Damaged by flooding, the lights dim at Stage Center

[Spartan]

Yes, and sometimes bad wine just needs to be emptied down the drain. It will never get better.

I know you are a hater of plazas, but they don't hide buildings. And done correctly can enhance, just as proper landscaping (trees) can. Some people like Syrah and some people like Champaigne. Both can be great and both can be bad.

So do you think the trees intended to cover up the Stage Center and distract from its design are a good thing to have in place? Just wondering..because so far nobody has said they like those, and I'd be interested to hear someone who does like them.

[USG'60]

I kind of like the contrast of the building with the woodland feel. An interesting counterpoint. But I do think the ones on the front side are getting too big and maybe on or two more than there should be. And honestly, Spartan, I would hate to see them all removed. It would be TOO stark. And for the record, I LOVE the building and would be one of those that would throw his body in front of the bulldozers if they decided to destroy it.

[Spartan]

Fair enough USG--but what do you think Johansen would say about the "woodland feel?"

I think this has the potential to be a very interesting discussion. Here in a city that does not have enough trees and is in desperate need of more SHADE, one place where we planted trees was in an attempt to cover up a stark ultramodern landmark with a "woodland feel."

[USG'60]

Well it is a matter of taste AND a matter of degrees. I went back and looked at pictures when it was new and to me it seemed like a picture with no frame. To me the counterpoint of the rustic look increases the "interest" of the bldg. I happen to love contrast in design ...sometimes.

[jbrown84]

So do you think the trees intended to cover up the Stage Center and distract from its design are a good thing to have in place? Just wondering..because so far nobody has said they like those, and I'd be interested to hear someone who does like them.

You think the trees are unsightly???? So you would prefer the suburban Moore look of a building with a big treeless yard?? They aren't there to "cover up the ugly". It's called landscaping. It's part of the area where the Festival of the Arts takes place and flows right into the Myriad Gardens. It's not a woodland. It shade. It's perfectly appropriate and I don't see why you dislike the trees. It's not like they're Bradford Pears. They're nice, mature sycamores.

[Spartan]

If the trees had placing that suggested any uniformity in relation to the trees and not in relation to the building, that would be different. If the trees lined the sidewalk, that would be useful shade, and I should support that. But a building does not need shade..that is what the trees are shading. And it is a well-known fact, that has been mentioned in several articles, that the trees exist for the purpose of covering up the stunning architecture of the Stage Center.

[jbrown84]

That's pretty much an urban legend. And the reason they are scattered it because it is essentially a park around the building, so yes, they aren't all over the sidewalk.

Are you really saying that 100% of those trees don't belong?

[Spartan]

Well, I can't make an affirmative statement like that sitting in front of a computer. So you believe that's just an urban legend?

[Rover]

So who made the decision to "cover up" the architecture with trees? If we know for a fact that it was explicitly for that purpose, then we should know who made that determination.

I don't think trees or landscaping has to be exactly uniform and symmetrical to be a positive part of the architecture.

I also think that the effect of the plantings changes over time if trees are not pruned and "trained" but just let to grow.

[ljbab728]

That's pretty much an urban legend. And the reason they are scattered it because it is essentially a park around the building, so yes, they aren't all over the sidewalk.

Are you really saying that 100% of those trees don't belong?

That's not an urban legend. I remember well when the Stage Center was built and the controversy about its stark design and how well it fit in. I can't provide you any links but I know that the landscaping was designed to limit that criticism.

[Rover]

Wow, I am impressed. I have a hard time remembering what I had for lunch and we have people here who clearly remember the reasons for tree planting from 40 years ago...even people who weren't even born yet. That's pretty impressive. LOL

[ljbab728]

Wow, I am impressed. I have a hard time remembering what I had for lunch and we have people here who clearly remember the reasons for tree planting from 40 years ago...even people who weren't even born yet. That's pretty impressive. LOL

Impressed or not, I do remember that specifically. I was fascinated by the Stage Center when it opened and followed subsequent events about it closely. And I assure you I was born many, many years before then. LOL You just don't understand how much local criticism that building received after it was built.

[Larry OKC]

Wow, I am impressed. I have a hard time remembering what I had for lunch and we have people here who clearly remember the reasons for tree planting from 40 years ago...even people who weren't even born yet. That's pretty impressive. LOL

Difference between long term & short term memory. My grandparents were excellent at giving minute details from decades ago, but ask them if they took their medicine today...

[ljbab728]

Difference between long term & short term memory. My grandparents were excellent at giving minute details from decades ago, but ask them if they took their medicine today...

I even remember taking my medicine today too. LOL

[Larry OKC]

I have a couple of those weekly pill reminder boxes (one for AM meds & PM meds), if I had to do it strictly from memory, would be missing doses and over dosing...LOL

[jbrown84]

Regardless of why they were put up, I think the trees look good and should stay.

I thought you were against windswept plazas, Nick.

[Spartan]

I don't feel like what the Stage Center needs is a plaza..it just needs the trees to be taken out. It needs to be less shielded from the street. It needs to feel like a part of the Arts District, even when there's not a festival going on.

[Rover]

Some of you would probably be amazed at all the trees and vegetation in New York City. And, of course Paris and other cities. Trees aren't bad. Green is not bad. There is more to "urban" than stark stone, brick and concrete.

[flintysooner]

I would like the structure to be more visible. Never did really think it should be hidden because it is such an interesting structure.

[Spartan]

Some of you would probably be amazed at all the trees and vegetation in New York City. And, of course Paris and other cities. Trees aren't bad. Green is not bad. There is more to "urban" than stark stone, brick and concrete.

I wholeheartedly agree.

[Rover]

One thing I do notice in OKC as opposed to some other cities is that trees are rarely pruned and shaped correctly...they are just left to grow. I think that may be more the issue with Stage Center, not the fact they are there. The city needs to have somebody on staff to manage the trees that already exist.

[urbanity]

http://www.okgazette.com/article/08-..._one_year.aspx

[kevinpate]

sad. understandable in light of the damage, but sad all the same.

[ljbab728]

Surely, some of our good corporate citizens could find some way to fit this into their donation budgets for civic improvements.

[urbanity]

http://www.okgazette.com/article/08-...term_plan.aspx