I'm not a huge fan of his WTC proposal either (hasn't the tower been redesigned - I think it spirals now), but he is definatley a world class architect (I especially like the Jewish Museum in Berlin). Must say I'm very curious to see what he has in mind.
Anyone know where I can BUY a St. Louis Business Journal.
and one more thing - does the journal have sketches of the design?
I've never checked, but I would bet that the libraries have a copy every week available to read in the library. I am interested to see the sketches also. Sounds like it could really be cool.
BTW, Sammy Hagar officially anounced the Cabo Wabo Cantina during his concert saturday at UMB.
Which firm is designing Pinnacle's tower? It too is supposed to reshape the St. Louis skyline.
Whatever the designs are, I hope that they do not distract from the Gateway Arch too much. I am very glad for all of this interest in downtown St. Louis though.
Here are some street level district designs by Libeskind.
I receive that late afternoon daily email update and it wasn't mentioned that I saw. They also do email new flashes and one hasn't gone out on this topic.
Is anybody else a little disappointed that one of the flagship venues of the Bottle District is related to Sammy Hagar?
While I appreciate that Hagar purports to be a fan of St. Louis, I think his music is crap and he is generally a D-list celebrity. Plus, the whole Mexican cantina thing seems a little incongruous to a rust belt Midwestern city.
Some highlights for those who haven't seen the paper yet:
"This will be a rebirth of a major American city," Libeskind said. "St. Louis, with the Arch and this historical district-- this will link that whole history with the 21st century. This is a key gateway to the city."
...
Next up, the development team will travel to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) [they may run into Francis Slay] trade show in Las Vegas May 22-25 to attract retailers with Libeskind's designs in hand. The first phase had 60 percent occupancy under its original design, but now had approximately half of its tenants lined up since the project scope expanded. McGuire said he expects to fill the remaining slots in the next 90 days.
I was reading up some more on Daniel Libeskind. He collaborated with GBBN of Cincinnati for suburban Covington's, The Ascent at Roebling's Bridge. If he is designing the Bottle District towers, this might be a good concept to gauge where he might go.
According to the website here is a list of his projects in the US so far:
Moog Rogue wrote:Some highlights for those who haven't seen the paper yet:
"This will be a rebirth of a major American city," Libeskind said. "St. Louis, with the Arch and this historical district-- this will link that whole history with the 21st century. This is a key gateway to the city."
...
Next up, the development team will travel to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) [they may run into Francis Slay] trade show in Las Vegas May 22-25 to attract retailers with Libeskind's designs in hand. The first phase had 60 percent occupancy under its original design, but now had approximately half of its tenants lined up since the project scope expanded. McGuire said he expects to fill the remaining slots in the next 90 days.
Incredible. This is morphing into a grander project than expected. They will certainly get more quality tenants with a signature design in the wings.
WOW! this is HUGE. This definitely changes what the Bottle District can be. Liebskind is one of the great architects working today, IMO, and having him design a skyline changing building in St. Louis will really help the city out (not only in terms of publicity, but raising the architectural bar in general).
of course, it's really funny how starchitects are becoming like brand names, and the mere fact that Liebskind is designing a building is going to boost tenant agrements..... hopefully the design is awesome and thus bring more people into the city. That way developers will be more likely to hire great architects and demand great designs for their projects.
now if only they'd open the streets up to traffic.....
Wow, impressive. About 2 years ago I went to the Imperial War Museum by Liebskind in Manchester UK. It was very nice, somewhat industrial modern architecture. If this happens, it could give us another icon. unusual in US city the size of St. Louis.
I too wonder how the "Red Rocker" will fit into something this modern dowtown. While not a fan (well, I was a fan when I was 14, but that was many years ago before my ahh... taste developed) I say that if sammy can make it work, so be it. Bet the place will be jammed after Blues games At least the guys from my section.
A long-talked-about project set to change St. Louis' skyline is now moving forward with a world-renowned architect at the drawing table.
Not since the building of the Arch has St. Louis had as an iconoclastic project in the works as the designs for the Bottle District to be located just north of the Edward Jones Dome. That's the sentiment of the developers of the district since Daniel Libeskind agreed to design the $290 million project.
man, this project has jumped from a "could have been interesting" project to the most exciting of all developments happening in the city today. Reading the article gave me goose bumps, honestly i have a feeling this could be something special . some of the preliminary design concepts:
Libeskind's design incorporates several elements that have been a part of the plan from its inception -- including residential towers and the pedestrian-oriented nature of the site. The master plan Libeskind presented includes two high-rise condominium towers, as many as 50 commercial tenants and a public plaza on more than seven city blocks.
The residential towers will range between eight and 32 stories, based on market demand, Clark said. A third tower on the site also may be included. Renderings of the designs show the angled towers staggered within the site to give full views of the Arch and riverfront.
Libeskind's initial design has a swooping coliseum shape with multiple entry points. The sketches will serve as the starting point for the eventual architectural designs.
