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Legacy Building in Fayetteville

Mith242

By Mith242
in Northwest Arkansas

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masons_dad1 Town

masons_dad1

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Great pics of Dickson Street Matt!

BTW... modern commercial-grade stucco has a high composition of cement versus plaster and is much more durable and weather resistant than residential-grade stucco. I wouldn't be concerned about any major problems with the building for at least 20 years or until we have an earthquake, whichever comes first.

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Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

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You are right. It is precast and some sort of stucco. Again, it looks like North Dallas to me. Out of character with Fayetteville, Arkansas' downtown. It's better than what was there but it could have looked much better. Let's have some standards and call it like it is!
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mzweig Hamlet

mzweig

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As much as I hate to say it I think the stucco isn't going away. With the raising costs of construction already the way it is I just don't know if I see many developers going with some of the alternatives. I suppose we might see some more brick buildings. But unfortunate for me I don't know if I see a whole lot of stone buildings that I'd like to see.
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cowbreath Hamlet

cowbreath

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There are always things you can do with details to make something look better. A different color, so random brick thrown in, different detailing around the windows and doors, different colors--these are all ways to use cheaper materials and construction methods but still make something look good.

Every building that goes up should undergo design review in my opinion. This thing will be around a long time and if it looks like an abomination now or in a few years we will never see it replaced in our lifetimes.

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Thia Whistle-Stop

Thia

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Great pics of Dickson Street Matt!

BTW... modern commercial-grade stucco has a high composition of cement versus plaster and is much more durable and weather resistant than residential-grade stucco. I wouldn't be concerned about any major problems with the building for at least 20 years or until we have an earthquake, whichever comes first.

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cocothief Hamlet

cocothief

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Based on what I've read about commercial-grade stucco it could be at least 20 years before any major maintenance is needed, such as repairing cracks. Traditionally stucco is a very strong and long-lasting material and there are plenty of turn of the century stucco buildings still in good condition. The only problem I foresee with this building is the fact that the stucco is applied to structural steel while most traditional stucco is applied to brick or concrete structures. It could prove to be more prone to cracking and possible water damage which would require more maintenance costs than cost-savings. It really depends on the quality of the stucco that was used and if they take good care of it.

The bottom line is there's no shame involved with using stucco as many of the world's most extravagant palaces are built with stucco.

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mzweig Hamlet

mzweig

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If there's a difference, I think you're right in the manner it is applied today.

The backing for most commercial stucco these days is chicken wire and/or structural steel.

Most of it is applied similarly to mix concrete or plaster.

The pre-cast concrete, however, is generally as sturdy as some types of stone, although not as sturdy as a less-porous stone like granite.

I suppose the stucco's durability all depends on the quality of the material used and the application.

In my line of work I have seen good and bad. If its bad, it could be only 5-10 years before it begins to show signs of wear and cracking.

I'm curious if the materials were accurately detailed in the sales presentation to those folks who bought at pre-construction prices. Some of them may have bought speculatively, and if there is any room for getting out of the buy contract, being misled about the exterior materials might provide an out.

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CentralArkansas Whistle-Stop

CentralArkansas

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To me, the issue of materials is not all about durability. Vinyl siding, for example, will last through a nuclear holocaust, yet looks awful. I care about aesthetics. Stucco can be allright if the color is right for the context the building is in and the rest of the details on the building are done properly. This building is gaudy, has poor detailing, and is, in general, in bad taste. The architects on this project look like they were the same ones that did Signature Bank's building at Joyce and Crossover (I like the bank, just not the facility). It all has a very North Dallas look to it. Pretentious, flashy, gaudy, weird proportions, etc.

Renaissance could look OK as stucco but needed some decent design help with the rest of the thing to make it all work in an increasingly dense urban setting. This thing, the way it looks to me, should be in a corn field over there on Joyce somewhere between 71B and Crossover. Then no one would think anything is odd about it at all!

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thewizard16 Hamlet

thewizard16

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Here's one person--me--who doesn't like it. I think there are others who agree--newspaper article is case-in-point.

Rod--you are right on. Who is to say the computer-generated color is anything like what they really plan to do? If it was it would be lucky.

Honestly, I don't think Barber has very good taste. I like that he gets things done--that's great--but he does a lot of ugly stuff.

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Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

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I don't have mucxh of a problem with the overall look of the Barber developments. If anything I have more of a problem of some of them fitting in with an area like Dickson. Another one of their projects that doesn't get mentioned a lot of the Spring Street Lofts. I'm also curious to see how they come out as to the look from their rendering. I'm curious to see if the Legacy is going to be an exception or if most of their renderings aren't going to be the best representation of the finished building.

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Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

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Thanks for the pics Matt. I've been busy with work and really haven't had a chance to check out many of the developments lately.

Someone addressed poor planning in neighboring cities. While, there is inevitably some fault that lies at the feet of the planner you must look at the politics of planning. Theory is great and I'm sure many planners in the area could draft wonderful plans that would be ideal. The REALITY is those in power may simply not care about what the planner thinks or many times have a completely different concept of good land use policy and urban design. If you understand ALL the players in game you will understand the failings of the process. That being said there is A LOT more the planners themselves could be doing. I think some of them just get burned out or lose vision...

I'm not sure about how I feel about the legacy building anymore either. It sits up high and just feels massive. It feels unwelcoming.

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