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Church Street Plaza | 28-Story Office/Hotel [Phase 1 Under Construction]


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^^

I'm also excited about this being a new "gateway" building as you approach from 408 and I-4 EB.

^^

Regarding 55W, I like it BUT FOR its east and west facades.  It's not that they did a bad job trying to transition the top of the building from the sides to perhaps hide its mass a bit, its that they didn't do anything in that respect.  From Plaza North, 55W is an ugly building (east facade), as you see all the major flaws of its design.  They didn't even attempt offsetting colors on the east and west facades as an alternative.  I'm not an architect but I know nicely designed buildings (and I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night).

Worst of all, it's not even built with precast.  It's all paint on concrete panels.  From the sides it looks cheap.

Edited by jrs2
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6 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

^^

I'm also excited about this being a new "gateway" building as you approach from 408 and I-4 EB.

^^

Regarding 55W, I like it BUT FOR its east and west facades.  It's not that they did a bad job trying to transition the top of the building from the sides to perhaps hide its mass a bit, its that they didn't do anything in that respect.  From Plaza North, 55W is an ugly building (east facade), as you see all the major flaws of its design.  They didn't even attempt offsetting colors on the east and west facades as an alternative.  I'm not an architect but I know nicely designed buildings (and I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night).

Worst of all, it's not even built with precast.  It's all paint on concrete panels.  From the sides it looks cheap.

Personally, I don't see much difference between those two facades and the one facing north. Other than a few vertical color bands. The only thing I dislike about the conquistador hat, is the way it looks off center when looking at an angle toward the southwest or southeast...

DSC_0209-600x500.jpg

With those wings that protrude outward on the south elevation, looking at it from that angle just makes it look lopsided.

But other than that, I think it's an OK looking building, if not a bit squatty. I wish they'd have left the wings off of it and just stacked all that floor space on top, making it taller and sleeker looking. The hat would look just fine then.

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6 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Personally, I don't see much difference between those two facades and the one facing north. Other than a few vertical color bands. The only thing I dislike about the conquistador hat, is the way it looks off center when looking at an angle toward the southwest or southeast...

DSC_0209-600x500.jpg

With those wings that protrude outward on the south elevation, looking at it from that angle just makes it look lopsided.

But other than that, I think it's an OK looking building, if not a bit squatty. I wish they'd have left the wings off of it and just stacked all that floor space on top, making it taller and sleeker looking. The hat would look just fine then.

Wow this really is the worst angle of the building. I haven't noticed it from this perspective. That parking pedestal doesn't do it any favors either.

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20 hours ago, AndyPok1 said:

I will never understand the hate.  It's different and distinct while not being overly gaudy.

Agreed.  I'm not much for the hat, but I don't dislike the building.  It's so massive, I think/hope that when more buildings go up around to put it in perspective people will see it as a unique, if not beautiful, structure.  It reminds me of the worldwide plaza and lipstick buildings in NYC - initially reviled, now unique pieces of the overall skyline

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Viewing it from the east side of Lake Eola, it looks even more off center.

w9bmtv.jpg

It actually sort of looks like the hat is the top of another building behind it.

Again, not a bad looking building overall, just a bit boxy and the roof feature looks off center from certain angles.

I think the South elevation looks great, though. 

 

 

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^^

Tremont will look fantastic.

^^

I think the thing that irks me about 55W the most is that it was made with black glass tinted windows and black window frames ala 1980's or 1970's cheap beach condo style, which is different than every other residential tower in downtown.  The black conquistador hat is also black glass and black frame.  If they would've used different glass it would've completely changed the look, and if they would've placed design elements stemming from the structure up into the "hat" to make it seem more like a contiguous piece, that would've helped.  The black glass with black railings looks small-time compared to blue-grey glass and glass balcony railings seen elsewhere.

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8 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

Yes, it was much more traditional and looked like it took cues from similar existing building nearby in Suntrust and BOA.  Hard to say if it would have been "better" than what was actually built, as it was just a concept, and a matter of taste anyway.  Anyway, on topic here, I really like the Tremont design.  I think it will look better here, and I love the concept of the amenity/bar level breaking up the tower and overlooking downtown and the Amway center.  I think it will be a great addition to this area.  It is modern, but a good design that can still tie in to the other diverse architectural styles in the area much better, IMHO.  

Here is original 55 West concept from Baker Barrios Website.

 

55 West Original Render.png

That is not the original plan.  That is the plan when Barker Barrios took over the design. 

The original design was a massive disaster.  

Edited by RedStar25
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On 4/13/2016 at 2:23 PM, JFW657 said:

What I also like about TT, is how close it sits to I-4. From a slight distance, it will look like I-4 is almost connected to its base. I just like the way it looks when an elevated expressway runs very close to high-rise buildings. Hope we get a couple more like that farther up Garland.

 

Hopefully both Garland and Hughey. Looking at the map there is quite a lot of undeveloped lots and underutilized lots in the forms of surface parking lots. If given a couple of decades, the drive on I-4 through downtown could begin to resemble Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai with towers looming on both sides. Tremont Tower, in addition to that new Magic complex (still waiting), the Orlando Central tower up on Jefferson (is it still happening?), and whatever gets built in Creative Village could be the beginning of this. Hopefully the FAA will loosen their height restriction or flight paths are changed so we can have some really tall skyscrapers so our skyline isn't too stumpy.

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Last night I met with one of the areas lead urban architects and we discussed a few projects around downtown. He said foundation permits for all of these high-rises need to be secured before August or else OCPS is going to tack on another $2,000 per unit in impact fees. This would bring the fee to $5,000 PER UNIT. This comes as OCPS has announced their intention to built 12 new schools. 

He said Termont is moving along and that Modera would probably follow. 

Orlando Central is also slowly moving forward. 

City Center has a way to go yet in their permitting and battles with the "lake people". 

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