RBC Plaza

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

How can the spire by 130 feet? That's rediculous. The top of the main bldg HAS to be over 400 feet, right??? Going by the rendering, I was going to guess the total height at 440 feet or so. 530 seems hard to believe--that's 100 feet taller than BB&T!

Agreed! And it doesn't even look much taller than the BB&T building. Especially considering the BB&T bldg is in a lower piece of land then the RBC building will be?

[ralncdude]

How can the spire by 130 feet? That's rediculous. The top of the main bldg HAS to be over 400 feet, right??? Going by the rendering, I was going to guess the total height at 440 feet or so. 530 seems hard to believe--that's 100 feet taller than BB&T!

I think the rindering we are seeing are of the 29 story building. I do not think the 31 story rendering has come out yet.

[MR-2]

Those have to be typos. 430 ft with a 30 ft spire makes much more sense.

[ChiefJoJo]

No, the rendering shows the revised 31 story design that we have seen the past 2 months or so. I think MR-2 is right. I think its a typo and it 430 feet--not 530.

[MireLanski]

I don't know about typo. Look at the existing rendering. Mind you this building is like 4 blocks behind north and one block east of the BB&T building, and RBC is still taller. There is no way that it can be even close to 430 feet when it is 1/8 farther away. This is all assuming that the latest renderings NO has are from the developer or architect. Heck...if Mobile AL RSA tower can be 750 feet with a 260 foot spire and only be 35 stories, then this is not far fetched.

I am on the optimist side. Somebody care to extend on my way of thinking? Keep in mind that they saide a 130 foot spire. My math gives me 530. The old building had no spire. The renderings spire is 11 stories tall. I'm sorry people. Measure the spire...taht is no 30 foot spire.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

I just emailed Sarah Lindenfeld, with the N&O, about her article, here is her response;

Greetings,

Your story:

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/461751.html

has the RBC building as 530ft with a 130ft tower? Is this correct? This would make the building only 400ft tall and a tower fixture of 130ft?

"That's correct."

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Staff writer

The News & Observer

(919) 829-8983

[ncsugrad204]

its not a typo. The BBT Building is at the Apex of the city center so by the picture with not a true redndering makes the BBT look about the height as the proposed building. Also the Wachovia building from many views look just as tall but we know it is nearly 70Ft less then the bbt building. I am sorry that some are hurt by this development however it will be great addition to our skyline and will booster our presence in this state.

[avery]

That is really neat news. I didn't think we would see a 500+ft tower announcement in Raleigh until sometime after 2008. I agree with others coments about the renderings. It does not appear to be almost a 100 ft higher than BB&T, but I guess it is.

[MireLanski]

its not a typo. The BBT Building is at the Apex of the city center so by the picture with not a true redndering makes the BBT look about the height as the proposed building. Also the Wachovia building from many views look just as tall but we know it is nearly 70Ft less then the bbt building. I am sorry that some are hurt by this development however it will be great addition to our skyline and will booster our presence in this state.

People on Skyscraper City Forums were just barking about how it will be 10 - 20 years before Raleigh gets a 500 footer....and look at today's news.

HORAAAAAYYYY RALEIGH!

HORAAAAAYYYY CITY IMAGE!

So if it were built today it would be 5th tallest in the state at 161.5 meters!!!

I'd also say that Reynolds building with that spire will be at least 400 feet tall.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

This "building" is not 500+ ft tall. It's 400 ft with a spire of 130 ft.

[MireLanski]

This "building" is not 500+ ft tall. It's 400 ft with a spire of 130 ft.

So take Atlanta's tallest which has that 300 foot story tower on top of the building. So now we change the height of that building to 800 feet instead 1022 feet?

Am missing something here? Spires and crowns are considered buildings actual height, antenna are not.

[avery]

This rendering does look slightly different upon closer inspection, but it is hard to zoom in due to the size of the image. It appears that the condo portion is taller and that the lower half of the building staggers outward slightly.

[avery]

So take Atlanta's tallest which has that 300 foot story tower on top of the building. So now we change the height of that building to 800 feet instead 1022 feet?

Am missing something here? Spires and crowns are considered buildings actual height, antenna are not.

From what I understand, crowns and spires do count towards the official height of a building, but antennae do not. I think those who do not like the inclusion of crowns or spires are those who lost their title or position in height to a new building that incorporates these elements.

