^It would be cool, but we all know that someone would complain about the government wasting money.

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

 

Great idea!  Someone recently mentioned that there aren't a lot of nighttime glamour shots of our skyline.  Hard to do when so little of it lights up. 

^It would be cool, but we all know that someone would complain about the government wasting money.

 

Who cares? They will complain about the warm spring sun being too bright.

^It would be cool, but we all know that someone would complain about the government wasting money.

 

Who cares? They will complain about the warm spring sun being too bright.

 

Really?  Part of the reason for doing this is energy efficiency.  Why not just have flames shooting out of the top at night?  That will get people's attention.

Couple more articles about it:

 

Finally, it's design change you can believe in: Chicago firm's planned rehab of Cleveland federal building sets a sustainable example

 

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2011/01/architectural-change-you-can-believe-in-chicago-firms-planned-rehab-of-cleveland-federal-building-se.html

 

A makeover for Cleveland's federal building

 

Celebrezze skyscraper to get "glass curtain".

By Ken Robinson, Newsradio WTAM 1100

 

http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=8098822

 

 

 

and here's a similar project starting construction in Denver:

 

GSA begins modernization of Chávez Building

Denver Business Journal

Date: Thursday, January 27, 2011, 1:36pm MST

 

Read more: GSA begins modernization of Chávez Building | Denver Business Journal

 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2011/01/27/gsa-begins-modernization-of-chavez.html

Really? Part of the reason for doing this is energy efficiency. Why not just have flames shooting out of the top at night? That will get people's attention.

 

WTF? ? ? ? How energy intensive is neon? LEDs?

The other day somebody mentioned that they thought there was supposed to be some sort of lighting component, which I also remembered. 

 

I finally found this, but its nowhere to be found now..?

 

https://home.crainscleveland.com/celebreezefederalbldgfacade041010ab35124

By Stan Bollard

One of the most high-profile Cleveland area projects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act should be well underway by next year, but it will also transform the downtown Cleveland skyline.

 

The Recovery Act funded roof and facade replacement is scheduled to begin in spring 2011 but could start as early as this summer.  "Green" energy-saving elements of the project include increased water/energy conservation from the roof/facade improvements and modernization of various mechanical systems, including installation of a support pole for a wind turbine to be installed at a later date. The work is expected to be completed in 2015.

 

GSA completed a prospectus level renovation on the building in fall 2009 that included plaza renovation, installation of a new fire management system, and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. What most passersby will notice is the installation of a new glass facade containing photovoltaic LED lighting; this will enable GSA engineers to monitor HVAC system output as well as detect energy loss. The LED cells will register energy loss or transfer by a change in color; the cells will also be tested in certain windows and if successful, will be used for those not included in the original test.

 

 

Thanks. Interesting. I hope there is an exterior illumination of some kind.

You know what excites me most about that rendering? Look to the middle left hand side of the building. Looks like Cleveland gains about 40-50 skyscrapers along the Euclid corridor! Not bad for $121 million! :-D

Really? Part of the reason for doing this is energy efficiency. Why not just have flames shooting out of the top at night? That will get people's attention.

 

WTF? ? ? ? How energy intensive is neon? LEDs?

 

Neon lights can consume up to 10 times the power of an equivalent LED.  If they're concerned about energy efficiency and still want some lighting element then LED would probably be the way to go.

It sounds like LEDs are what they're going with. But neon still uses less energy than flames shooting out of the top each night.  :-P

From an article earlier this year.

 

"Work on the project will begin next summer and continue through 2014."

 

Cant wait to see the finished product. Better take some pictures of the building before next summer!

From an article earlier this year.

 

"Work on the project will begin next summer and continue through 2014."

 

Cant wait to see the finished product. Better take some pictures of the building before next summer!

 

I had asked about this building earlier, and did a little research and pinpointed the same sentence as you.  I noticed the article was from January if I remember correctly, and I didn't know if they meant construction was suppose to start next summer as in 2011 or summer of 2012.

Did this project ever go before the planning commission for review?

I thought most of the work was still preliminary, and that it was going to be in the design stages for a while. visible construction was going to take a few.

 

I am also extremely excited for the project, its really going to refresh the skyline a little bit.

 

^seriously?  This is a complete boondoggle.  Building an enclosure around an old inefficient building?  For what, bomb resistance?  it would be cheaper to tear it down & rebuild a new modern, efficient, bomb resistant building...

^How so?

"Work on the project will begin next summer and continue through 2014. David Hood, regional commissioner of the GSA’s Public Buildings Service, said the project would cut $600,000 to $700,000 a year from the building’s $3.7 million heating and cooling bill. "

 

121 Million takes a long time to recoup from saving 6-700 thousand a year, but the better efficiency, addition of jobs, and renovation of a (soon to be considered imho) historic facade has big implications. Plus its paid for by the feds. Its tons cheaper than building a new, modern, efficient, bomb resistant building.. and its going to be a new, modern, efficient, bomb resistant building.

