[2PRUROCKS!]

I really like the overall design here and the direction Ralph Johnson has taken this. I love the naturalized interface among the river, river walk, and buildings themselves. We really don't see the river treated like this anywhere else in the city and I think it holds promise for future developments further up the North Branch and down the South Branch away from downtown.

I like the designs of the buildings themselves and how they form a cohesive whole speaking a similar design language. With that said I am concerned about a couple of things.

First, I don't like how River City seems to be ignored from a design standpoint and just sandwiched between the two halves of the development. I wish Ralph took more design cues from River City and it's curvatious sculptural forms. I know RJ is a fan of Goldberg's work and it would have been nice to see him reference that here by playing off of River City's design and being more contextual. I do like the jutting angular design and cantilevers in Riverline but I think more transition both to the immediate north and south of River City with the buildings transitioning from more "organic" curving forms to more of the jutting angles we see as you move away from River City would have been a nice touch.

Second, while development as a whole is a bold cohesive statement it would be nice to see at least one truly signature tower here. The most likely candidate would of course be the tallest. It is a handsome design but at 600ft in this location and without any real noticeable design features from a distance it will be lost in the skyline. I think up close it will look very good and blend in with the rest of the development but it won't serve as an architectural gateway for this project from a distance. A taller and bolder design that still relates to the rest of the development would be nice.

My last point isn't really a criticism of this project just a general observation. In general I think these mega developments are better when they develop overtime and with different architects. Lake Shore East is a good example of this. Each building while it is related to the others in the entire development looks unique and it give the development an organic feel and architectural diversity. Even when buildings are designed by the same architect they are very different (Aqua and Vista). Riverline is the opposite as it is being designed by one architect at one time but I really think it works here and other than my two criticisms above I think RJ has done a really good job of pulling off the type of design a mega development at this location needs.