Has anybody seen this?

[Lexy]

I'm sure it will house a Starbucks and a small deli counter for all those 10,000 people that will travel in it. That would make Louisville one of the most eclectic cities in the world wouldn't it? LOL!! It is comical to a degree.

[bzorch]

Thinking this was a joke I checked it out further. Sorry to say it may not be a joke. Here is their official website if you have not seen it. The video is impressive.

Museum Plaza

[Hankster]

Thinking this was a joke I checked it out further. Sorry to say it may not be a joke. Here is their official website if you have not seen it. The video is impressive.

Museum Plaza

I agree. This is a simply fabulous project. Look at the video. The look of the building is definitely shocking at first, but take a closer look. Wow! I actually like it. Building design is really going through of phase of change right now. This project is NOT as bizarre as some that are being proposed today, especially in China. I hope Louisville builds it. If they do, I predict they'll be glad they did.

[linclink]

I agree. This is a simply fabulous project. Look at the video. The look of the building is definitely shocking at first, but take a closer look. Wow! I actually like it. Building design is really going through of phase of change right now. This project is NOT as bizarre as some that are being proposed today, especially in China. I hope Louisville builds it. If they do, I predict they'll be glad they did.

I agree with Hankster. I think its a great project. It looks modern and fresh. Louisville has many beautiful historical buildings, and that punch of young, modern architecture looks GREAT in the video. If I were from louisville I'd be proud to live in a progressive city that is willing to play with the big boys. They could have gone the safe and conservative route, and stuck to the tried and true architecture for their city, but they decided to expand their horizons.. and I salute them for it. I think its a great building! I for one can't wait to see when the US is going to start building the bolder type skyscrapers seen in Asia and the middle East. This one isn't quite there yet, but it's a good step in that direction.

[NewTowner]

I agree. This is a simply fabulous project. Look at the video. The look of the building is definitely shocking at first, but take a closer look. Wow! I actually like it. Building design is really going through of phase of change right now. This project is NOT as bizarre as some that are being proposed today, especially in China. I hope Louisville builds it. If they do, I predict they'll be glad they did.

I disagree. This is a simply horrendous project. Look at the video. The look of the building is definitely shocking at first, but take a closer look. Wow! It is actually rooted in an architectural ideology which is not only wrong--but perverse and evil. Building design is really going through a phase of adolescent self-destruction as the Modernist and Post-Modernist and Post-Post-Modernist commitment to avant-gardism (Viva la Revoluc

[barakat]

I've waited until now to share my 2 cents, after digesting it over the day. I watched the video on the website. The video itself is very well done and very impressive. I'm leaning toward liking the tower(s), and my feelings are summed up with this: I would rather have something this 'different' go up in Nashville rather than Graves' Federal Courthouse we're getting, if that were an option. It may not mesh with Louisville's skyline the way Signature will anchor Nashville's, but it will provide a different, contrasting dialogue with the surrounding environment. The first thing I thought after seeing the image of Museum Tower in the skyline night shot was "Detroit."

[linclink]

Well NewTowner,

It may not be for everyone, but it certainly is much more pleasing than the horrific buildings of the 60's and 70's found in so many US downtowns. So in that sense, we've seen worse. Again, I think its nice. Do I also LOVE classical architecture, and classical skyscrapers? Yes I do. Do I love intimate streetscapes, and buildings that have scale, with beautiful plazas, and small city parks and outdoor cafes, and so on and so forth? Yes. But I also think one or two of these more progressive buildings give a nice pop, a nice injection of "ART". I think its like having a living room full of antique furniture, with modern art on the walls. It gives a nice contrast and keeps the room from being too stuffy, and taking itself to seriously. I like the juxtoposition of the classical with the modern. The intimate with the grand. The human scale building with the awesomness of something completely other. Architecture is an ART, and as such, the beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. If you make up guidlines and rules for how buildings have to look, you take away any and all chance for creativity and growth. Being an artist means drawing outside the lines. Thinking outside the box. These guys are doing that. Does a downtown need 10 of these buildings? No. But a downtown like Louisvilles, with all its historic buildings, and great human scale can certainly afford to have a couple of bold buildings that function more as sculpture than anything else. At least thats my take on it.

