Terazzo

[william]

Friends,

After not reading forum posts since Sunday (and what a FANTASTIC turnout, by the way, on Saturday at Provence), I just read the post and thread regarding Terazzo. Some of you voiced criticism and I respect your right to do so (and NewTowner, keep up the quality design criticism; I love reading your offerings). In fairness, I am not a big fan of some elements of the building at this point, but renderings can be misleading. I like it well enough at this early stage and am hopeful it will look quite eye-catching (in a positive way) upon completion.

Of note, the lead architect on the project is David Bailey of Hastings Architecture. David was the lead on Roundabout Plaza (a building I greatly like) and is the lead on SunTrust Plaza. He and his wife live in Historic Edgefield and care about urban architecture and living. David is a good man and a friend. We had lunch last week, in fact.

Anyway, I write this to note that David does want to make a positive contribution to his community. He truly believes in Nashville. If many Nashvillians feel Terazzo is ugly upon completion -- or outdated in 10 years -- I would hope he would acknowledge this. Let's hope (even those who are pessimistic now) that most of us do like the building once it is completed. If not, oh well, IJDave can take his stroll from Frothy Monkey to his swinging penthouse pad at the top of Terazzo.

WW

Friends,

I fumbled on the spelling. It's Terrazzo. Two r's. My editor at TCP would kill me. Oh, wait. I am my own editor. Sad.

WW

[ATLBrain]

Thanks for this, William. I'm glad to hear that the building was designed by a Nashvillian and not somebody from Atlanta (or elsewhere). Glad to hear also that he's a fine person.

I also know how much influence (almost everything) the owner/developer has over the design.

Having said this, I hope he would be open to some helpful criticism (delivered sincerely). I'm not trying to trash the building just to trash it.

I tend to agree with NT and the other folks who are disappointed. When you said that this architect was also the lead on Roundabout and Suntrust, I wasn't too surprise. That fact also helped me to understand better what I don't like about Terrazzo (b/c it's the same reason I don't like the other two building either). Basically, I think all three buildings look clunky. As such there isn't a smooth integration of the different parts of the building. I've seen this in the little, random juts and crannies in the Roundabout (and even in the rendering for ST). With Terrazzo specifically, it looks like it wants to be a sleek Southern California office tower on the bottom five floors and a Daytona Condo on floors 6-14. I'm just disappointed with the look.

Hopefully, the architect will take such criticism in the spirit intended and keep on getting better and better. I'd love for his greatest work to grace the skyline of Music City someday.

[memphian]

Overall, I like the design. It does resemble his other works but everyone has their own style. I think the bottom portion of the building will add a lot of life to the area - or at least the illusion of life. I believe we'll see some more stellar designs as in-fill in the Gulch.

[NewTowner]

Of note, the lead architect on the project is David Bailey of Hastings Architecture. David was the lead on Roundabout Plaza (a building I greatly like) and is the lead on SunTrust Plaza. He and his wife live in Historic Edgefield and care about urban architecture and living. David is a good man and a friend. We had lunch last week, in fact.

I criticize the design because it is not beautiful. I feel that I can say with reasonable confidence that a formidable amount of precedent has established Beauty--along with Utility and Strength--as one of the unconditional callings of architecture. The ancient Romans knew this, the pioneers of the Italian Renassaince knew this, and the besieged holdouts at the Ec

[ATLBrain]

Just remember that the owner/developer has so much to do with the ultimate design that too often the architect is relegated to merely drafting the dictates of the owner. Most of the time, the developer is sitting on his/her tastes.

[NewTowner]

Just remember that the owner/developer has so much to do with the ultimate design that too often the architect is relegated to merely drafting the dictates of the owner. Most of the time, the developer is sitting on his/her tastes.

That's true. Which bears the question--who are the architects of our age? Architects? Or do we need to go to civil engineers, developers, and catalogue manufacturers if we want to see a little competence re-enter the public realm?

In any case, the Terrazzo is an architect-designed building. Sometimes I think that is part of the problem--after all, I assume that Mr. Bailey was trained like every other architect on Earth: in the Bauhaus "tradition." Thanks to a century's worth of Progress Worship, designers of our age are called upon to perpetuate the disposal of all traditions Great and Small, and to "reinvent the wheel" every single bloody time they are confronted with an architectural "site problem" which requires a "building solution."

Don't say "window"--say "opening." Don't say "beautiful"--say "challenging" and "clean."

Well, I won't say "architecture," I'll say Bolshevik-Wannabe Undecorated Duck Shed. Venturi would be proud, if he hadn't lost his soul in a microwave oven. Maybe we should all go to DeveloperPlanet.org, if architecture truly is dead. But it isn't. Mr. Bailey is responsible here, and despite what have exclusively been described as Good Intentions, he should pause and consider the Renaissance of human-scaled beauty unfolding all around him before he commits such a large piece of downtown Nashville to a referred Modern Movement which was dedicated to nothing but its own imagined future.

[Duke32]

Just got the plans on my desk a few minutes ago. With all the residential mid/high rises going up, this one would probably be on the bottom of my list if I were in the market. The exterior is fine with me, but the interior is a mess of angular hallways and crooked shaped units. Basic L shaped building above the parking garage, 3 levels below ground and 14 above.

[NewTowner]

Just got the plans on my desk a few minutes ago. With all the residential mid/high rises going up, this one would probably be on the bottom of my list if I were in the market. The exterior is fine with me, but the interior is a mess of angular hallways and crooked shaped units. Basic L shaped building above the parking garage, 3 levels below ground and 14 above.

Sounds like another experiment is being conducted on us by the Great Architects Above. One day, thanks to the rule of odds and numbers, they will get it right and we will all be ushered into a physically abstract but glowingly cool Techno-Utopia.

After all, that's the purpose of art and architecture, right? To "challenge our assumptions" and remind us not to dribble? The designers, straight-rules in hand, represent the foward leading cutting bleeding edge of humanity's march onto the bridge of the hydrogen-powered Federation Starship Enterprise.

Here in Nashville, we are headed towards a Brave New Mid-Rise. So what if a little error happens on the way, if we like totally create some hideous monsters, as long as we keep our Eyes on the Prize and keep rolling the Design Dice? We are bound to stumble upon THE ANSWER as long as we keep buying urban lottery tickets from a bunch of kid-haired architects who want us to see things in a different light. Flourescent, mostly.

[eusebius]

allright -- i know this isn't related to the topic (exactly), but... I am *so* diggin your writings NT! It's like "rage against the machine" but for urban design. Mind if I set it to music? j/k of course...

[NewTowner]

allright -- i know this isn't related to the topic (exactly), but... I am *so* diggin your writings NT! It's like "rage against the machine" but for urban design. Mind if I set it to music? j/k of course...

Please--if you have to set it to music, make it either a little Handel or a lot of early INXS. Anything else would either add or take away from my arguments.

Ha.

[ATLBrain]

^^^ It's the main thing. That's what you need... ahh... what you need.

I can dig the latter. I can't get a handle on the former.