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Old Posted Jun 18, 2007, 5:25 AM
zilfondel zilfondel is offline
Submarine de Nucléar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Missouri
Posts: 4,477
Quote:
There are broad directives -- "tall buildings should avoid unusual shapes which detract from the clarity of urban form" -- and explicit rules that go so far as to dictate that "architectural projections" such as cornices shall have "a vertical dimension of no more than 2 feet 6 inches."
bingo. that's why its drab... when the only architectural element allowed is the grid (reflection of the city's topography), then yea, you are going to get pretty damned repetitive.

This is why urban planning & development should be design-led, not formulaic planning or economically driven.

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Considering that Metro Frisco has 11 million people, you'd have thunk they would have gone for a wee bit higher density than 20 units/acre. Heck, even Portland's (sorry, shameless plug) new waterfront district is hitting around 270 with stubby towers... why in the heck are they afraid of height in a brand-new district on a brownfield site?

However, the mix of affordable units is very laudable. 'Friscans should be quite pleased about it.
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