[Guest]

I think this is a case where market forces could have helped take the edge (which one) off the project and end up with a more fitting building. From what I take away this project is being financed mainly as an art experiment from those with deep pockets. I say more power to them and their pet project but when you do not have to answer to a bank the results tend to reach for the extremes. They end up either exceptional or ostentatious...time will tell.

[linclink]

I would rather have something this 'different' go up in Nashville rather than Graves' Federal Courthouse we're getting, if that were an option. It may not mesh with the city's skyline the way Signature will anchor Nashville's, but it will provide a different, contrasting dialogue with the surrounding environment.

I'll second that!

[Nashvillain]

It looks pretty horrendous in the rendering, it's too massive and much too plane, too many unrelieved cubes and rectangles. But the video made it look much more elegant and sleek. To me, it didn't really dominate the skyline like the GM complex in Detroit does. That's what it made me think of at first from looking at the drawing. I'd like to say more about it but I'll have to let my thoughts congeal.

[cheeriokid61]

Hmmmmmmm... What to say, what to say. It's unique.

[it's just dave]

My thoughts haven't jelled yet, either. The video, as stated, was well-done and placed an elegant air on its presence, but I agree that it appears to have zero relationship to the street or the people of Louisville. It's a "look at us and see how rich we are" kind of statement, and I think that's wrong. Hopefully, they'll fill in the base and reconnect with the very people who will have to look at this for generations. I don't want to deny any of the excitement that's going on up there, for we know how it feels to get warm and fuzzy over a project, but this one is a bit over the top for that grand city on the river.

It'll be an interesting building to see. I imagine it'll generate a bit of pulsing blood when I see it, but I'll continue to seek my more human scale treats.

The reactions are mixed in Louisville as expected.

http://webx.courier-journal.com/cgi-bin/[email protected]

I certainly hope that the people who are dropping so much money into this are also dropping money into many worthwhile efforts to help the city and state. My guess is that they do, hopefully. Our Ingram family and others drop lots of money. Martha's $30 million check for the Symphony Hall was a grand gesture, but the family's $300 million to Vanderbilt Medical Center, the $60 million for Vandy's cancer center, the Blair School and so much more certainly is something I'd like to think this Brown family does as well. Somebody tell me they do, please.

Otherwise, 380 million dollars to frame your success in a questionable stack of boxes for all to see is obscene. Louisville deserves benefactors, these people from now on out won't appear so humble.

[ATLBrain]

The Browns make good booze. Jack! Er... let me rephrase that. They market good booze. It's actually made by those guys in overalls in Lynchburg, TN.

[tombarnes]

Call me a Luddite, but I think it's infinitely ugly. Bombastic? Absolutely. Inappropriate for Louisville? Yes again. Just because a building is supposedly daring or out of context does not make it good. I think the people of Louisville will regret this should it see the light of day.

[soulbrotha]

It will look just fine

[soulbrotha]

My thoughts haven't jelled yet, either. The video, as stated, was well-done and placed an elegant air on its presence, but I agree that it appears to have zero relationship to the street or the people of Louisville. It's a "look at us and see how rich we are" kind of statement,

and what skyscraper doesn't make that statement may i ask?

[it's just dave]

Well, hey, soulbrotha. I've always enjoyed your photos on other forums. You capture things most people don't think about. I imagine you can do quite a number with this in the background.

Remember, though, we're here at home, talking among ourselves. You don't have to defend the project here. Our opinions and views are just as varied, and not much different from many in the Courier-Journal. This thread was created as a point of non-vested interest in what we consider an interesting development. It will drop off quickly, but I'll personally check back to see what's going on up there.

Come back again and keep taking those great shots.

[cheeriokid61]

I'm sure it will make a statement. It has gotten Louisville a lot of attention in the forums, something it deserves. I hope something good comes out of this.

