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How about this for Nashville?


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This is Rem Koolhaas's design for the Central Chinese Television Building currently under construction with a possible completion date before the Beijing Olympics. Here's a link to a NY Times article discussing it and a new emphasis at MOMA to showcase new architectural proposals.

Embracing Koolhaas's Friendly Skyscraper

What do ya'll think?

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No thank you... not for nashville nor atlanta. I think this fad of blocky, barebones and overangularized buildings will be short-lived. Also, I think it works on smaller buildings only. Elevated to this size, the Rem Koolhaas and Prince-Ramus et.al. ideas are simply obnoxious. At least Gehry's buildings (so far) have redeemed themselves a bit for not being so big.

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No thank you... not for nashville nor atlanta. I think this fad of blocky, barebones and overangularized buildings will be short-lived. Also, I think it works on smaller buildings only. Elevated to this size, the Rem Koolhaas and Prince-Ramus et.al. ideas are simply obnoxious. At least Gehry's buildings (so far) have redeemed themselves a bit for not being so big.
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^^^I agree that it is certainly more creative than your average proposal. The biggest difference, though, between a building like this and typical proposals like the Westin and The Signature is the fact that the latter two, despite being monumental and designed to call attention to themselves to some degree, at LEAST still fit into the fabric of the community to uphold neighborhood cohesion. They are both a PART of the whole and designed to fit into and add to the surrounding neighborhood.

A structure like the building you posted kind of reminds me of a modern version of those boxy 60's post-modern structures that were surrounded by parking lots and empty concrete "plazas". Its ONLY function is to call attention to itself and stand alone. There is absolutely no way that a structure like this could fit into any type of community structure in my opinion.

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It's hard to tell from the arial view, but the building does seem to be surrounded by a field of green. I don't see why a building like this couldn't fit onto a traditional grid though, especially in a city like Beijing where it looks like a fairly generous amount of space is required between skyscrapers. I completely disagree though, that the Sig or the Westin are designed to fit into and add to the fabric of the neighborhood. My feelings about the Sig T are already on record, back somewhere on one of its many threads. Tthe Westin, as many have argued, substantially subtracts from the aesthetics and character of the neighborhood.

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Here are a couple more renderings plus a link to an article from Buisiness Week Online, OMA's Race to Construct in China. NewTowner, Bzorch and Cdub are probably howling at the moon in response to the ridiculous energy demands this building will require to function.

I'm kind of baffled by the overwhelmingly negative reactions thus far to the buildings design. Maybe these two renderings will cast it in a better light. The negative space enclosed in the center is pretty damn amazing to me.

Keep the opinions coming.

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I know my previous reply may have sounded a little flippant and for that I apologize.

But, I would have to see in what context that building would be placed in. It might work across the river on the east bank as a symbol and a contrast to the somewhat monotonous looking skyline to the west and as an apology for the construction of the industrial looking football stadium. It might even work in the Gulch. I just don't think it would work downtown, Mid Town or in SoBro.

I like to see such contradictions in architecture, such as the way the large rectangular arch, in the Paris suburb of La Defense, counters the Arc de Triomphe, or I. M. Pei's inverted pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre. I prefer a little chaos and anarchy in our architecture and would like to see some bold experiments. Perhaps a Ghery building would accomplish that to some extent, even though he's becoming a bit of a cliche now.

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It's hard to tell from the arial view, but the building does seem to be surrounded by a field of green. I don't see why a building like this couldn't fit onto a traditional grid though, especially in a city like Beijing where it looks like a fairly generous amount of space is required between skyscrapers. I completely disagree though, that the Sig or the Westin are designed to fit into and add to the fabric of the neighborhood. My feelings about the Sig T are already on record, back somewhere on one of its many threads. Tthe Westin, as many have argued, substantially subtracts from the aesthetics and character of the neighborhood.
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^

Are there not places within an uban area for churches, government buildings, monuments, museums, libraries plazas, etc. that don't fit the 'front the street, bistro-bar-cafe-cornerstore typology'? Places like the War Memorial/Snodgrass/TN Capital or the Courthouse Plaza, which are indespensable public places but don't function in the same way as Broadway or 2nd Ave. If any of you take the time to read the articles and look through the photos, you'll understand that this building is going into the setting of downtown Beijing and contains a substantial public function and a look at the construction photos will give you an idea of the building's relationship to the surrounding area; it's not surrounded by parking or otherwise isolated from the city.

All I want to do is spark a conversation about some interesting architecture that's going on in the world. All opinions are welcome and they don't have to be in the framework of the building's suitability to Nashville. The title of this thread is misleading but I wanted to ground the discussion in terms of this forum because the moderators can be heavy-handed and arbitrary in their rulings on relevance.

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If someone were to have the passion to build it who am I to say no? Again - a cool downtown has a bit of everything in it. I think sometimes that it would not hurt for some people to leave the confines of Nashville and travel around the world some to see just how such a building can weave its way into the fabric of a downtown. Now I am not saying this is my all time favorite building but it certainly has potential - especially to generate some activity on the street level. To me, the building is very engaging. It invites you to take a closer look. It may also have great potential with a plaza - can you imagine a TV station in that thing? Could be cool. Do I think one will ever be built in Nashville? No.

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^

Are there not places within an uban area for churches, government buildings, monuments, museums, libraries plazas, etc. that don't fit the 'front the street, bistro-bar-cafe-cornerstore typology'? Places like the War Memorial/Snodgrass/TN Capital or the Courthouse Plaza, which are indespensable public places but don't function in the same way as Broadway or 2nd Ave. If any of you take the time to read the articles and look through the photos, you'll understand that this building is going into the setting of downtown Beijing and contains a substantial public function and a look at the construction photos will give you an idea of the building's relationship to the surrounding area; it's not surrounded by parking or otherwise isolated from the city.

All I want to do is spark a conversation about some interesting architecture that's going on in the world. All opinions are welcome and they don't have to be in the framework of the building's suitability to Nashville. The title of this thread is misleading but I wanted to ground the discussion in terms of this forum because the moderators can be heavy-handed and arbitrary in their rulings on relevance.

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...

I was in Beijing about five months ago, and essentially they are grasping onto the Le Corbusier outdated 'tower in the park' concept in an attempt to appear more 'modern' and westernized. The sad thing is though that all of these new developments are basically just faceless towers set back from these new gigantic eight lane main roads. ......

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Bingo. You hit the nail on the head about Chinese highrises for the most part. In fact you hit the nail on the head about most really tall highrises in general and with few exceptions, the areas, even in this country in most cities, tend to be dead places.
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