Did they ever light the curved piece above the roof?  Seems like that would be cool at night...

 

No, but the lighting did accent it somewhat. Hard to tell from the picture.

Of course that western view is now just nothingness at night, save for some lighted office windows.

Here's how it looked in 2006:

 

0.0 why can't we have that now?

^Because that's the Federal Courthouse Tower, not the A.J. Celebrezze Federal Building - which happens to be the topic of this thread. :-)

Went by last Friday and it didn't seem like much was going on.  Some stuff on the bottom floor windows, and looks like they are getting ready to with cables to hoist stuff to the top, but not much besides that.  Not that I am rushing it or anything, just not much to write about.

I don't work in the building anymore so I don't hear as much about it as I used to, but as of last winter the plan was to replace the roof and put up scaffolding in 2012 and do the skin in 2013.

Some new progress! Now I know what all those brackets were for.

I was curious about that as well. Thanks for posting!

Well to my surprise a section of the new skin has finally gone up!

Clifton thanks for doing that. I have been trying to figure out how that was going to look. It's been on my list to get a closer look at that. Should look nice when finished.

Clifton thanks for doing that. I have been trying to figure out how that was going to look. It's been on my list to get a closer look at that. Should look nice when finished.

 

This application at least serves a purpose while also not really changing the appearance of the building.  I wonder if that is what people were saying back in the 60's and 70's when they started covering up Schofield, John Hartness etc.

Looks similar to what took place at the MetLife building across from Bryant Park.  Should be nice when done.

Thanks. But why is this in "completed projects"?

Thanks. But why is this in "completed projects"?

 

I was on Tapatalk and just searched for the thread. That's odd

Thanks. But why is this in "completed projects"?

Good question, maybe a mod should move it? :wink:

Perhaps it was just the sky yesterday, but I walked by that spot at lunch and the new "skin" doesn't look like the renditions. It looked very translucent almost opaque, versus the crystal clear glass shown in the design. I'm wondering how they will ever clean the glass in between both windows? Surely dust and dirt and any smudges left on the outside of that window during construction will be there forever.

 

It still baffles me that new wrap around windows cost $131 million dollars on an existing building, yet a brand new convention center hotel can be built 2 blocks away for only double the cost of this new facade.

Perhaps it was just the sky yesterday, but I walked by that spot at lunch and the new "skin" doesn't look like the renditions. It looked very translucent almost opaque, versus the crystal clear glass shown in the design. I'm wondering how they will ever clean the glass in between both windows? Surely dust and dirt and any smudges left on the outside of that window during construction will be there forever.

 

It still baffles me that new wrap around windows cost $131 million dollars on an existing building, yet a brand new convention center hotel can be built 2 blocks away for only double the cost of this new facade.

Re-adaptive use on a built building currently in use, is why the cost is more.

^^There is no doubt that this is a huge waste of money. but at least its federal

^^There is no doubt that this is a huge waste of money. but at least its federal

Why is re-purposing a building and making it more marketable and extending its life span a waste?  I'd rather they do that then tear it down or have it sit vacant for years.

Perhaps it was just the sky yesterday, but I walked by that spot at lunch and the new "skin" doesn't look like the renditions. It looked very translucent almost opaque, versus the crystal clear glass shown in the design. I'm wondering how they will ever clean the glass in between both windows? Surely dust and dirt and any smudges left on the outside of that window during construction will be there forever.

 

It still baffles me that new wrap around windows cost $131 million dollars on an existing building, yet a brand new convention center hotel can be built 2 blocks away for only double the cost of this new facade.

 

I think there's a removable film on the glass right now.

We covered this previously but the construction costs are particularly high because the building is remaining in use throughout the construction, the new facade is being built from heavily blast resistant materials, and at the same time the HVAC systems are being replaced along with the roof (necessitating some asbestos removal).

 

In 2008 or 2009 they estimated a new building built to Department of Defense standards would cost roughly $250-$300 million not to mention leaving a big empty inefficient building sitting there. $131 million to remodel the old building coming out of stimulus funding rather than GSA funding seemed like a better deal to everyone involved.

^^There is no doubt that this is a huge waste of money. but at least its federal

Why is re-purposing a building and making it more marketable and extending its life span a waste?  I'd rather they do that then tear it down or have it sit vacant for years.

 

Am I wrong? because I thought this project was being done strictly for the energy savings.  Which, at 120 million dollars, would take a very long time to recoup the investment.

^^Thanks for the information Keith...I hope that leaves people less baffled.

^^There is no doubt that this is a huge waste of money. but at least its federal

Why is re-purposing a building and making it more marketable and extending its life span a waste?  I'd rather they do that then tear it down or have it sit vacant for years.

 

Am I wrong? because I thought this project was being done strictly for the energy savings.  Which, at 120 million dollars, would take a very long time to recoup the investment.

We're saying the same things but in different way.  The energy saving is re-porposing and extending it's life.

