Skyscraper Design Discussion: If 505CST is built, could it make a list like this?

[MTSUBlueraider86]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/4282558#fbIndex1

Some pretty stunning architecture here. Is Nashville finally ready for something bold?

Discuss,

SEC

[smeagolsfree]

Would be nice if it did. Lets hope it gets built and then makes the list. But I would just take getting it built without making the list if I had to choose. The shortest one of those ten was 773'. 505 would not be too much shorter than that, but it is an eyecatching building.

[fieldmarshaldj]

How many of those structures (note the completion dates, some in 2009-11), have even been built ? The Chicago Spire project has been troubled for some time now and may not get built anytime soon (if at all). The worldwide economic climate is also a part of the problem, too. I saw (in the linked article to "Top 8 Skyscrapers That Will Push the Limits of Design") the behemoth 3,000+ ft "Miapolis" proposition to be propped in the middle of Miami's Biscayne Bay, which borders on the ludicrous.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/architecture/4343115

From a practical standpoint, I can't see Nashville getting anything like those structures in the forseeable future (at least possibly within our lifetimes). I had hoped Tony G's Signature project might've been a breakthrough for Nashville, but until then...

[MTSUBlueraider86]

I did not notice the date of the article until after you mentioned it Davy. I thought the Chicago Spire was under construction again. In any case, I would love Nashville to break out of the box. Literally.

The new MCC is a start and the ATT Tower is somewhat out of the box, but we need something cutting edge. After all, architecture supposed to be art. It supposed to be an expression of joy and pride. I think Nashville has to get beyond that. If we want to ever be a world class city, we need to dress like it.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I did a search to see if the Chicago Spire had resumed construction, but apparently it has not (recent articles refer to the project as a "debacle" or "ill-fated"). I do admit to favoring more classical style in architecture and I tend to revile projects that are too "out there", such as the Louisville Museum Plaza (which was officially abandoned as a viable project in August) and the Medical Mart planned remake of the current Convention Center. Not to say I favor the old and staid, I just prefer those that look aesthetically pleasing and will stand the test of time (as opposed to a more momentary fad of madness that will leave folks asking a few decades from now, "What were they thinking ?").

Of course, the most important thing (often not mentioned enough) is that we have tenants for these "works of art." We don't want to be going nuts with construction only to be left with a glut of unoccupied space. Remembering the Dallas model, a city which constructed some beautiful high-rises in the '80s, only to take eons to get them occupied (and as a result, next to nothing built in the two decades since).

[MTSUBlueraider86]

I still think, Nashville needs to build something bold and expressive. I think the political, religious, and pious conservatism in the city has lead to a somewhat disdain for architecture and noting it as being too liberal, too Middle Eastern, too European, and too "Un-American."

Embracing the world, and worldly architecture can spring board us into the 21st century.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Heh, I don't think Nashville is nearly "Conservative" enough. I don't view it as ideological, though. Too cautious, too statist, too lacking in vision. We do need to raise the bar when it comes to design (with respect to Nashville architecture). Innovative/bold/expressive sounds great, though some are obviously a bit wary about building something that might be too "out there." As for me, I'll judge them when I see 'em individually. I do think something truly majestic should rise at the Signature/505 CST site, though. Hopefully when the climate is right, it will.