55 West

[prahaboheme]

I like the crown.

[Chemmie]

I like the crown.

It looks like a giant Conquistador coming to ravage Orlando.

[SammyL]

It looks like a giant Conquistador coming to ravage Orlando.

Vivid imagination! But I prefer to imagine that tower going up!

[Tim3167]

It looks like a giant Conquistador coming to ravage Orlando.

That is really freakin' funny!

[orlandonative]

That is really freakin' funny!

^I see a theme

Edited October 5, 2005 by orlandonative

[cwetteland]

^I see a theme

There is a theme. It's called Baker and Barrios Architects.

I also noticed their logo on the cite plan for the Med School.

[FLClarkKent]

This is great news. I'm so excited that my grandchildren will be able to see the opening of 55 West!

[WeNeed2Progress]

That is really freakin' funny!

That's AWESOME!

Though I do like the newer color scheme... before it seemed that the current "brown" color was more of a "pink" making 55W look like a birthday cake conquistador coming to ravage Orlando!

[bic]

That's pretty funny...

But I gotta say that I'm not a fan of the crown at all, nor the general architecture of the rest of the building for that matter. It's so unimaginative.

[orlandonative]

I actually don't mind the design, it's the location that im not real crazy about. The design is still leaps and bounds better than were it started imo. In the end it will probably look pretty good when it is built. I think we will all be amazed how big this building is. What it doesn't have in height it will surely make up for in mass. The other thing that I notice about the building is that it is fairly "busy" on the exterior. This is something that might make it deceptively taller looking than it is. Who knows. The other thing that is pretty interesting is when you drive under I-4 on Church st., headed towards Orange, is how close this building actually is to The Plaza. This will be a tight cluster.

Just an observation.

[tm68]

^ So we can conclude you're an architect. But....do you work for Baker Barrios? **wink**

[orlandonative]

^ So we can conclude you're an architect. But....do you work for Baker Barrios? **wink**

No and no.

[tm68]

damn.

[prahaboheme]

Did they design this one? I thought it was someone else.

[bic]

The scale of the building is one reason why I have such a problem with its architecture. It's so huge and in such a highly visible location...I just wish it were more attractive.

Check out how much of the skyline it will eat up as you approach downtown from I-4 eastbound:

[tm68]

Did they design this one? I thought it was someone else.

Like every other project in town, they are somehow involved.

[iris32]

This is great news. I'm so excited that my grandchildren will be able to see the opening of 55 West!

I am so excited my grandchildren will be there also to see the opening!

The sad thing is that I have not even started having kids yet... hopefuly, at that point, the grandkids will not be asking the same questions we are right now "When will it be completed?"

[chgochris]

I don't know if its been mentioned yet, but the billboards advertising 55W (near Lee Rd. and near OBT) along I-4 have been replaced with other advertising.

[downtowninvestor]

i saw that 55 west has doubled its prices....now 400k gets you a studio on the 4th floor

[firemick]

i saw that 55 west has doubled its prices....now 400k gets you a studio on the 4th floor

^ Inflation, how else do you think that they will pay for cost overruns and rising construction costs! It all gets passed to the consumer. To be truthfully honest...i hope this goes belly up. I don't like the design and the business tactics. I would much rather see someone else get a bid on this location with a much nicer project. One could only hope. (My wish is a 52 story EA corporate headquarters with ground floor retail, parking, as well as a certain amount of condos/apartments.)

[Dale]

firemick -

I'm still thinking that One Crotty Plaza, at 45 stories, will be downtown's new tallest.

[firemick]

^ Its funny that you mention that, because i was just parousing through the old master list and reread the Sentinel article about Orange County wanting to consolidate all thier governmental campuses into a 1,000,000 sqaure foot high rise. I wonder if this is still a plausible idear or not. You know if Orange County builds something it will be TALL as to compensate for something. Look at the OC Courthouse for an example. Whatever the reason, i hope they do!!!

Edited October 17, 2005 by firemick

[Dale]

Oh, I think it's very plausible. There was more talk of it in today's Sentinel in the article about the PAC.

[prahaboheme]

Will One Crotty Plaza be adourned with a copper dome too?

[Dale]

I think it should be white like his hair. It should also look slightly unkempt.