Park City Garden (2006)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award, Gardens at Ball Horticultural Company (2006)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award, Manor Garden (2006)

ASLA Honor Award, Illinois Institute of Technology (2005)

ASLA Illinois Honor Award, North Burnham Park/ Soldier Field (2005)

ASLA Illinois Honor Award, North Park University (2005)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award, Formal Garden, (2005)

ASLA Illinois Honor Award, Illinois Institute of Technology (2004)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award, Country Estate (2004)

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Award, North Burnham Park (2004)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award, Flossmoor Garden & Sculpture Walk (2003)

ASLA National Merit Award, Michigan Avenue Streetscape (2003)

ASLA Illinois Merit Award, Michigan Avenue Streetscape (2001)

ASLA Illinois Honor Award, Lakefront Property (2001)

[Just the facts]

Rover - I am not sure what is making this hard to understand.

Sandridge hired two companies that specialize in bring open space to urbanized space. Downtown OKC does not have a shortage of open space. What OKC needs are companies that specialize in creating urban space. We need help making open space look urban, not urban space look open. Sandridge claimed they want to improve site lines for their building. To do this they created open space between the tower and the sidewalk and used landscaping to fill in the void - that is what a landscape architect does. What I would have done is bring the existing building architecture closer to the sidewalk by re-cladding the existing building to look like they were part of the tower, thus creating a unified campus look that occupied the entire block. But that is just me.

I guess I am just not surprised that a landscape architect came up with a plan involving landscaping.