Devon Energy Center

[Teo9969]

Not sure if it's been mentioned on the thread yet (I haven't seen it) But the South indention of the Tower is programmed to say "THUNDER" from Top to Bottom during the night. I drove by it last night and saw it and it was the first programming I've noticed on the tower. It was only on the South inset though.

[betts]

Not sure if it's been mentioned on the thread yet (I haven't seen it) But the South indention of the Tower is programmed to say "THUNDER" from Top to Bottom during the night. I drove by it last night and saw it and it was the first programming I've noticed on the tower. It was only on the South inset though.

Now that's cool. I'm going to have to take a look. I can only see the north spine.

[Dustin]

Now that's cool. I'm going to have to take a look. I can only see the north spine.

Don't forget to take a pic!

[Watson410]

Someone please go down there and snap a few pictures. I'd like to share it with out of state Thunder fans if you don't mind.

[Watson410]

I'm guessing they decided not to do it last night... I drove by after the game and the tower wasn't even lit up.

[Pete]

These are from yesterday.

Looks like the auditorium is virtually complete. Note the people inside.

[OKCisOK4me]

The man is walking down to the podium.

[Dustin]

Saw this ad while browsing youtube:



Is this the work of Cooper Ross? Looks like it to me!

[Spartan]

These are from yesterday.

Looks like the auditorium is virtually complete. Note the people inside.

Hey Pete, I've been defending the Devon Auditorium facility on other architecture boards - there seems to be a strong argument that this one facility uses cheaper materials than normal for corporate auditoriums (simple metallic cladding) and is a pretty poor anchor for the corner. This of course goes to that suburban v. urban layout debate that I've shied away from.

What is your take on this? I'd open that up to anyone as well, I'm curious what people think. From standing in the middle of Hudson & Sheridan, it has a somewhat Seattle Central Library vibe, even more so in some photos, but the first time I saw it in person it was a little underwhelming (but perhaps I had my hopes up when I first likened it to Seattle Central Library).

[ljbab728]

My opinion is that it's architecturally interesting even if not a masterpiece. I have no problem with it at all.

[Spartan]

Well, here's what I could not defend Devon against.. I was actually at a loss, because it is kinda true that silver metal cladding (compared to cost neutral alternatives) is kinda meh.

But that's the problem. The auditorium only reinforces the corporate look. The rest of the building is gorgeous with all the glass and those cool extruded mullions. The auditorium feels like a leftover. Metal panel comes in a ton of different colors shapes and textures. I've specified quite a few. I worked a on a project that had color changing metal...it's at least something different than the standard silver.

I'm wondering if it was cost...though there's plenty of other cheap alternatives. PC does top of line architecture......especially here in Chicago. So this is a bit surprising to me.

[ljbab728]

I doubt that cost was a major concern in the choice of siding for a project that massive and expensive. As for reinforcing a corporate look, it is a corporate auditorium isn't it? Some people just expect everything to be a new "Mona Lisa". I won't be complaining about it to Devon. Remember what was there before they started.

[Pete]

It never occurred to me that the metal cladding looks cheap or out of place -- quite the contrary.

The entire Devon complex is sheathed in either class or shiny metal and of course two of the sides and roof of the auditorium weren't going to be glass, so metal was the obvious choice.

It looks super sharp in person in a way the architecture geeks can't appreciate through the photos. Devon spent $750 million on this complex and every single interior finish I've seen is stone, glass, metal or wood. If they had been looking to save money, that's were they could have easily cut back but didn't. I doubt very seriously that the auditorium cladding had anything to do with cost savings.

I think the auditorium ties directly to the other structures in both material and design, and that all the buildings work well together.

[soonerwilliam]

I agree with Pete. Looks great!

[Cooper_GOIVM]

Saw this ad while browsing youtube:



Is this the work of Cooper Ross? Looks like it to me!

yessir!

[iMAX386]

They had "THUNDER" spelled out on the south side again last night using the Blue/White LEDs. It was cool, but it looked a little cheap. The different parts of the letters weren't the same size and it looked a little half-assed...I know those aren't video screens, but I just expected a little better. You can only see it when looking at it from the side, when you're looking at it straight on you can't tell at all.

[Pete]

The system isn't nearly finished.

It will be capable of sophisticated programming and can be made to be much brighter than what we have seen.

We're still two months away from it being completely done.

[BoulderSooner]

i thought the "THUNDER" looked pretty good ...

[Pete]

I had mentioned trying to book a banquet room on the 50th floor...

When I was in town last week, I was able to get everything nailed down for the grand ballroom (about half the floor) for the summer of 2013. We decided to push our reunion to August to get better rates, as we usually do them in June but there was too much wedding competition.

The people at Williams & Associates who manage Flint, the Colcord, Vast and the banquet space were fantastic to work with. They gave us a nice discount on a block of Colcord Hotel rooms as well.


My class is going to be super excited about this, as we are the first reunion to reserve that large space. Should be really special.

Can't go up into the space for another month and they will have a soft opening for Vast and the banquet space on Oct. 1 with the grand opening a couple of weeks later.

[JerseyOkie]

Attended a wedding Saturday at the Gardens. Snapped this for those who haven't seen it yet.

[catch22]

Awesome. Thanks!

[Pete]

[dankrutka]

When do they start taking reservations for dinner at Vast?

[Pete]

Not sure:

http://www.wahospitality.com/

[OKCisOK4me]

That pic above reminds me of 1980's knee high socks. One solid color will be nice. The writing is too elementary.