PhattyNati

yowsa!

I unfortunately have not read his book and obviously i should. What little i know about his ideas came through a lecture series at school. Certainly he is right on about the attraction of these people to the charming historic areas. Id like to think that includes me as i hope to move downtown in a few months. You are right though, i would say the verdict is still out as far as the attraction of one over the other. I think UC is a good experiment in seeing whether the new campus aesthetic brings change to the student body composition. My only argument to the historic side of things is whether authenticity comes into play. Good discussion!

we are all entitled to opinions and thats what makes the world great. i guess lame was the wrong choice of word. I love everything about this city and like everyone here, i am filled with rage anytime someone knocks it down. The city has a lot to be proud of, especially the vast quantity of magnificent historic architecture. But let me ask, what recent buildings around cincinnati have received the most attention for their architectural integrity? The contemporary arts center, UC's campus (minus the zinc), the proposed Libeskind tower...these guys are not "replica" architecture, they arent the spitting image of buildings built over 100 years ago, these have done more to help cincinnati's national image than other efforts. I have no doubt that "historic" will the the underlining theme of the banks development and thats ok, if done well it will be successfull as an entertainment/housing district and a catalyst for economic growth. My point through all of this is why not push it a little further? There have been a number of conversations on this forum that discuss the importance of maintaining "the creative class". Well, it takes creativity to attract creative people. Well i feel i we are spiraling here so im not going to keep pushing my point of view...just start the damn thing already!

i dont mean to sound like i have such a prejudice against brick...because i dont. its a building material for crying out laud. building material alone doesnt constitute a contextual relationship, not every historic downtown building is brick...and context goes far beyond physical. as far as stucco goes...those renderings have dryvit written all over them. i could list you hundreds of materials that could be used...hell, paul brown is a pallet in and of itself. i think reinventing the wheel would be a pretty spectacular thing. i dont disagree that those renderings portray a magical place because they do. all i am saying is lets be original, lets think our of the box...this is cincinnati's chance to prove to the world that we arent as lame or stuck in our ways as a lot of people seems to think.

i think that would be cool. sort of a transition down the riverfront. oooooh how symbolic! and the freedom center right in the middle.

lets leave historic where it belongs...in the past. we have over the rhine, and granted its not in great shape right now THAT is what makes cincinnati unique. we need to progress here folks. look at paul brown! traditional with brick? nope! and i think we can all agree...well hopefully...that building is one fine piece of architecture. im not saying i think the river front should be super ultra contemporary because i dont. i think a hybrid of the two would look really nice and bridge the gap of where we were architecturally, and where we should be now. Nobody is bound to the nature of those renderings. That was just somebody's whim of what it could look like. Just depends on what direction the developer wants to take the project (corporex = Libeskind) and what the design review board is looking for.

what an awesome building

whether any of you actually approve of the plan or not...its nice to see something happen without too many political bumps.

i guess its pretty easy for them to get excited, and want to respond when they have things rolling along like they seem to be. quite a nice turnaround for this project

points taken. i dont think the project completely sucks. i just think it could be a little better is all

....or lack there of

being next to a park doesnt change a thing for me...its still 21st century urban architecture

^ i agree that its better than what it will replace i dont know. i have always been an advocate for any progress is good progress but for the first time i dont think i feel that way. on one side, if i have learned anything the first few days at my new job its that these renderings are thrown together in several hours and typically do not accurately represent the final product. but the first thing i think about this building is a two story, turn of the century industrial building that has been stretched to 14 floors. I know how difficult it is for these smaller developers to build something spectacular. I just dont see a reason why a 14 story tower, built in 2005 needs to be clad in brick. Ive said it many times, im a huge fan of brick in terms of cincinnati's historic architecture but we are beyond that now. Im not requesting brutalist concrete either. But all in all im glad that it might happen and i will reserve further judgement until (if) its completed.

horrid

the "bonus" pic is hot!

pretty impressive. thanks for the update

interesting catch

^ ha

nice pics. looks pretty nice down there

hopefully the city and county will bicker for the next 5 years. This just seems so "all of the sudden" and odd.

anyway

hmmm, should be interesting

proposals i heard were to level the existing kroger/kmart complex at plainfield and hunt, and build a new kroger/target combo. but i have never heard anything about using vacant land. i am pretty sure the kroger and kmart will be redeveloped (kroger will temporarily occupy the vacant thriftway building closer to dowtown blue ash during construction) but i dont know if it still involves a target. the piece of land north of cross county is now occupied by the chabad jewish center and the land south has been a dump site for yard waste and such

^Exactly. People that would attend these plays are most likely going to be looking for a place to eat before, and perhaps a bar to socialize afterward. 200,000 isnt a huge draw by any means, but it seems like it would assist as a year round attraction and pick up a little of the slack when the reds and bengals are not in season. DO IT!

wow that ohio river is blue!