Wachovia 48 Story Office Tower & 42 Story Condo Tower

[graydog]

The glass on the NCNB plaza and the adjoining hotel is reflective right at ground level.

[dubone]

Does anyone know if Wachovia is going to have another public meeting with the architects?

Because one thing I'd really want to know is if they plan to use the kind of windows that open on the ground floor retail. A model of Hearst on N College would show just the windows, but in reality, those windows are open during business days for probably 1/2 of the year when there is good weather. That makes a huge difference in my mind in how that block is able to attract so many pedestrians, despite having the full tower with no step back above. Even if the glass is transparent, having windows that open would be much much better.

The more I look at the model, the more I realize that this won't really be an all-glass building. There is actually a surprising amount of the tower that is granite/stone/concrete.

I also really like the unique design of the staircase on the Mint and the variations in the materials on the plazas between brick and concrete. I think both of those add visual interest to something that could have been plain and uniform. That is part of what the University of Michigan study said would help pedestrian vibrancy.

[dubone]

Also, I'm sure this would have been cost prohibitive, but I think it would have been cool if they could have done a glass bottomed pool on the roof above the huge internal open space of the Mint. Not only would it have let a lot of light in, in keeping with the massive window on First Street, but it also would have been a little surreal, which is befitting a museum.

Also, I would lhave liked them to figure out a way to sell air rights over the smaller section of offices that are part of the theater. It think they could have figured out a way to make that section taller, and more of a destination location than it is right now.

[dubone]

I don't remember it being asked before, but does anyone think they will open the "skywindow" to the public to be uptown's first public observation deck? That would be a huge draw, considering how amazing the view will be from up there. It also is just a block away from the convention center. I know the banks are very careful, but I would think it would be a great idea if they can do it logistically.

[uptowner]

I think it would have been cool if they could have done a glass bottomed pool on the roof above the huge internal open space of the Mint

Hmmmm... really. That would definately be interesting.

[monsoon]

The glass is dark and not reflective. If you walk by you can see in.

[dubone]

Most of the shots with windows in the video of the vibrant Ann Arbor downtown during the day have reflections in the glass. From most angles, glass reflects, especially angles like shown above. However, at the street level, looking directly in, especially in evening light, Bank of America Plaza is just nasty-looking dark glass.

But I think some of the people who said there are rules now about the reflectivity are saying that there is a way to measure it, and that that level of reflectivity (which isn't the highest, as you can see in for a lot of the day), is still higher than would be allowed now on the Wachovia tower. But I think all glass reflects at certain angles. It is the nature of the material. I'll bet the windows on all of our houses reflects in certain angles and lighting and then is see through at others.

I would agree that if the glass at the ground level at Wachovia has an average or high degree of reflectivity, it would be a negative. But I believe that the glass they typically use for LEED buildings lets through a lot more natural light and is thus less reflective.

[AuLukey]

You're right dub, there is a way to measure reflectivity. It's similar to the way car windows are measured by their tint. I read up on this awhile back because car windows can't have a certain amount of reflectivity that is measured also (those cars rolling around with mirror windows and wheels three times too big have illegal tinting and probably get ticketed quite often.)

[Seabreeze]

yay, I finally have some insider info to share on this forum! If all goes well, next week there will be 4 tower cranes erected at the wachovia sight

[AuLukey]

yay, I finally have some insider info to share on this forum! If all goes well, next week there will be 4 tower cranes erected at the wachovia sight

[Seabreeze]

If all goes well, Batson-Cook is really pushing hard to get them up next week. I was thinking the same thing when I heard that from my boss though.

[dubone]

Thanks for sharing. It will sure be great to see some upward progress there.

On the discussion of the base of the tower, does anyone know of any precedent of where retailers are able to alter the facade of their retail spot in a project designed like this one? It seems to me that with the retail being indented in from the overall facade, that adding extra facade elements, like they do on stores in the mall, wouldn't detract from the overal design, yet it would make the complex more interesting from the street level.

If all goes well, Batson-Cook is really pushing hard to get them up next week. I was thinking the same thing when I heard that from my boss though.

[atlrvr]

I was thinking that maybe the brand new Home Depot at 59th and Lex in Manhattan would have gotten a unique facade, but no. I would say it's pretty rare, but there is certainly nothing to prevent it from happening. My guess is that a property manager does not want to have to incur the expense of returning a retail facade to "normal" when the tenant moves out. It's much cheaper to replace an awning.

Here is the Home Depot in a shiny new glass building attached to the new Bloomberg Tower.

[elvigy]

I don't see anything to indicate that Home Depot is in there. Of course, McDonald's presence is easily seen, even from this height. And sorry for the hijacking of the thread, but I'm curious what the horseshoe shaped glass building is. Interesting design, and reminds me of the BMW plant off of I-85 in South Carolina.

BMW Plant

[atlrvr]

Exactly....the McDonalds is in a old "small footprint" building and has great signage. The Home Depot is right next door in Pelli's brand new glass "masterpiece" (you can't see the power portion from this view), but you would never know because it has the same facade as the rest of the complex.

The curved part is just an atrium I believe connecting the Home Depot area to the rest of the tower.

[elvigy]

Ah, OK. Atrium makes sense, even though it's apparently several stories tall. It's too thin and odd shaped to be of much use as residential or retail. And sucks to be Home Depot. Though I doubt much of their business is just casual walkin traffic, I suppose. If you need tools or lumber, you pretty much know where you have to go to get it.

Anyway, I'll leave it to someone else to get this thread back on topic...

[Charlotteman]

OK I'm putting on my bullet proof vest before mentioning this:) heehee

Call me old fashioned, but I wish the new WB had a spire(s) or a more decorative top. I think we could all live without a tower called the Handle.

[Mobuchu]

^^^ Yeah, there are lots of great things that could have been done with this tower. But when all is said and done, if they use quality materials (ie. actual metal, instead of concrete), then this will be great because it will add a new element to the skyline. We will get more spires, boxes, etc., but this will at least add a little diversity to the skyline.

Of course, I would take One bryant park with a spire anyday.......

[MZT]

Hmm, isn't there a thread on here somewhere about banks and reflective glass, affecting pedestrian perceptions?

Despite that, it's still a major positive to see more office space and jobs being brought to the center city.

[Charlotteman]

Did I read earlier in this thread that WB tower's "handle" (god I hate that term) will be made of some sort of metal? I certainly hope so, as concrete there would be sooooooooooooo ugly~~~

And as other people have mentioned, WB should DEFINITELY see fit to create an observation area at the top of it's new tower. What an awesome attraction that would be. Especially to play off the museums on the ground level.

[queensguy06]

I don't remember it being asked before, but does anyone think they will open the "skywindow" to the public to be uptown's first public observation deck? That would be a huge draw, considering how amazing the view will be from up there. It also is just a block away from the convention center. I know the banks are very careful, but I would think it would be a great idea if they can do it logistically.

[krazeeboi]

Call me old fashioned, but I wish the new WB had a spire(s) or a more decorative top. I think we could all live without a tower called the Handle.

[rockhilljames]

Thought you guys might like to see this. I felt like working up a skyline shot with Wachovia in it. I know the angles are a bit off (especially the condo tower, it's backwards and the Wachovia tower is too far over), but I thought it might give some idea as to how the skyline will look when the Wachovia tower is finished:

[Charlotteman]

Nice! Thanks for posting this:) Will the WB condo tower actually be that tall? I thought it would probably be around the same height as Wachovia 3.

[rockhilljames]

I based the height of Wachovia on the height of BofA and Hearst...I know the angles a bit off, so it might not be exact. The height of the condo tower is relative to the photos of the models....so maybe.