Wachovia 48 Story Office Tower & 42 Story Condo Tower

[atlrvr]

Phillydog....I'm expecting a new digital camera for Christmas, and I will post a bunch of pictures of what I consider an appropriate compromise between street level retail and subdued conservative design. I will say that most cities worldwide struggle to combining office towers and retail. Paris being a prime example of how a CBD can fail to be pedestrian friendly, even if the city in general is walkable.

Regardless of design, this project will add tons of people to the street with all the office workers, condo dwellers, and patrons of the arts.

[Durhamite]

What was happening in Charlotte this week? Announcements everywhere, did Santa show up or what! You guys have gotten Dougie posting the "NEXT BIG THING" everyday to keep up with the UPers.

This will be an amazing part of town when completed, considering what was there.

[dubone]

I haven't read through all the pages of arguing, but I'm confused by the comments that this isn't a street activating design.

In the siteplan, (I'll link rather than embed), you can see the percentage of the ground level dedicated to retail. In addition, a portion of the museum ground level will be their museum shop (aka retail). Then, you have the non-retail human-scale activity centers, such as the plazas, the lobbies to the buildings, and the museums themselves, which should lenthen the peak times for pedestrian activities on these blocks.

http://static.flickr.com/48/110443959_24f2e16997_o.jpg

Lastly, I want to clarify, that even though the siteplan appears to have the retail being accessed from an internal area, that is not the case. I asked for clarification in a design meeting with the architects earlier in the year. In fact what appears in the siteplan to be a hallway through the center is actually outside, open all the way to the sky. That means, not only will the retail be open to Stonewall and First Streets, but also to an intrablock alleyway. Then you have two plazas on Tryon, and then the access to all of the pedestrian traffic generators through Tryon.

There are certainly negatives to this project, which we have talked about all along. Primarily, those are the rat tunnels.

[tiblerbrit]

Another nice thing is the large staircase in front of the Mint Museum. Everywhere I've traveled it seems like people gravitate to large staircases and just hang out and people watch. Hopefully this one will have the same kind of influence.

[Seabreeze]

[RaleighHeelsfan]

I don't think the point was the neon. Just the store fronts and the street level activity........duh

[AuLukey]

I don't think the point was the neon. Just the store fronts and the street level activity........duh

[Seabreeze]

I don't think the point was the neon. Just the store fronts and the street level activity........duh

[50State]

Maybe some would, but I suspect that if you asked most people in the world if they would rather see prim, proper and sterile downtown Charlotte and its spanking new skyscrapers vs "tacky" Tokyo, you would not get many takers for Charlotte. Monumental skyscrapers don't make a city. It's what happens at the street that does.

[dubone]

The Wachovia project is in Charlotte, not Tokyo. There are different zoning rules, building codes, signage ordinances, and demographics. If Charlotte was full of Japanese people, there would be less crime, more politeness, and probably a total repeal of all the anti-density and anti-clutter rules that we have in this country. But the fact is, Charlotte is not full of Japanese, so it is what it is.

Also, I count only ~30 people in the first picture and ~45 people in the second picture. You will certainly see that many people in front of this Wachovia building at various times. The lights and the visual clutter make it look more lively. Still, Toyko has one of the world's most dense populations, and one of the world's largest populations. It is not fair to compare a building in that city to one in Charlotte for purposes of arguing that design creates that street activity. Poorly designed buildings in Tokyo of course will have more street activity in front of them.

There are many buildings in Uptown Charlotte that are not very well designed at the street level. Those projects extend all the way to the ground and don't have much at street level to generate activity and interest at the human scale. Those 'monument' buildings tend to have entire blockfaces with no entrances.

This project has entrances all over the place, which is why the project planners claim there is no backside. But Wachovia is not building a mall, so it is going to have more than just retail at the street level:

- Entrance and lobby for Wake Forest Business School, creating activity during non-business hours.

- Entrance to the low-rise Mint Museum that includes a gift shop, large staircase and plaza, creating activity during non-business hours.

- Entrance to the low-rise Bechtler Museum that includes a gift shop, valuable and famous public art (Firebird statue) and a plaza, creating activity during non-business hours.

- Entrance to the low-rise theater, creating activity during non-business hours.

- Entrance to the low-rise AACC that includes a gift shop, creating activity during non-business hours.