However, when I say it will make a statement, I don't think it will be an icon, like the Eiffel Tower and Sydney Opera House do (These are examples from the website). Overall though, I think that this should be a good thing for Louisville. I do hope that it is not the final design, though, especially for the street level. I don't think that part will be very good, at all.

[commodore06]

I think the design is okay and more for shock value. I agree more should be at street level. I would be surprised if this thing is built as designed.

[cheeriokid61]

Yeah, me too. I think (I hope) this is the preliminary design. I wouldn't think that they would have already made a video for it, but that was probably just to get people excited, and it definately worked.

[soulbrotha]

I think the design is okay and more for shock value. I agree more should be at street level. I would be surprised if this thing is built as designed.

well it has been well planned, and kept secret for several months now. You have to understand that there was supposed to have been another tower built in that same spot about 7 years ago, but it didn't go through. Louisville will not make the same mistakes twice, TRUST ME.

There will be a free public showing of the models and other renderings in downtown louisville over the next few months.

This skyscraper was announced at the state capital by the Govenor and the Mayor. It will not use any state money, and it will be paid for privatly. The design is unique, but at the same time so is the Humana building, and the aegon tower. But its time for those two towers to move over and allow something even more unique. From the moment this structure is built, it will be the new face of Louisville. And it will be one of the tallest in the south, which I still can't beleive, and am very happy about.

The renderings are one thing, seeing it in person will be totally different. So dog the pictures all you want, but, hopefully, after it is finished in three years, you will come see it for yourself. I can't lie, i love the design, and can't for the life of me understand why everyone out of the city thinks its ugly.

[cheeriokid61]

^ I guess the reason I think it is so ugly is because it's so extremely asymmetrical and just looks really lopsided and awkward. I think the weirdest part is the island in the middle. I just don't really think it fits. And also, I don't understand why some of the bottom legs look like they're twisted, and why one of them is just a big pole. It just seems weird.

[soulbrotha]

^ I guess the reason I think it is so ugly is because it's so extremely asymmetrical and just looks really lopsided and awkward. I think the weirdest part is the island in the middle. I just don't really think it fits. And also, I don't understand why some of the bottom legs look like they're twisted, and why one of them is just a big pole. It just seems weird.

well here is a diagram that show what everything will be.

http://www.courier-journal.com/graphics/20...museumplaza.pdf

and here are some other DRAWINGS

from a photographers point of view you can't get any better than this. The angles and the way it is lined up with the older main st. buildings is very impressive IMO.

the specs

61 Stories

703 feet tall

$380 million total cost

85 luxury condos, starting at $400,000

150 lofts, costing $275,000 or less

300 hotel rooms

300,000 square feet of office space

1.2 million square feet total space

1,100 underground parking spots

10,500 people a day projected to use Museum Plaza

561 full-time employees needed for construction

Construction starts in 2007

Construction completed in 2010

SEE FOR YOURSELF

What: Starting tomorrow and continuing until mid-April, you can visit an exhibit that includes detailed scale models of Museum Plaza, along with video of the architects and developers speaking about the project.

Where: 609 W. Main St.

Hours: 3-7 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.

Admission: Free.

[cheeriokid61]

I figured out why I don't like it. The bottom legs are very bulky, the top towers are very skinny, and there's a random box on top of the island. Plus, some of the legs and towers stick out over (or under) the island, which makes it look like they had some serious mathematical errors.

[BnaBreaker]

My God that thing is hideous!!! There isn't even any imagination to it...it's just as though they took the existing Fifth Third Bank Tower in Louisville, and stacked it on top of itself a few times in different places. This thing is truly bizzare. Daring...yes...but an architectual gem? HELLLLLLLLLLL NO! They citizens of Louisville are going to be surprised at the reaction of the rest of the country if they are thinking people will like it. Of course this is all merely my opinion, but it looks like one of those pie-in-the-sky fantasy buildings from the 50's and 60's when building with glass and steel was just coming into vogue and they couldn't think of anything other than rectangular blocks as far as design concepts were concerned.