Quote:
Originally Posted by lwill
I am shocked and in awe at the overwhelming delight toward this new Comcast Tower with not even one expressed concern about the proposed placement of this building. I have scoured the internet for postings, comments, etc over the horrific location of the proposed tower, and yet have only come across people ecstatic about the addition of this building.
Don't get me wrong, I am overjoyed at the addition of what would be the cities new tallest structure, and bear in mind; my issue with the proposed site presumes no knowledge of location of this tower do to technical necessity and the such; however, in terms of aesthetic considerations, not only does this tower add nothing to our cities skyline, it actually subtracts from it covering at least two beautiful skyscrapers directly behind it. again, barring any knowledge of zoning issues etc. "bunching" seems to be this cities new trend when it comes to developing towers in this city.
Philly's last edition, the Comcast Tower also seemed to detract from the breadth of our skyline by in my opinion being built to close to other buildings; at least I believed its positioning could have also worked to expand our skyline; my major concern is that this type of planning ultimately has the effect of creating a great big pyramid of rectangular masses further minimizing the impact of our skyline.
What is most disturbing to me about this project more than any other in my lifetime is that this tower single handedly has the ability to transform not only our skyline as second to none except NYC and Chicago, but also signaling to the world that Philadelphia has finally embraced the necessary image of a city seriously intent on becoming a world class city.
This new tower for me is not so much about its architecture than it is about its location. This building would nearly double our skyline placed anywhere east of city hall, and in the process assuredly creating future development as an expanded midtown corridor. This along with the ongoing development of the towers being built at the Cira Centres would reshape the image of this city throughout the world.
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Thats an amusing, visionary take on zoning issues haha .. How the building will look from certain angles is definitely a consideration for designers, its called the approach. however, that element doesnt have nearly enough importance to affect the actual location; just the design. A developer will spot a tall building next to other tall buildings if they're smart. Sound urban planning involves building away form a core as slowly as possible. It wouldnt "asuredly expand the midtown corridor," there are too many historical lowrises and nimbyisms in cc east. Its naive to think that a skyscraper can or should be built in a dense city without blocking the view of something else. Actually, I'm pretty sure all of trophy towers of philly can be blocked from one certain view (maybe besides comcast). I wake up every morning with a view of the skyline and liberty one is completely blocked by comcast. Does that hurt the view? Maybe, but I actually enjoy a fresh mix of towers from any location.
I wouldn't change the location at all, if it were built east of city hall then things would just be out of place and unbalanced. I personally love the pyramid effect this planning creates, a good skyline requires an aesthetic anchor, like a core or a focal point. Philly's aesthetics are so good because despite the mid rises from river to river, we have a true, concentrated core of trophy towers that follow a sort of pyramid effect like lower manhattan. Thats why chicago's skyline isnt exactly my cup of tea, it has its tallest buildings all scattered around, which wouldve been a lot worse with the spire. Atlanta's skyline looks, sparse, to put it nicely, because they decided to "expand the corridors" I'd personally love to keep building up the mountain in philly as other infill gets built around it like the cira centers.
However, the balance isnt really an important thing if the location is lucrative enough anyway. This is being built atop a transit hub, next to the parent tower, its perfect.