I felt like this finally deserves its own thread

Looks like me might get to see the design after tuesday

This article goes into a little more detail than previous ones

 

<b>Celebrezze tower renovation in Cleveland is a national test case on balancing preservation and energy conservation</b>

 

It's big, it's green, and it's shaping up as a national test case on how to balance architectural preservation with the need to address climate change.

 

Experts say the upcoming $121 million renovation of the A.J. Celebrezze Federal Building in downtown Cleveland could be the first time a high-rise tower in the United States is wrapped with a new glass facade on all four sides, leaving the original facade intact and visible. The second skin will create an insulating cushion of air in the 2.5-foot gap between the old and new facades....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2011/01/celebrezze_tower_renovation_in.html

excellent piece and great news! I think it is truly a groundbreaking event. To be honest, this could be, architecturally, the most exciting thing that our local government has pursued in a long time. Even with all the construction going on now, nothing is too exciting save MOCA. This could help push Clevelands image in the national headlines, at least in the Architectural world. (trust me it could use the press).

 

Great! I approve. ;)

It will be interesting to see what this does for the efficiency of the building, and for its attractiveness -- both inside and out. Part of having a great view from a tall building is the ability to look down. I wonder what the views from the building would be like with another 2.5 feet of space?

^government workers should not be looking out of windows but have their heads down at their desks all day long.

So THAT'S why they're always grumpy! Guess they'll have to find other things to do to keep morale high (great ending BTW!).....

 

It will be interesting to see what this does for the efficiency of the building, and for its attractiveness --

 

At least there won't be a repeat of the John Hartness building's ugly skin.

I'm dying to see what this will look like. Litt made it sound like approval would likely take place at the Tuesday meeting. I was hoping it would be unveiled yesterday or today (yeah, I'm impatient). Anyone have any insight into how quick (or slow) the GSA will be about this? :-)

Anyone have any insight into how quick (or slow) the GSA will be about this? :-)

If history is any indication, GSA is always slower than anyone expects.

<A Href="http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/downtown-federal-building-to-get-a-$121-million-glass-curtain"> Downtown federal building to get a $121 million glass curtain </A>

 

CLEVELAND - A news conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday to announce plans for a 32-story glass curtain wall that will be installed around the Celebrezze Federal Building in downtown Cleveland.

 

This new design is aimed at improving the building’s safety, security and energy efficiency.

 

Architects and a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) official will be on hand to discuss the specifics of the design. The press conference will include a 6-ft.-tall rendering of the building with its new outer facade.

 

The project is estimated to cost $121 million and once completed, will be one of the largest double-wall facades in the United States.

 

 

 

 

Today? Thanks. 

 

Link?

6 feet tall! That should be cool

Federal government reveals design for new Celebrezze building facades

Published: Thursday, January 27, 2011, 12:00 PM    Updated: Thursday, January 27, 2011, 12:03 PM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The re-skinning of the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building in downtown Cleveland will be a skyline-sized loss and gain.

 

Under a $121 federal project funded under President Barack Obama's stimulus program, the 32-story Celebrezze building, finished in 1967, will get an entirely new glass skin, which will be installed 2.5 feet outside the existing glass and stainless steel facade.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2011/01/federal_government_reveals_des.html

Very interesting. What do you guys think? I like the original design but this doesn't look to bad. Looks modern. It will be interesting to see how this will add to our skyline

 

I would have liked to see this building get a new skin on the visual side of things. I understand why the federal building is the one being renovated though.

 

http://media.cleveland.com/business_impact/photo/eastohiojpg-4815b4f2d025bae6.jpg

Similar Angles

 

<b>Before:</b> http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/1718870960_81ae49d1df.jpg

 

<b>After:</b> http://media.cleveland.com/architecture/photo/tower1jpg-dc8cc7b5d0fd1121.jpg

From a distance it looks exactly what I expected it to look like.  However, I hadn't expected there to be breaks in the glass wall like you can see in the closeup of the corner.  Also, I didn't expect the government to have such ambitious plans for UC/Eastern midtown :)

Look at this comment from Cleveland.com

 

"I didn't see the actual full price... It only said $121... didn't say million or thousand.... If its million its an absolute atrocity, if its hundred-thousand its just a small waste of money."

 

They must live in a fairytale land if they think its even possible it only costs $121,000.

 

 

From a distance it looks exactly what I expected it to look like. However, I hadn't expected there to be breaks in the glass wall like you can see in the closeup of the corner. Also, I didn't expect the government to have such ambitious plans for UC/Eastern midtown :)

 

hhahahaha i just noticed that! What an awesome addition to our skyline! :lol:

Also, I didn't expect the government to have such ambitious plans for UC/Eastern midtown :)

 

I am totally fine if that picture accurately reflects the plans for university circle.

