Federal Courthouse, 6 & 8 stories, 276,000 sq. ft.,

[fieldmarshaldj]

6 hours ago, satalac said:

Does it double as an earthquake memorial? I'm not sure what's going on here.

Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[BnaBreaker]

That San Francisco design is very bizarre to say the least, but personally, I'd rather have a courthouse that appears out of place because it's design is daring and avant garde rather than having a courthouse that appears out of place because it looks like it was originally designed as a Comfort Inn in 1987.  

Edited October 17, 2017 by BnaBreaker

[MLBrumby]

I think it's absurd to have a solitary judge deciding on which proposed design to go with. District Judge Robert Echols was the one who green-lighted the gawdawful "Hampton Inn" design for the Nashville FCH over a dozen years ago. He is now retired. 

[e-dub]

On 3/3/2016 at 3:23 PM, smeagolsfree said:

About the same chance of Vladimir Putin being the next Republican Presidential nominee.

whoa.

[e-dub]

in all seriousness, there were hints of the possibility of a redesign earlier in the thread (i just went through all of it). does anyone know anything more?

[smeagolsfree]

Last I heard the design is the same.

[Pdt2f]

Does anybody have the current renderings for the courthouse at hand? I can't remember the design. 

[donNdonelson2]

I think this is the latest. 

[Pdt2f]

Eh, could be worse. 

[VSRJ]

I think what bothers me the most about it is the yellowish tint of the exterior - maybe that's exaggerated in the rendering? 

[markhollin]

I believe it is going to be a stone finish similar to the State Capitol and Downtown Library. 

[titanhog]

Will they have the breakfast buffet like Embassy Suites? 

[BnaBreaker]

3 hours ago, markhollin said:

I believe it is going to be a stone finish similar to the State Capitol and Downtown Library. 

Despite all the (well earned) grief that I give it, I will say that I do think this is one of those cases where the end product will wind up looking significantly better than the renderings... which isn't saying much since the renderings are pretty much the worst thing ever, but still.  

[NashvilleObserver]

1 hour ago, BnaBreaker said:

Despite all the (well earned) grief that I give it, I will say that I do think this is one of those cases where the end product will wind up looking significantly better than the renderings... which isn't saying much since the renderings are pretty much the worst thing ever, but still.  

I think so too.

[Pdt2f]

^ Are those other buildings part of the plan? 

[Neigeville2]

I'm reserving judgment, but I don't like the setbacks (I know they're required by security concerns), the surface parking lot, or the lack of excitement.  If you're going to do postmodern, build a big colorful plastic looking toybox like the Humana building (which I think is great).  You can't make it work if every element is made as dull and conventional as possible.   The yellow color has some appeal, but it will undoubtedly be grayed down to utter banality.

The medallions at the top of the walls are possibly ok, if, like the copper owls on the Chicago downtown library, they turn out to look way bigger than you thought when you saw the render/model.  I was living in Chicago at the time and the consensus was that they had chosen the dullest design in the competition (the models were on public display so people could vote, and they chose the one that got the least votes and the least positive reviews from critics), but it became popular when it was finished and everybody saw how outrageously outsized the green ornamentation is.  Those owls look like they're probably eating passing children when no one is looking.  

You can build a great building in any style of architecture but you have to be willing to make a statement.  This looks like somebody was aiming for postmodern and then tried to make it tasteful.  Give me vision over taste any day.

[dmillsphoto]

1 hour ago, Pdt2f said:

^ Are those other buildings part of the plan? 

Not sure I understand? One is the Library (east), one is Morton's (north east), and the other corner (north) is Bennie Dillon Lofts

[Pdt2f]

11 minutes ago, dmillsphoto said:

Not sure I understand? One is the Library (east), one is Morton's (north east), and the other corner (north) is Bennie Dillon Lofts

Oooooh ok, I was mentally picturing it from somewhere else. It makes perfect sense now that I'm seeing this view from around Church instead of Commerce. Thanks!

Edited October 18, 2017 by Pdt2f

[dmillsphoto]

4 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

Oooooh ok, I was mentally picturing it from somewhere else. It makes perfect sense now that I'm seeing this view from around Church instead of Commerce. Thanks!

Honestly, I'd forgotten it's orientation until this model. I was under the impression for a long time that it was situated with the culpula to the southeast.

[Pdt2f]

6 minutes ago, dmillsphoto said:

Honestly, I'd forgotten it's orientation until this model. I was under the impression for a long time that it was situated with the culpula to the southeast.

That's what I was imagining, with the cupola facing the Renaissance, at the intersection with Hume Fogg and the library parking garage.  

[NashvilleObserver]

3 hours ago, Pdt2f said:

^ Are those other buildings part of the plan? 

No,  this is the courthouse, facing the corner of the library.

[markhollin]

Groundbreaking for the long-planned U.S. courthouse project downtown is eyed for spring 2018 and demolition of the site’s parking garage set for November. A spring 2021 completion date remains targeted for the facility, to be named in honor of late U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson.

The GSA site notes a November demolition of the site’s art deco-era parking garage is slated. GSA has awarded a contract valued at about $2.88 million to ICE Technical Services Inc. The Smyrna-based company also will remove underground storage tanks as part of the effort.

The 7 story building (with many of the floors bing 20 feet high) will span 339,000 square feet, including underground parking.

http://www.nashvillepost.com/business/development/article/20979798/notes-spring-2018-start-eyed-for-courthouse-project

[markhollin]

Here is the updated GSA page with info on the Federal Courthouse construction:

https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/regions/southeast-sunbelt-4/buildingsfacilities/tennessee/new-nashville-us-courthouse

[titanhog]

2 hours ago, markhollin said:

Here is the updated GSA page with info on the Federal Courthouse construction:

https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/regions/southeast-sunbelt-4/buildingsfacilities/tennessee/new-nashville-us-courthouse

So...we won't have a final design until Spring 2019?  Am I reading that correctly?  If so...I guess there's still a chance to get something a bit better (or worse).

[TNinVB]

4 hours ago, titanhog said:

So...we won't have a final design until Spring 2019?  Am I reading that correctly?  If so...I guess there's still a chance to get something a bit better (or worse).

I read it the same way util I saw construction start Spring 2018. I find it hard to believe they would start construction without final design being complete. I did find it interesting that it says a "design refresh", so I wonder how much of a change we can expect?