^^There is no doubt that this is a huge waste of money. but at least its federal

Why is re-purposing a building and making it more marketable and extending its life span a waste?  I'd rather they do that then tear it down or have it sit vacant for years.

 

Am I wrong? because I thought this project was being done strictly for the energy savings.  Which, at 120 million dollars, would take a very long time to recoup the investment.

It's not strictly for energy savings. They're making the building blast resistant so that no one can pull a truck up on the lakeside side of the building and try to pull an Oklahoma City. The upgrades were required for all buildings used by the Defense Department a few years ago. At the same time, they couldn't just cover up the north half of the building, so they're covering the rest of it in a low heat gain glass to save some energy. It's just a side benefit.

It's just a side benefit.

 

Nice job, even it is unintentional

It is hard to visualize what this will look like when it is completed.  But, I am glad that it is more opaque in nature and that the blinds inside are not visible in the part that is already installed.

 

I think a film was added years ago over the original glass to not be able to see inside the building during the day and the building looked better.  But, it looks like it was removed on most or all of the windows for this project probably to let more light inside.

 

I hope that the new glass extends above the top of the building to cover up the mechanical equipment at the top.

^Judging by this recent photo from MayDay (thnx MadDog)it looks Iike framework is being installed around the mechanicals. And I think I remember the rendering showing glass at the top. I am excited about how this new skin will brighten up that part of the skyline especially when you add the redo of the Westin and how that is going to a lighter skin also. I also snapped a shot of the building driving by the other night and it looks to be a new lighting element at the top. Unless those are work lights.

Anyone checked on this project lately?  I know they started hanging outer skin recently.  How does it look now?

Thanks!

The first vertical column of glass pictured upthread is up to the top of the building and visible from public square now.

Progress. This picture makes me want Cleveland to have some residential towers with balconies.

 

 

 

Celebreeze reno from 23rd floor of One Cleveland Center

 

FEDREN1 by 1af0298d3cb7af591d07a811b33f5489, on Flickr

 

See the difference on the corner.

 

Here's a view of the progress from the seventh floor of the Penton Media Building...

 

 

Welcome Blimp City! Thanks for posting and sharing. I look forward to more.

Are the outer skin windows slightly frosted? It is fascinating that we have 2 opposite facade changes going on in Cleveland. The Schofield building is removing an added skin in the 70's and The Celebrezze is adding one. I wonder in 40 years if someone will decide this addition as something to remove.

Took some photos last Tuesday from the top floor of the Penton Media Building parking garage ... enjoy!

^Nice, thanks

From October 10:

 

I'm not sure exactly how it will look completed, but so far seeing it in person, I think I like the original design better.

 

From above... Not sure how I feel. I do Like how it reflects when the sun isn't on it

Can't tell but it looks like the band across the top where there are no windows is set up to receive the same window panels. I hope so. All in all I think the building will have a cleaner more updated look when finished. But man this thing is like watching paint dry. If it was Gies it would be done already. Typical federal project.

^Not sure Geis could get it done much faster. As you pointed out, this is a federal project involving a federal building. Because of that, there are a lot of construction guidelines that must be followed for safety reasons (post-9/11 rules, blast zone, etc.).'

 

Edit: On top of that, this building is still occupied, so that needs to be considered as well.

Can't tell but it looks like the band across the top where there are no windows is set up to receive the same window panels. I hope so. All in all I think the building will have a cleaner more updated look when finished. But man this thing is like watching paint dry. If it was Gies it would be done already. Typical federal project.

 

Why do you say that? They are moving fast on the Ameritrust project because they are the owner and every day it's not occupied with a paying tenant they are losing money. A project like this the contract amount is determined up front and typically there is no incentive to staff it with more people to get it done faster.

Are they keeping the interior windows or will those be removed once the exterior is completed? If they are keeping them, they should have at least cleaned them first, which does not appear to have happened. I think that might be what makes it appear dirty. The ugly shades don't help either.

^Yes, they're keeping the interior windows.

Project is moving along. I do like the reflective look if the new glass.  It was very weird to see workers walking in between the old glass and the new glass yesterday on the south face, which is basically complete. They're now wrapping around to the west face and the first corner pieces are in place.

Up close it looks cool and at an angle but from far away it looks terrible in my opinion. Removing the ugly shades might help, hopefully that is part of the project.

^Those aren't shades; that's the fritted glass that reduces heat from the sun but on a visual level I despise it - from the inside it ruins the view, from the outside it looks like they're having condensation issues:

 

I had high hopes that this project would correct, or at least mask the esthetic blunders of the original Federal Building construction.  Is it possible that it will make the building look even worse?  Incredible!

^Those aren't shades; that's the fritted glass that reduces heat from the sun but on a visual level I despise it - from the inside it ruins the view, from the outside it looks like they're having condensation issues:

With the old windows that view never existed because whoever got the window seat would always leave the blinds down to keep the heat gain at their desk to a minimum. You had to be close to a window to see out, and that hasn't changed. I don't like the look from the outside but I imagine it'll look about the same on the inside.