The picture that the PD gives of Peter Van Dijk is crazy outdated! I guess thats what he looked like when they built the building? hmm. Just made me laugh.. he is a good family friend.

 

Anyways, I think that historically speaking this is a pretty ballsy project. I don't know whose vision it was to cover the whole building in this skin (the architect, client, etc) but it is great. I am excited to see it all jazzed up! excellent investment.

The picture that the PD gives of Peter Van Dijk is crazy outdated! I guess thats what he looked like when they built the building? hmm. Just made me laugh.. he is a good family friend.

 

Anyways, I think that historically speaking this is a pretty ballsy project. I don't know whose vision it was to cover the whole building in this skin (the architect, client, etc) but it is great. I am excited to see it all jazzed up! excellent investment.

 

Scav, it would be interesting to get Mr. Van Dijk take on this plan.

The picture that the PD gives of Peter Van Dijk is crazy outdated! I guess thats what he looked like when they built the building? hmm. Just made me laugh.. he is a good family friend.

 

Anyways, I think that historically speaking this is a pretty ballsy project. I don't know whose vision it was to cover the whole building in this skin (the architect, client, etc) but it is great. I am excited to see it all jazzed up! excellent investment.

 

Scav, it would be interesting to get Mr. Van Dijk take on this plan.

 

Thats what I was thinking.

Looks like what developers/building owners have done with a few building in NYC.  Removing the old exterior and putting on the glass skin.

 

I think this will be an improvement.

Looks like what developers/building owners have done with a few building in NYC.  Removing the old exterior and putting on the glass skin.

 

I think this will be an improvement.

 

Yeah, they have been doing that like crazy in DC, but the difference is they are not removing the old exterior. 

Also, I didn't expect the government to have such ambitious plans for UC/Eastern midtown :)

 

I missed something. What you are talking about?

Also, I didn't expect the government to have such ambitious plans for UC/Eastern midtown :)

 

I missed something. What you are talking about?

 

Just cracking a joke about the rendering background filler midrise skyscrapers.

Looks like what developers/building owners have done with a few building in NYC. Removing the old exterior and putting on the glass skin.

 

I think this will be an improvement.

 

Yeah, they have been doing that like crazy in DC, but the difference is they are not removing the old exterior.

 

This isnt a new concept just at a larger scale! Look at the Schofield building!

 

I wonder what the cost difference between removing the old exterior and just building over it like this. I know one benefit is not having to shut down operations inside

I like this project!  This will be an interesting change to both the skyline and the E.9th St corridor. 

 

I know it's a federal building... but I wonder what this thing would look like during the night if it was lit up after the renovation?  The possibilities...

Looks like what developers/building owners have done with a few building in NYC. Removing the old exterior and putting on the glass skin.

 

I think this will be an improvement.

 

Yeah, they have been doing that like crazy in DC, but the difference is they are not removing the old exterior.

 

This isnt a new concept just at a larger scale! Look at the Schofield building!

 

I wonder what the cost difference between removing the old exterior and just building over it like this. I know one benefit is not having to shut down operations inside

Though realistically I'm going to predict productivity will be going down with everyone looking out the window at what they're doing.

Looks like what developers/building owners have done with a few building in NYC.  Removing the old exterior and putting on the glass skin.

 

I think this will be an improvement.

 

Yeah, they have been doing that like crazy in DC, but the difference is they are not removing the old exterior. 

 

This isnt a new concept just at a larger scale! Look at the Schofield building!

 

I wonder what the cost difference between removing the old exterior and just building over it like this. I know one benefit is not having to shut down operations inside

 

I'm speaking of buildings built in the 70's, which are now losing their exteriors and having them replaced with glass.

 

What took place at the schofield is a bit different.

^If the Schofield building had been wrapped in glass instead of aluminum back in the 70's leaving the original facade intact underneath it would've looked awesome.

 

^It would be sad. You would be able to see this beautiful building, but trapped in a glass box.

^It would be sad. You would be able to see this beautiful building, but trapped in a glass box.

 

^If the Schofield building had been wrapped in glass instead of aluminum back in the 70's leaving the original facade intact underneath it would've looked awesome.

 

 

Yeah, Im kinda thinking if they left it alone it would have looked awesome.

trapped in glass... or preserved in glass?

 

I will do what I can to contact Peter... I would like to know what he thinks!

I just saw him in WRL this morning.  Unfortunately I didn't see this article until this afternoon.

I like this project!  This will be an interesting change to both the skyline and the E.9th St corridor. 

 

I know it's a federal building... but I wonder what this thing would look like during the night if it was lit up after the renovation?  The possibilities...

 

I was wondering the same thing.  As I recall, one of the early concept photos in the PD showed the building at night with some kind of rotating or multi-colored lighting scheme.  Not sure what happened to that.

I like it.  The Celebrezze is not ugly, but out of date.  It was beautiful and state-of-the art when built, but the stainless steel  frame often seems rusty and dull these days and the upgrade will perk it up... at least, if the rendering is true to form.

