New six storey building in Asheville

[Matthew]

The six storey building is a $23 million, 92,000 square-foot expansion of the Buncombe County Detention Center. The current building was designed with an occupancy of 356. The building currently holds 359, on average. The new building is not allowed to block views of City Hall and is going up adjacent to the existing jail. It's bordered by Davidson, Marjorie and Valley streets. The Grove Park Inn and the city are planning a $40 million mixed-use development near-by. The Grove Park Inn is aware of the expansion, Scott Shuford, director of planning and development said. "It has not dampened their enthusiasm," he said.

[Spartan]

Hmm... Its a detention center, not a prison.... cities ahve to have those, so its cool. Just so long as its not prominent

[uptownliving]

Wonder if it will look like all the other recent downtown detention centers built in NC...they all have the same look.

[Matthew]

An RTP firm designed our current center. I like the design and would like to see them return and work on the expansion. It's great news that it won't block any views. I don't know why anyone would worry about this expansion having an impact on development near-by. There's already a detention center there.

[archiham04]

I'm not a big fan of the current one... not because of its aesthetic, but because it is so intrusive on the skyline. It's off axis and crowds the most prominant buildings in town... They didn't use the outoftown firm to design the new one... Luckily, they chose a local firm. The new design picks up on some of the rythms and materials of the current facility, but has a more traditional feel... more limestone, fewer white aluminum panels...

[Matthew]

Now that you bring it up, I do remember John Court getting the $1 million+ job. I think he is the county's preffered architect.

You are right about it being off-axis and it's a little too close to two of the city's best historic buildings. I don't like the placement, but I think it's a nice building overall. I like the architectural style in Raleigh. Their firms are very foward thinking and quick to try new things. I think leaving the grid was very intentional and has preserved views of the historic courthouse as you drive into downtown from the mall. The close placement has also kept the Detention Center from completely blocking the back side of the Courthouse.

[Spartan]

Is it not ironic in any way that we are talking about how nice a prison looks?

It is a nice looking prison btw....

[archiham04]

This is the my first attempt to post pictures so bear with me if it doen't work...

these images were obtained with permission from Cort Architectural Group. They were used to illustrate height compliance... the base portion of the city building is the highest a structure can be for that site.

[Matthew]

It's nice, but I would like to see what another firm would do with this same project. Cort gets just about every project the county has. The entrance is nice on this building, but I would like to see better.

[Matthew]

I just checked my e-mail archiham04 and saw your message. I see you already uploaded the renderings. If you have any photos you would like to share of Asheville on this forum, I have some extra space to upload them. This is the time of the year when I do a lot of traveling, so I'm constantly uploading photos. Feel free to send them.

[Raleigh-NC]

Matthew, I was in Asheville this past weekend and I took a load of photos!!! I will soon buy some more server space and then post them here. On the topic, I have to say that the existing detention center looked kind of out of place when you enter downtown from College/Tunnel Street, but the new addition seems to help a bit. The lot for the future extention has to host a taller building, probably something between 8 and 10 stories.

[archiham04]

The lot for the future extention has to host a taller building, probably something between 8 and 10 stories.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Current downtown zoning requires that any building built in proximity to city hall be limited to the height of its marble base. The proposed building is probably as tall as permittable, so I doubt the future expansion could be 8 or 10 stories. It will probably have to match the 6 story original.

[Dale]

When are they going to reclad that ugly stump of a building - BB&T ?

[archiham04]

photo re-link

[orulz]

When are they going to reclad that ugly stump of a building - BB&T ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Bah. I say the BB&T and the I.M. Pei building, (both frequently cited as eyesores not suitable for Asheville) are plenty attractive. They do an excellent job representing the architecture of the era in which they were built. What gives Asheville's downtown so much character is not just that "there's a lot of pretty art deco stuff" - it's the diversity of different architectural styles, dating from just before the 20th century to just after. The BB&T is just as much a part of history as the art deco City Hall.

Besides, people's perceptions of what is beautiful changes over the years - there were times that art deco was not in style and considered old-fashioned; who's to say that simple utilitarianism might not become the essence of beauty twenty years from now.

By haphazardly tearing things up or "renewing" them on a whim, you would be ignoring the biggest lesson to be learned from Asheville's history. When you compare Asheville with every other small town in the country, it's plain to see that you should be extremely careful about what you destroy, because once it's gone it's not coming back.

[archiham04]

I am in complete agreement orluz, and could rant about this all day... I think that the push toward traditional planning and smart growth has had a very unhealthy effect on architectural style and preference. Town ordinances which require awnings, and cornices and material continuity result in disney-like towns that have no unique identity. Smart and traditional growth is certainly a well intentioned and appropriate solution to sprawl, traffic, and overpopulation, but this lean toward " Ye Olde Towne Centere" in every town in America is smothering culture, creativity, diversity and identity.

[Matthew]

Cool renderings. I'm still mixed on opinion of Court. I would like to see other proposals for the jail.

I like architectural diversity in a skyline too. Renovations of old buildings are great, as long as they preserve the historic character of that building and not completely redo it into something it's not (a new building). In recent years, I've grown to like international and modern style skyscrapers, like the BB&T. The minimalist ideas do create beautiful forms. That old building has become a signature of our skyline. I would like to see a new tallest around 350 feet, instead of peeling the facade of the BB&T. Again they recently updated the building systems and it's basically a Class A building now. It's still the best space in town, with the highest rents and that won't change until we get a new tower. Then they may consider something as radical as a facade change. If they do, they should only change the colors of the existing facade (soften and warm it up) and not try to transform it into a post-modern box with faux art deco details. The last time someone tried this (Government Housing in the late 60's) it ended in disaster, with a beautiful hotel near the Civic Center being transformed into an ugly box tower. Please, no repeat! Lets keep our architectural diversity and build on it.