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Ugliest Buildings in the Core

joeDowntown

By joeDowntown
in Grand Rapids

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snoogit Town

snoogit

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Columbus, IN was mentioned previously on this forum. Although, some concerns were brought up regarding it's urbanism:

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.ph...opic=25553&st=0

Interesting place nonetheless.

The one thing I don't like about that city is the fact that its "great architecture" was built during the 1970s a time when lets be honest, the words great and archtecture rarely are seen together.

Sadly Columbus may have just chose the wrong time to embark on its architectural quest

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quoteme3 Whistle-Stop

quoteme3

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The one thing I don't like about that city is the fact that its "great architecture" was built during the 1970s a time when lets be honest, the words great and archtecture rarely are seen together.

what cracks me up is the vision of such blah buildings being drawn up by a permed doo white boy in platform shoes, elephant bell bottoms, and a flowery silk shirt with lapels so large a strong gust of wind might render him airborne.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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Thats a money maker for someone.

I noticed in Schaumburg, IL that a lot of cellular panels are being put on the side of hotels in the area. Do you think that is a solution to the "ugly tower" problem in DT?

Sometimes it will work, but keep in mind that signals get blocked by walls. You wouldn't put antennas on, say, McKay Tower unless you only wanted to serve the coffee shops and RPC.

Check out all the installations on Plaza Towers. On shorter buildings, rooftop mounts work well, like what's on the Hillmount.

Some months back I was doing site acquisition by walking on the Y track and noticing which buildings were tallest and had the best clear shot. Found one, but...um...the Downtown Alliance told me to keep it a secret.

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FilmMaker Whistle-Stop

FilmMaker

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Alas, having mentioned Comubus Indiana above, I went and read the previous thread that mentioned it and have to say that my suggestion of that city as a model for diversity still stands. My intent was not so much to argue the value of 60's architecture - but more to simply express a desire for a more diverse visual fabric to our core's landscape. A mix representing the past and present is always more delightful than the mere facsimile of it all built in the curent day (witness the Cascade Meijer).

As for comments in that thread regarding walkability in Columbus, I disagree entirely. I've walked miles in Columbus IN. And as a planner I spend a great deal of energy promoting walkability.

I totally agree with comments regarding creating vibrant walkable public spaces. This is where I get so concerned about the city's river front property. If we merely fill the island with a bunch more buildings (ugly or pretty) we'll have shot ourselves in the foot so huge our offspring will loathe us for decades. Why hasn't anyone argued more strongly for the development of a truly large, open, outside public gathering space?

This weekend is a classic example: the only way we can celebrate Festival is to close the streets and hope everyone finds their way through the maze of streets to all the disconnected venues for entertainment.

By contrast, look at downtown Chicago or Milwaukee. Both cities have huge open public spaces (along water fronts no less) where hundreds of thousands of people gather almost weekly to enjoy diverse cultural and entertainment opportunities. There are clear lines of sight in both cities that transcend those of our fair little town. And in both cases, there is a backdrop of delightfully mixed architectural styles that both reflect the local heritage and stimulate the senses.

Regardless of whether we are somehow able to create a genuinely spectacular public space (or spaces) for communal gatherings - or not - I vote strongly in favor of a skyline that is as visually diverse as it can be. In many ways it would help to underscore what I'd hope some day will be a similar diversity in the people gathering in its midst to celebrate a broad range of festivals or activities the people of our community might envision.

One last word: anyone with eyes or ears has recently been reminded that GR was an early adopter of modern scultpure in public spaces. Again, my point isn't to promote modern scultpure itself per se, it is simply hoping to further the notion of a diverse visual backdrop for the PEOPLE who ultimately interact with the space. The fact that we are gathered today under the Calder sculpture is testiment to the value of visual stimulation in a public space.

I know I've wandered a bit off the topic of ugly bldgs - but especially as we celebrate the Festival of the Arts this weekend, it is relevant to ask "what do we want the backdrop for public gatherings in GR to look like?"

Diversity of architecture and diversity of public sculpture surrounding a diversity of public spaces is, in nearly every current planning vernacular, the best way for "brick and mortar" to inspire diversity of humanity, diversity of activity and hopefully ultimately total acceptance of diverse cultures within a community. That would make GR a "cool city", even if a few of our "ugly" bldgs were still standing in its midst.

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gvsusean Burg

gvsusean

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Alas, having mentioned Comubus Indiana above, I went and read the previous thread that mentioned it and have to say that my suggestion of that city as a model for diversity still stands. My intent was not so much to argue the value of 60's architecture - but more to simply express a desire for a more diverse visual fabric to our core's landscape. A mix representing the past and present is always more delightful than the mere facsimile of it all built in the curent day (witness the Cascade Meijer).

As for comments in that thread regarding walkability in Columbus, I disagree entirely. I've walked miles in Columbus IN. And as a planner I spend a great deal of energy promoting walkability.

I totally agree with comments regarding creating vibrant walkable public spaces. This is where I get so concerned about the city's river front property. If we merely fill the island with a bunch more buildings (ugly or pretty) we'll have shot ourselves in the foot so huge our offspring will loathe us for decades. Why hasn't anyone argued more strongly for the development of a truly large, open, outside public gathering space?

This weekend is a classic example: the only way we can celebrate Festival is to close the streets and hope everyone finds their way through the maze of streets to all the disconnected venues for entertainment.