Check out the story in the Chicago Tribune

 

Has an additional rendering of how the skin works at the bottom

 

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2011/01/a-team-of-chicago-architects-on-thursday-unveiled-a-design-that-will-wrap-a-new-skin-of-metal-fins-and-high-strength-laminate.html

Looks cool, but seems like a waste to me.  $121 million for $700k a year in energy savings + better bomb protection?  Is there no cheaper option to increase the safety of the building?

Looks cool, but seems like a waste to me. $121 million for $700k a year in energy savings + better bomb protection? Is there no cheaper option to increase the safety of the building?

 

What do you mean....  It will pay for itself in what...  173 years!

That is insane.  $121 million is a joke to retrofit that building.  Entire Flats East Bank project is going to cost $300 million to build hotel office & parking structure...  For $20 million they could replace all the windows & HVAC systems with brand new high efficiency.  And then spend another $10 million to make the building more bomb resistant, however they think that is going to work.  $700k a year in energy savings is also outrageous.  Even if this results in a 50% energy savings, which it won't, does that mean they are spending $1.5 million a year to heat & cool that space?  No freakin way.

 

Seriously, what a waste of money.  Think how many other excellent more deserving projects could have been done that provide a real benefit to residents, like public transit, more parks & maintenance.  Sickening.

gottaplan.. detailed earlier in the news was the fact that the building could not be retrofitted normally. replacing windows&hvac was not an option, because of the way the windows were detailed and constructed. 121 million is not cheap, but remember construction will happen while people are still inside. I am sure that has a lot to do with the cost.

Isn't this all money from the federal government? Id rather have it spent here then somewhere else, like the 3C project.

The 3C is somewhere else? Wasn't one of the C's Cleveland? It's an irrelevant issue because the 3C funding was restricted by law to passenger rail.

 

Moving on....

 

It's federal money to pay for a federally owned building. There's no opportunity for cost sharing here.

^I think he means the 3C money is now somewhere else.

Isn't this all money from the federal government? Id rather have it spent here then somewhere else, like the 3C project.

 

True, but IMO the benefit of 3C had a chance of outweighing the cost a little sooner than 173 years.  :)

 

 

^I think he means the 3C money is now somewhere else.

 

Correct

From the Chicago Tribune:

 

Shrink-wrapping the skyline: Chicago architects unveil design for energy-saving 'double wall' at Cleveland federal building

 

Share |  With help from Chicago architects, federal officials on Thursday unveiled an innovative design that leave the exterior of Cleveland's aging federal building in place and wrap a new metal and glass skin around it. This type of design, known as a "double wall," is expected to cut energy costs and give the stolid steel-and-glass building a fresh skyline identity, making its appearance change constantly in the light.

 

The $121 million plan (left), which was made public at a Cleveland news conference, will be funded by the controversial federal stimulus program. It was prepared by Interactive Design Eight Architects, which worked under Italian architect Renzo Piano on the Art Institute of Chicago's Modern Wing. It will be the most extensive use of double wall technology in a U.S. federal building, though not the first.

 

Renovation work already has begun on the 16-story Peter W. Rodino Federal Building in Newark, N.J. It's laying the groundwork for that building to be "shrink-wrapped," as the plan's chief architect, Richard Dattner, puts it, in a new metal and glass skin. As at the Cleveland building, the two walls in Newark will be separated by a cavity of air, about three feet wide.

 

Such double walls filter out harsh sunlight and create an insulating layer of air that moderates climatic extremes and lowers energy costs. Office buildings in Europe have used double walls for more than a decade, but the technology remains unusual in the U.S.

 

In Cleveland, it will now be applied to the A.J. Celebrezze Federal Building (left), a 32-story structure completed in 1967 and located a short walk from I.M. Pei's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum along Lake Erie. Bob Peck, commissioner of public buildings at the General Services Administration (GSA), which operates federal buildings, approved the design last week.

 

 

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2011/01/a-team-of-chicago-architects-on-thursday-unveiled-a-design-that-will-wrap-a-new-skin-of-metal-fins-and-high-strength-laminate.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Ftheskyline+%28ChicagoTribune+-+Cityscapes%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail

i like that

It would be cool if that featureless band around the top of the building could be illuminated as with the Newark federal building that's getting shrink-wrapped too (see below). The north end of the East 9th office corridor ought to have more nighttime illuminations -- it's a little dark over there especially compared to the towers around Public Square (or even the PNC building). One other one I was thinking of is that there ought to be colored neon lighting (green? as was done atop Crown Centre I in Independence?) erected in a gable shape atop Erieview Tower. Not only would it make the building stand out, but it would appear a few stories taller at night!  :-)

 

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/.a/6a00d834518cc969e20147e208fcae970b-800wi