Tower at Main & Gervais

[CorgiMatt]

I'll take what I call the jumbled up look over what I call the fingers look on a city skyline any day.

[krazeeboi]

There's no reason for a skyline to have all of its towers in a certain height range when there are no height restrictions. Even if that is the case, make sure the towers have some architectural diversity. Columbia has got to get out of this boxy tower phase.

[CorgiMatt]

They seem to be building to match the square footage demands. I guess they could build speculative office space if they can afford to, just for the sake of having a more dynamic skyline.

[krazeeboi]

At this point, I don't think another tower is going to be built for at least a few years now, much less a spec tower. Even if the next tower isn't going to be very tall, I do hope it's more than just a slight variation on a box and has more distinguishing features.

[digital_sandlapper]

This view of Columbia has always been my favorite. I-126 winding into a dense mass of buildings... it makes Columbia look quite large.

[waccamatt]

Have you travelled into town from Hwy. 321 between Gaston and the outskirts of Cayce? There are several times where the skyline is dramatic and beautiful. Of course, it's hard to find a place to pull over and photograph, but one of these days I will! To me, these are the best views of all.

[CorgiMatt]

At this point, I don't think another tower is going to be built for at least a few years now, much less a spec tower. Even if the next tower isn't going to be very tall, I do hope it's more than just a slight variation on a box and has more distinguishing features.

[krazeeboi]

I also tend to prefer density over height, but for a city like Columbia where there are no height restrictions, there will be towers of varying heights so there needs to be some architectural diversity to make the skyline more interesting.

[Spartan]

Density is a great thing if it's done well. It's really all about quality over quantity. If the street level is well designed, then the upper part doesn't matter. It can be as tall or short as you want it to be.

[krazeeboi]

Taken 6/6:

[CorgiMatt]

The dark bands mimic the horizontal pin stripe effect of the Capitol Center. Thank you, Krazeeboi. As they said, the ground floor glass is clear.

[krazeeboi]

I also noticed the slightly different shade of glass on the Main Street side is a little less reflective and has a slight transparency to it. That part of the building has something of a "setback" effect from the corner portion. I'm thinking that these and other small features may make this building a little more architecturally interesting than we think, despite its overall boxiness.

[digital_sandlapper]

You mean this perspective? This is from just off 321 on Starmount.

[scnative]

Taken 6/6:

[Spartan]

If the cap is two floors like the notch is, then that would be 18 floors.

[krazeeboi]

Am I wrong in saying I only see 16 stories? 2 (ground level) + 4 (garage) + 10 (office) = 16 floors.

Also is this building going to be LEED certified? If so, which rating?

[I Miss Columbia]

If the cap is two floors like the notch is, then that would be 18 floors.

[CorgiMatt]

I'm sorry to say that when the rest of the glass is on the building, the West Columbia side of it isn't going to do much at all for the skyline. I drive in from W. Cola every day, and the grayish blue glass hardly shows up against the sky. What you can see of it looks like a gray attachment to the Capitol Center. That's not to say I don't like the soft, modern, glassy effect of the grayish blue color; it's just that it isn't going to show up well enough to make much of a statement of its own from the west.

[waccamatt]

6/15/09 update:

If you look closely at this large photo you can see where the bluish-gree plastic covering is being taken off to reveal aluminum framing of the windows, which I like very much.

[growingup15]

Heres a picture i took of the main and gervias back on june 11th

I could of had more pictures but for some reason my website i place them on all the time is actting up. sorry everyone

Ps i have the speak up columbia episode 2

[waccamatt]

Here is a different angle of TMG. Don't worry, I have lots of pics of downtown from this angle to post in the coming days.

[krazeeboi]

I love the "backside" angle. TMG looks pretty prominent from this angle.

[CorgiMatt]

The green glass is barely showing now from Assembly and Greene driving north. It's looking good. It should add a lot from there when the glass is all the way up.

[krazeeboi]

Two shots I took earlier today with the camera phone:

[GamecockEngineer]

TMG is really shaping up nicely... much better than the rendering! The glass is really looking good.

Matt - I love the density in your shot.