As it has been mentioned in here before, it seems like their newer projects are more suburban than urban. The new tower will look great, but it seems that it is not placed contextually with other buildings on Grand. It sits in the middle of a green field. I'm sure that works great for places like the Danforth Center out on Lindbergh and Olive, but NOT in the city. That building should have been built directly on Grand. SLU (Biondi) leans towards this faux-suburban style that does not fit into the urban environment. Foutains with dolphins, random grass fields, etc. Overall, the campus is nice, but it seems they've torn down architecturally significant buildings for parking lots and fields without a purpose (Grand and Lindell)... At the same time, the area would have been a Hiroshima flat if SLU had moved further west; I'm just throwing out some constructive criticism
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wasn't it tossed around earlier (maybe in another thread) that perhaps the purpose of the vast amounts of green are simply to create a more pleasing place until need/money/space constraints require a new building, one that would fit nicely into such a site? If so, at least it is a better way of treating land that has the potential for future development than the crater left next the new Busch. (unfair comparison, I know, but...)
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I was told by someone in the SLU administration that the exact placing of the building was somewhat regretable (surrounded with so much green space) but that their choices were limited by the soil/rock structure below ground. Simply put, a building of this height could have only gone where this one now sits. Their preference would have been to build further south on the same lot.
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I imagine SLU will eventually fill in the areas between the tower and its other medical campus buildings to its south. When looking at the new campus map, the two sites either side of the new covered walkway just jump out as spaces for new buildings. However, the large setback from Chouteau is more troubling, because I doubt SLU would want to diminish the visibility of their tower from the north.
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Yes, this is correct: The exact location for the Edward A. Doisy Research Center was chosen because the ground immediately to the south, closer to SLU School of Medicine, is situated over an old rock quarry. There was much survey work and analysis conducted before the final location was chosen, and a site closer to the medical school was not feasible.
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^So the soil south can't hold a tower. Would SLU still maybe build smaller buildings someday in between Doisy Tower and Doisy Hall?
slumedicalcenter1 wrote:and a site closer to the medical school was not feasible.
Unless the old rock quarry was well over 100 feet deep, building the tower further south would have been feasible, just maybe not as fiscally responsible as the current site. Semantics, I know, but the term feasible is constantly misused, particularly in development and construction.
And no matter what the soil is like, unless the site is completely unstable, i.e. there are voids and/or degrading fill material, you should still be able to put something up around 4 stories or less without too much added cost.
Holy Cow! Has anyone seen this building lately? It's being painted a really vivid, intense green. Is this the final color? Is the whole building gonna be done like this? If so, it's really gonna stand out like crazy! The renderings looked much more subtle.
^I believe you are referring to the insulation, being covered with sealant. I'd imagine that some type of metal or composite panel will go over the top of that. I can't really tell what the material is from the renderings, but I am sure it will be light colored grey like what is indicated.
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Framer wrote:Holy Cow! Has anyone seen this building lately? It's being painted a really vivid, intense green. Is this the final color? Is the whole building gonna be done like this? If so, it's really gonna stand out like crazy! The renderings looked much more subtle.
I was thinking the same thing, but it definitely looks like paint rather than the final skin. However, I believe the final color will actually be the patinated copper green that is so common on SLU buildings (like the roof of SLU Hospital).
Well, it's been nearly three months now, and the skin of this building is still INTENSELY GREEN! I'm starting to think that this is the final color. Frankly, I don't know what to think!
^Exactly my sentiments. I hope they haven't switched the color scheme.
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^ Yeah - this is rediculous. I vow to jump off the tower itself if its final color is the current green. Hasn't anyone seen a building in different stages of being built before?
Err... up close you can see the brickwork going up on the ground floors. The insulation will be covered soon enough.
Ummm....I remember, and I'm pretty sure about this, a yellow skin (like the insulation covering of many new houses) was present over which the green was soon placed...or am I wrong about that? If I'm right, then someone tell me what that green is...or if I'm wrong (and I do hope I am)and this is the insulation, why is covering it with the patinaed copper color taking so long?
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^ I believe that the green is 'painted' on as part of the process to make it a LEED certified building - something about sealing the yellow foam-ish insulation. Anyone with actual knowledge out there?
So to make a certified "green" building, you first have to paint it green?
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I would hypothesize that it may have been more of a sealant/flame retardent substance since they'll be handling disease and vaccines. Something to seal the labs, making them "clean" zones.
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So to make a certified "green" building, you first have to paint it green?
I think that's all it takes!
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Framer wrote:Well, it's been nearly three months now, and the skin of this building is still INTENSELY GREEN! I'm starting to think that this is the final color. Frankly, I don't know what to think!
Viewing the building from Jefferson & 40 this morning, the green looks great! A bold color, really stands out. Alas, I suspect well end up with a brick veneer or something equally safe.
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Ihnen wrote:Anyone have a more recent rendering to help us with the color?
OK, I'll take that. It's a nice looking building. I like the red!