There are many great buildings that have crowns from Winston-Salem's tallest, to BofA in Charlotte and the Empire State building in NYC. I think some Chicagoans got ticked that the Petronas Towers stole their title of world's tallest on the basis of crowns and not actual occupied floor. It's all so very subjective and debatable. Granted, a crown is an easy way to tack on additional height without increasing the functionality of the building, but often times it does help to define a building like the aforementioned.

[MR-2]

I don't think the Chicagoans should complain. With the antennas, the Sears Tower is still the tallest free-standing building in the world. Although it will finally be surpassed by several new towers.

I can't contemplate a 130 ft spire on a 400 ft building. That's the most ludicrous design I've ever heard of. I'll have to see the renders because my mind is dying trying to make sense of it.

If it is true, and we get a smart looking 31 floor building higher than 500 feet, good news for Raleigh. This will be taller than the Soleil Center.

[Justin6882]

TBJ: RBC Building

The TBJ is saying its only going to be 430' feet - makes more sense to me.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

Does anyone know if the Soleil building is 480ft at the very top floor or at the top plus the crown/top cover of the building?

[Damien]

I still haven't seen the exact same rendering of the RBC tower that was on the news when they were talking about the signage size. It was very similar to the updated rendering we have been seeing for the past little while, but not exact. The crown was more rounded on the sides as opposed to square, and the RBC logo was much much larger. Not a lot of change but enough to make it look a little less boxy.

[acarelesswhisper]

Re: DwnTwnRaleighGuy This "building" is not 500+ ft tall. It's 400 ft with a spire of 130 ft.

Who cares? Spires are considered into the official heighth of a building. If it weren't, do you realize how it would screw up the Skyscraper Rankings across the World? Petronas Towers, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, and future Fordham Spire to name a few.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

Re: DwnTwnRaleighGuy This "building" is not 500+ ft tall. It's 400 ft with a spire of 130 ft.

Who cares? Spires are considered into the official heighth of a building. If it weren't, do you realize how it would screw up the Skyscraper Rankings across the World? Petronas Towers, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, and future Fordham Spire to name a few.

I care! Spires are NOT considered when the height of the skyscrapers are judged!

If this helps: http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/wo/

Buildings are measured by highest occupied floor and roof. The "tip height" or anything above this is not counted for it's offical height.

[acarelesswhisper]

Your link states the skyscraper rankings. I am aware of these rankings. http://www.skyscraperpage.com/site/faq/#5

If a building does have a spire, such as the Petronas Towers, then its official height is its spire height.

Go ahead and respond ... I'll let you have the last word. :-)

[raleighfan]

A building's official height (structural height) includes spires and other integral decorative elements. Per the Emporis site:

http://www.emporis.com/?nav=outsidebuildingheights&lng=3

[MR-2]

I care! Spires are NOT considered when the height of the skyscrapers are judged!

If this helps: http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/wo/

Buildings are measured by highest occupied floor and roof. The "tip height" or anything above this is not counted for it's offical height.

Distinguish between an antenna and a spire, however. A spire is counted as the architectural top and 'official height', while an antenna is only counted as the 'height with the antenna'.

Taipei 101 - highest by architectural top and height of the highest floor.

Sears Tower - highest by number of floors and height of the antenna.

KVLY-TV mast - highest manmade structure

Personally, I think the amount of occupied space of a building should be an important factor.

[RaleighRick]

If you go to SkyscraperPage and look at the diagrams of the BB&T building, it clearly shows that the buildings top floor is only 370' tall and the "crown" makes it 430'. Everyone always quotes this buildings height as 430' without discussing the crown, so why is it so hard to accept the RBC towers total height with crown and spire?

By scaling, its clear that the RBC building is going to be quite a bit taller than BB&T. That's a good thing isn't it? Don't we always complain that "our" developers never think outside the box and do something bold. Raleigh is actually going to get a new tallest that makes a statement and doesnt just add one floor to the top to squeak out the claim of tallest. This is great!

[acarelesswhisper]

agree

[ralncdude]

I care! Spires are NOT considered when the height of the skyscrapers are judged!

If this helps: http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/wo/

Buildings are measured by highest occupied floor and roof. The "tip height" or anything above this is not counted for it's offical height.

emporis gives Two Hannover Square structural height at 431 feet, but does not give a roof height, or tip height.

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=125415

To give ma an idea on how tall RBC will be, is 431 feet the complete or highest point of Two Hannover Square.

you answered my question as i was typing raleighrick thanks!