The first phase of the project, which will include the first of the residential towers, will be completed in 2007. The entire Bottle District development will be completed by 2010.
Maybe he will design one of the towers as a bottle. That would be interesting. Maybe AB would pay to put their label on it. That article does really get my hopes up that we will see a high quality development.
Think of the skyline possibilities. A modernist design that plays off the arch to the south and the stunning new bridge (which hopefully will also be built). This could really turn into something special ......
What really makes me the most happy is that it expands the boundaries of the downtown skyline. What I hope to see are more buildings built to both the north and south, all in such a way that continues to make for a pleasing skyline, and an environment that works from within as well.
This is going to be a dynamic project. I like the fact that it is his first "district" project. This project has gone from $225-million project to $290-million. Seems like they are really striving to make it high class and high quality.
When this project is designed, approved, and built, the property around it is going to be HOT! I can't see nearby property remaining "as is" for long.
Found some more renderings. Libeskind's Denver residential, Museum Residences, looks nice, in my opinion. And check out his design for the 38-story Aura Condominium Tower in Sacramento, Calif. The Cincy project, Ascent at Roebling Bridge (bottom rendering), is growing on me.
Xing wrote:A warehouse in Earth City does need a use, but not at the expense of containing the unique experience that was hoped for St Louis. It's no longer unique, and those in the suburbs have little reasons to go to the Grand Prix complex in St Louis, when it's already down the road. What a poor decision they made.
Ahhh... not to beat a dead horse, but I just read the following detail in a Post-Dispatch article posted on thebottledistrict.com (not like this is a topic of interest anymore since Libeskind has been announced as the district's architect) --
When Dan McGuire, lead developer of the Bottle District, heard about Grand Prix's plans in Earth City, he contacted the company about putting a second center in the planned entertainment district north of the Edward Jones Dome.
So, it looks as though the track in Earth City was proposed before the details of the Bottle District were brought public. Here is a link to the article:
Karl Krummenacher donned a helmet, pulled a leather racing jacket over his dress shirt and tie and took a morning spin inside a downtown St. Louis warehouse. He steered a sleek, battery-powered kart around rows of concrete pillars, hitting speeds approaching 35 miles per hour.
Credit Clayco and Forum Studios for bringing Libeskind to the project. They are also one of the finalists for the building at Grand and Lindell.
Maybe they can pull in Gehry or some other name architect for that site which calls for something dramatic and taller than 8 stories which is the tallest of all the final proposals.
Getting Libeskind to do this project should raise the bar for others that follow. It's time to get greedy and the Lindell site is the next logical spot.
I'm skeptical of the finished product of his work. Drawings of developments always make them more colorful and capture the best points of views while lacking enough truth. A building by Mies Vander Rohe seems impressive but in an average spring day in New York it's color is rather not impressive. Le Corbusier for all his fame in design and planning failed. Those developments are called the "Projects" like Pruitt Igoe, Cabrini Greens, and many others. Numerous skyscrapers amist a forest and parklands that wound up becoming parking lots. Slums for what they'e worth at least had community and were intact communities. The projects had running water until drug addicts and needy residents removed the piping and pawned it. Should every daring building be considered perfect? We need examination, and the credit of fame alone does not consider the possible flaws of the future. The Eifel Tower is still great, but Le Corbusier's projects like Chandajar (planned Indian town that I forget the spelling of) fail. Sweeping, open, airy, and clean concrete is not our goal. Even the famous Frank Lloyd Wright let us down with his ideal town where everyone had an acre, an extra farm that they worked half the day while working, recreating, and shopping in some distant place with less compactness than the newly built exurbs. Yes, even the greats fail at times. I embrace Libeskind and Gehry, but I am leery of other designers and their potential of lacking knowledge of how a development fits into a community if only based on technical design and not other forms as well.
I am also leery of crediting an architecture and construction firm who specialize in tilt-up big box construction. I doubt they had much of anything to do with it.....
I'm really not knocking you, but the comment, "move over Clayton" made me laugh. IMHO, Clayton hasn't a single building of note. That high rise condo tower looks so much like a cake decoration that it's like it's not real. The entire things looks constructed of plastic.
Anyway, I agree this is the greatest thing since the Arch. By 2015, St. Louis could be one of the greatest central cities in the world. And that's not a stretch.
Matt wrote:I'm really not knocking you, but the comment, "move over Clayton" made me laugh. IMHO, Clayton hasn't a single building of note. That high rise condo tower looks so much like a cake decoration that it's like it's not real. The entire things looks constructed of plastic.
Actually, my "move over Clayton" comment was inferring that downtown Clayton is no longer the "center of attention" in the region. Over recent years, downtown Clayton has trounced downtown St. Louis in popularity. The winds keep changing in the opposite direction. That's all I meant.
My comment didn't have anything to do with architecture necessarily.
At least the guys from my section.