- Entrance to the 42 story condo tower, creating a magnet for non-business hours activity, and source for pedestrian activity at all hours.

- Lobby for the office tower, creating a significant source for pedestrian activity during business hours.

- Entrance to 2000 underground spaces, that are open for use in non-business hours.

- 45000sf of retail open to the street on three sides, covering a majority of the footprint of the main block.

This is not a monument that will contribute to the negatives of pedestrian activity. It is part of the solution to increase our pedestrian and economic activity. If Tokyo is the goal, then we need this project and 600,000 others like it. (And maybe figure out where to hide all the rude and criminal people in the city).

[nowensone]

Again, criticism was of the main building (the base), not the rest of the site, hasn't that been stated repeatedly? I'm a fan of this this project just like the rest of you, but the key aspect of this, the skyscraper, is a typical foreboding non-humane monumental design, not sure how many ways that can be described. So lets just say no big deal and move on, but also not deny that. The base could have been designed to both work with the overall design of the building and also to form some kind of open inviting arcade at the base. Arcade is a bad choice of words, but I think it conveys the image. I will see if I can sketch somethign this weekend and upload. It is a piece of the project I would personally like to have seen more attention given to, it would have cost little extra if anything at all. This site is a place of discussion on these kinds of urban fabric type topics, not sure why several seem to have a problem with this. Again, it can be plainly seen on the model of the building what the design is creating in terms of space. And again, with a well designed site, this won't be so much a big deal, but hell, I can think of a variety of ways the design could have been kept intact and allowed for street level transparency.

[monsoon]

I tend to agree.

[uptownliving]

Again, criticism was of the main building (the base), not the rest of the site, hasn't that been stated repeatedly? I'm a fan of this this project just like the rest of you, but the key aspect of this, the skyscraper, is a typical foreboding non-humane monumental design, not sure how many ways that can be described.

[cooperdawg]

In terms of the tower base, it appears that if the Wake Forest Business School were relocated somewhere else in this project, retail on this corner as you enter the city might have addressed concerns regarding street level activity and been a better overall solution for the site. This is a near 50-story office tower, and at least one corner of the building will need to be used as the formal entry of this tower, which appears to be the corner facing north along Tryon Street. Retail is located in the tower base along Stonewall adjacent to the WFBS. The fourth corner is internal from the street network, so the location of the school would have to be the piece out of place.

I like the idea of setting the building back away from the street and allowing retail along the street frontage. 60 feet would be all you would have needed to accomplish this. Setting the structure back also is an excellent solution in terms of building security from truck bombers and other terrorist acts (albeit unlikely in Charlotte, but who would have thought a building in Oklahoma City would have been blown up, it's been a design consideration ever since.)

I like setting the building back for retail in this sense versus having the over-sized planters and other large inanimate objects that are placed curbside to try and be aesthetically pleasing, ,while they're really there to prevant an outdated Vanagon plowing into the lobby packed with C4.

[TowerRooster]

Is everyone forgetting that there is supposed to be an "arcade" in between the mint museum and the office tower going all the way from Tryon to Church street (see the layout diagram on page 2 of this thread) and containing retail along most of that stretch, in addition to the retail on other sides of the building(s) not facing Tryon? Or is it that noone believes it to be true.

Street level engagement and open retail space is of course vital to our vitality (hehe) as a city. However, speaking of the Tokyo example, that doesn't have to mean sickening reminders everywhere one can look of the mass commercialism prevalent in modern society. If I want that, I'll look in my junkmail catalogs. Some signage at the street level would be ok, but those Tokyo pictures.....

I guess time will tell how engaging this project is from a street perspective, and how much retail is calling out to the average passerby from everywhere other than the Tryon st. side of the office tower. I do agree that Tryon probably wasn't the best place to have dead space at the base, but keep in mind that in terms of civic engagement this is primarily a cultural campus. It seems to me like similar areas in other cities that I've been to, such as Washington DC, and Chicago, aren't choked with a ton of retail everywhere you look. I think the only thing missing from this cultural campus that was present at the others I mentioned was a larger supply of open public space (i.e. park). We do, for what it's worth, have the green at one end, and will one day have the 3rd ward park a block away on the other side.

[Bled_man]

It is really interesting to read all of the criticisms about this project. Most of them are justified, and this is definitely not a perfect project, but it is a step in the right direction.

