The Vue

[New Name]

I wish the setbacks were done so that you could see setbacks from any angle. In that first photo from gigalopolis, it looks like Aon in Chicago or the old WTC buildings in NY (aka - boxy and boring)

Ah, Aon is one of my favorite buildings! So, I like Pic #1 the most.

[Neo]

Ah, Aon is one of my favorite buildings! So, I like Pic #1 the most.

I agree. I used to work in the Aon Center in Chicago and while it has an acquired taste (as did the WTC buildings) it is unmistakable. AON has girth and is very pronounced in the skyline...a landmark building. Hopefully the Vue can become something similar on a smaller scale.

[NCMike1990]

I like the way the crown looks in pic #2.

[Centercity]

How enviromentaly friendly will this building be? Does anyone know what ist LEED is?

[Guest]

How enviromentaly friendly will this building be? Does anyone know what ist LEED is?

LEED Pyrite. Nada, no Leed Certification, any environmentally friendly aspect of this building was cut whenever the spires were

[dubone]

Were they ever going to LEED here? I don't remember that at all.

However I suspect that the 'glaze' that 'repels dirt' is basically titanium dioxide. The good news is it also reduces nitrous oxide and VOCs in the air around it a bit when it repels the dirt, so it marginally helps to reduce smog. But really, it is all just a fancy way of saying "we are painting it white, using the chemical in most white paint, which does the following...". I'm pretty sure glaze is just a dessert sounding way of saying paint, by the way. Glaze sounds yummier than paint, though, I'll admit.

[Guest]

Were they ever going to LEED here? I don't remember that at all.

However I suspect that the 'glaze' that 'repels dirt' is basically titanium dioxide. The good news is it also reduces nitrous oxide and VOCs in the air around it a bit when it repels the dirt, so it marginally helps to reduce smog. But really, it is all just a fancy way of saying "we are painting it white, using the chemical in most white paint, which does the following...". I'm pretty sure glaze is just a dessert sounding way of saying paint, by the way. Glaze sounds yummier than paint, though, I'll admit.

Lets just say that if they ever had intentions of being LEED Certified their PR guys suck, because such was never announced. I think there were some rudimentary environmental features that were to be included, water recycling and reduction, and the likes... However I firmly believe everything not nailed down was downgraded ever so slightly.

[dubone]

Since they did seem to have good marketing, my guess is that anyone who heard these things were basically hearing of the environmental benefits of what they would have done anyway, like insulating glass, energy star appliances, all electric elevators, pool heated by the sun, etc.

[Centercity]

Thats disappointing, I guss with Wachovia and Bank of America new building I just assumed that they were also going for one.

[dubone]

None of the condo towers seemed to be aiming for LEED. Even the condo tower, when it was part of the Wachovia complex switched to 'sustainable' mode versus LEED quite a while before it was postponed. Sustainable being the term for more casual adoption of green attributes, versus doing enough to be certified, like taking a few college level classes that are easy and you're interested in rather than completing all the requirements to get a degree.

The Vue was never expected to go for LEED or put any emphasis on green or sustainable things. I do know, though, that at various stages in this 115 page thread people argued the positives and negatives of high rise residential projects and their green-ness.

[Urbanity]

I really noticed the crown/fence panels today coming from Tryon on Fifth and I had a stomach turning realization that if they were a dark silver the would look exactly like the old metal pull down store shutters that covered NYC storefronts for decades.

I know I'm just griping and the bigger issue here is that the building is being finished, but I really am a l saddened at the "crown." It just seems like a lost opportunity to add something to our skyline (at night).

Edited January 17, 2010 by Urbanity

[atlrvr]

I was thinking maybe they would attach some V-shaped louvered metal grates to this thing and give it a sort-of art deco look up there.....who knows.

[dubone]

The white color of it has me a bit disappointed. I was expecting a metallic look to it. I'm ok with the shape of it though, although some embellishments would be nice.

[Centercity]

How tall will it be without the spires?

[krazeeboi]

The white color of it has me a bit disappointed. I was expecting a metallic look to it.

Same here. That's the biggest disappointment to me:

[InitialD]

1/18/10

[krazeeboi]

InitialD, I know my photography skills aren't quite as good as yours, but you didn't have to upstage me like that! j/k

But seriously, you can clearly see in your shot how bland the "crown" looks. It would have looked much better if it were metallic. Or maybe they could have lopped five stories off and kept the spires.

[SmellyCat]

Perhaps that's not really a crown at all, but actually the tenant storage units :-)

[HopHead]

Again, holding final judgment until it's done... But, I would be interested in seeing how it will look when it's lit up at night. The crown could maybe really stand out (in a good way) at night along with the blue tinted glass. Just trying to think positive.

[AuLukey]

Creative lighting is the only thing that can save the "crown" at this point. I'd wager to say that The Vue would look better without a crown than with this storage unit look.

[yorkconstruct]

Perhaps that's not really a crown at all, but actually the tenant storage units :-)

LOL! They do look like overhead doors, Paint them orange and throw up a Public Storage Sign.

[Guest]

LOL! They do look like overhead doors, Paint them orange and throw up a Public Storage Sign.

I feel like they are going to be painted metallic, God I HOPE SO!

[krazeeboi]

While riding along I-77 today and viewing it, it struck me how similar the crown looks to Wilson, Tom Hanks's "friend" in the movie Cast Away:

Except Wilson's "crown" actually looks fitting.

[Urbanity]

Despite my grumbling about the crown, I think it actually works in one capacity: The far away view.

Last night I really noticed it coming home on 85/77/Brookshire. Not surprisingly, the father away you were, the better it looked, yet more important was that the crown helps define the building visually in the skyline from afar.

If they do something creative (or at least competent) with the lighting scheme for the top, I actually have hope for this being a better addition to the skyline than I initally thought when they started installing the crown panels.

[SmellyCat]

There is an article about the Vue in today's observer. Surprisingly, prices for remaining units are about the same as the ones sold two years ago.

Vue developer: Condos ready for tenants this fall

Edited January 27, 2010 by SmellyCat