By contrast, look at downtown Chicago or Milwaukee. Both cities have huge open public spaces (along water fronts no less) where hundreds of thousands of people gather almost weekly to enjoy diverse cultural and entertainment opportunities. There are clear lines of sight in both cities that transcend those of our fair little town. And in both cases, there is a backdrop of delightfully mixed architectural styles that both reflect the local heritage and stimulate the senses.

Regardless of whether we are somehow able to create a genuinely spectacular public space (or spaces) for communal gatherings - or not - I vote strongly in favor of a skyline that is as visually diverse as it can be. In many ways it would help to underscore what I'd hope some day will be a similar diversity in the people gathering in its midst to celebrate a broad range of festivals or activities the people of our community might envision.

One last word: anyone with eyes or ears has recently been reminded that GR was an early adopter of modern scultpure in public spaces. Again, my point isn't to promote modern scultpure itself per se, it is simply hoping to further the notion of a diverse visual backdrop for the PEOPLE who ultimately interact with the space. The fact that we are gathered today under the Calder sculpture is testiment to the value of visual stimulation in a public space.

I know I've wandered a bit off the topic of ugly bldgs - but especially as we celebrate the Festival of the Arts this weekend, it is relevant to ask "what do we want the backdrop for public gatherings in GR to look like?"

Diversity of architecture and diversity of public sculpture surrounding a diversity of public spaces is, in nearly every current planning vernacular, the best way for "brick and mortar" to inspire diversity of humanity, diversity of activity and hopefully ultimately total acceptance of diverse cultures within a community. That would make GR a "cool city", even if a few of our "ugly" bldgs were still standing in its midst.

I like how our streets arent in straight lines, it makes things a surprise, a little european feel

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hood Burg

hood

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Posted

100_2223.jpg

Not quite in the core, but you can see it from there.

Old factory buildings like that make for some of the nicest lofts around, the Motor wheel lofts in Lansing have 12 foot celings and each unit has at least one 9 foot tall, 18 foot wide window:

118395634_b40ade4da9_o.jpg

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Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

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If that building were converted to rental residential and was affordable, I'd move there.. especially if there would be ground-floor retail.. although being outside the core like that I would imagine ground-floor retail wouldn't do quite as well until the core expanded to that area, so I guess I could do without. Converting the roof to a large terrace would be REALLY awesome too.

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hood Burg

hood

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At the motor wheel lofts in Lansing, the apartments are leasing for about $10 per square foot, with many units at 550 sq ft, still with top quality materials and appliances. They are a very good deal, if I was looking to move, I would probably move there.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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If that building were converted to rental residential and was affordable, I'd move there.. especially if there would be ground-floor retail.. although being outside the core like that I would imagine ground-floor retail wouldn't do quite as well until the core expanded to that area, so I guess I could do without. Converting the roof to a large terrace would be REALLY awesome too.

Yah, and Verizon could hang faux palm branches on their tower!

It would make it easy to find. "Go to the S-curve and look for the building with the cell tower sprouting out the top. Can't miss it."

Seriously, I don't mind the building. It's the appendage that gives the industry in which I presently work a bad name. Maybe the owner could add a top tier a la Union Square and work around that stoopid thing. %-year leases and three carriers (each with their own lease) present a few special challenges...

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Nitro Burg

Nitro

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Posted

"Most Unusual Buildings On Earth"

The Ripley's building reminds me of the buildings that SITE used to design for the Best Chain. One of which can be seen in a crappy photo here......Linky (BTW, It's a really difficult to google the words Best and SITE and come up with what you're looking for)

The upside down buildings are cool. I remember the one that used to be at Cedar Point when I was a kid. They tore it out years ago.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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The Ripley's building reminds me of the buildings that SITE used to design for the Best Chain. One of which can be seen in a crappy photo here......Linky (BTW, It's a really difficult to google the words Best and SITE and come up with what you're looking for)

The upside down buildings are cool. I remember the one that used to be at Cedar Point when I was a kid. They tore it out years ago.

I think I remember seeing an upside down house in Wisconsin Dells a couple of years ago. Now THAT's a strange town. UFO Museum, haunted houses, strange little cultish shops, and the largest indoor waterparks in the world.

242-4215_img.jpg

http://images.google.com/images?q=wisconsi...r=&start=0&sa=N

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Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

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RBSB.jpg ZOMG IT'S ROBBIE THE ROBOT!! I wonder what happens when I put a quarter on the roof... will the building eat it? It IS a bank, after all..

I almost wonder if those robbie the robot penny banks were designed after this bank, or the other way around? *shrug*

Some of those buildings I wouldn't call 'weird', however. Wilson Hall isn't exactly weird.. I've seen other buildings like it, the most notable coming into mind being the Contemporary Resort/Hotel at Walt Disney World (same idea, just remove the curve and keep the slant going all the way up.) Ugly is a more fitting classification for it.

Hotel Sofitel does look weird, but could actually fit well into a skyline if it were wedged and dwarfed by skyscrapers immediately around it... turning it more into a thing you see only when you turn the right corner... then it'd be pretty cool.

And the Trangle Building looks pretty cool. If that's 'weird', then so is the Trans-America Pyramid. The Triangle building is actually something whihc I think would look pretty cool downtown.

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