The pictures of Tokyo are interesting, but you have to ask the question 'Were these building built with these storefronts to bring people here to shop or because there are people here who need to shop?' I don't know the answer to this for sure, but it seems to me that these buildings (read, stores and restaurants) were built to serve a need. It wasn't a if you build they will come type of development. The fact is, retailers are not going to put shops uptown just because it is uptown, there has to be a need for those shops. I would bet that if you took a 3-4 block radius around those sites in Tokyo, you would have many more residents than you do in all of uptown.

I believe that the amount of retail in uptown is going to increase dramatically over the next few years, but it is not going to be about bringing people in from the suburbs, it is going to be about serving the people who live there. I mean, somebody from the 'burbs is not going to come uptown to get some fruit or get a haircut or to drop off drycleaning, they are going to do that close to their house.

[cinco]

oh well.... some people are hard to please. if you like towers, you'll probably like this one. it is sleek and iconic and will be built responsibly. i think it is truly a goregous building for the city and with other up and coming projects, this will thrusts charlottes skyline up a tier....

as for street level... how can we possibly kno0w @ this point... it seems to me all indications point to this building having plenty. there is retail all over the siteplan, there will be an open air plaza, condos, and museums galore... all within a block radius. i don't see how a financial office tower can be much more integrated to the street. the only thing i could maybe see, is if the tower sat @ the back of the block - instead of up front... looming over tryon.

smile, this is an amazing building that charlotte will be proud of.

[nowensone]

It has been stated repeatedly, but only by you...not others.

[Bled_man]

oh well.... some people are hard to please. if you like towers, you'll probably like this one. it is sleek and iconic and will be built responsibly. i think it is truly a goregous building for the city and with other up and coming projects, this will thrusts charlottes skyline up a tier....

as for street level... how can we possibly kno0w @ this point... it seems to me all indications point to this building having plenty. there is retail all over the siteplan, there will be an open air plaza, condos, and museums galore... all within a block radius. i don't see how a financial office tower can be much more integrated to the street. the only thing i could maybe see, is if the tower sat @ the back of the block - instead of up front... looming over tryon.

smile, this is an amazing building that charlotte will be proud of.

[cooperdawg]

Well said. I am extremely excited about this project and all of the other projects going on uptown.

[monsoon]

...I believe that the amount of retail in uptown is going to increase dramatically over the next few years, but it is not going to be about bringing people in from the suburbs, it is going to be about serving the people who live there. I mean, somebody from the 'burbs is not going to come uptown to get some fruit or get a haircut or to drop off drycleaning, they are going to do that close to their house.

[Mobuchu]

If I'm posting too much here feel free to tell me to shut up, I am content to just read as well. Otherwise, I'm going to point out what I consider to be inconsistencies/issues, with a project or a post, I hope one would do the same to me.

[nowensone]

oh well.... some people are hard to please.

[cltheel.sdl]

I have been fairly quiet on this subject, as I see there has just been lots of arguing. I think it is time I threw my opinion in the mix.

I think that overall, this plan looks very good. I like the amount of retail that has been included in this project, and the towers and museums look very aesthetically pleasing. I can see why someone would think this tower looks like BofA Plaza due to its blue glass and angle at the top. However, I think once completed, this tower will look far different and far better. The lighting will make a true difference, and I think the "bar" on top will look awesome. The condo tower is also impeccable in design.

If I had a few complaints, they would follow like this: the retail seems appropriate for this complex, however it would be nice if they included a bit more. I also would prefer the retail to be lining the street instead of an interior plaza or arcade, but at least they have the retail to begin with. This building is a bank building, and its main purpose is business. Therefore, they are not likely to take into deep account the relevance of the building in street interaction. The building is not built on the human scale, except the areas around the museums. It was not meant to be built this way, however, as its main function is financial business, so I can't have too many complaints. I think that this building is appropriate for what it does. It would be nice to see future office buildings would be integrated better with the street and include setbacks. I really liked the example of the Boston building that atlrvr gave with its midrise setback portion. Great design, and that's what we need more of in Charlotte.

Overall, I'd give this Wachovia project a grade of B+ or A-. It could do a little better, but it is quite impressive and will serve its purpose of bringing thousands of workers, residents, and tourists uptown.

[Mobuchu]

Wow. I guess one can not be both excited about projects in the area and have criticisms as well. What am I not getting here?