 

Im not seeing the "boondoggle"... Whats your opinion on it?

^seriously?  This is a complete boondoggle.  Building an enclosure around an old inefficient building?  For what, bomb resistance?  it would be cheaper to tear it down & rebuild a new modern, efficient, bomb resistant building...

Actually that was priced by GSA and was going to be slightly more expensive.

 

Admittedly though, a part of the reason for that was the cost of real estate and the estimate was done several years ago, before the real estate market downturn. In the years since, the building has undergone a lot of interior renovations. (Fire alarms, restrooms, lighting, asbestos removal from select areas, etc.) When you combine the cost of the interior renovations, the plaza around the building, and this exterior project with the reduced cost of real estate, it might not save the government much to do all the renovating, but as slow as GSA typically works, it's not worth changing strategy now. (In other words, by the time the contracts on the building could be cancelled and new real estate purchased, the real estate market would probably have improved to the point of cancelling out any savings.)

 

On top of that, after seeing the setbacks that are becoming typical of Defense Department buildings, I wouldn't want to see one built in Cleveland.

spin it however you please by factoring in "job creation" and "renovation of a soon to be historic" facade, but you said it yourself, $121 million takes a long time to pay back at a rate of $600,000 per year.  Wait till the real construction costs come in over $200 million. 

 

Look what we are getting for $270 million on Flats East Bank which includes infrastructure & parking...  this is a boondoggle.  If you want to love it for reinvestment, that's fine, but don't argue that it's money well spent.  I have a lot of experience doing building renovations and the glass could be replaced with triple-pane impact resistant glazing that would be 10x more cost effective...  anyhow, hope it's beautiful, creates a bazillion jobs, and lasts forever.

I feel you there gottaplan. The energy savings are not going to make the money back. I am glad, though, to see that there is an effort to reinvest and repurpose... if only they could do something like this to the Breuer tower! ugh haha

 

IIRC they mentioned something in one of the articles that they couldn't use the triple-pane glazing b/c the wall joints/mullion system in place wasn't thick/strong enough and it came too close to the floor plate so they would have to lift off the entire skin and thus it would have been more expensive, and would have impacted the (arguably) historic structure.

 

This article (of course the Chicago Tribune, not PD!) can help explain

http://tinyurl.com/3uvz43m

 

 

The money would be spent in another city if not here. So for that reason alone, I am glad.

Whats going on here? I saw wooden boards on the front support beams.

They're going to board-up the federal building instead of doing the wrap. Five thousand years worth of human experience with building wooden structures to protect against the weather can't be all wrong!

You know what excites me most about that rendering? Look to the middle left hand side of the building. Looks like Cleveland gains about 40-50 skyscrapers along the Euclid corridor! Not bad for $121 million! :-D

 

I saw that to hopefully that's apart of the design!! lol  8-)

I feel you there gottaplan. The energy savings are not going to make the money back. I am glad, though, to see that there is an effort to reinvest and repurpose... if only they could do something like this to the Breuer tower! ugh haha

 

IIRC they mentioned something in one of the articles that they couldn't use the triple-pane glazing b/c the wall joints/mullion system in place wasn't thick/strong enough and it came too close to the floor plate so they would have to lift off the entire skin and thus it would have been more expensive, and would have impacted the (arguably) historic structure.

 

This article (of course the Chicago Tribune, not PD!) can help explain

http://tinyurl.com/3uvz43m

 

 

 

This link doesn't work for me.

I feel you there gottaplan. The energy savings are not going to make the money back. I am glad, though, to see that there is an effort to reinvest and repurpose... if only they could do something like this to the Breuer tower! ugh haha

 

IIRC they mentioned something in one of the articles that they couldn't use the triple-pane glazing b/c the wall joints/mullion system in place wasn't thick/strong enough and it came too close to the floor plate so they would have to lift off the entire skin and thus it would have been more expensive, and would have impacted the (arguably) historic structure.

 

This article (of course the Chicago Tribune, not PD!) can help explain

http://tinyurl.com/3uvz43m

 

 

 

This link doesn't work for me.

 

Thought maybe the Tribune took the story down but looks like its just the Tinyurl that doesnt work... here it is! :D

 

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

Whats going on here? I saw wooden boards on the front support beams.

They're starting prep work and boarded up the beams so they don't damage the stained steel skin around the beams when they put up the scaffolding. The latest I heard is that they're going to be focusing on scaffolding and replacing the roof in 2012, and will be building the new skin around the building in 2013 with some finishing up stretching into 2014. (Considering GSA is managing the project though, that seems ambitious.)

What is the Ohio connection to Bloomingdale's alluded to above?  Federated Department Stores in Cincinnati?

Seen today - let the refacing begin:

Wow! Almost forgot this, so many projects announced a long time ago are finally starting this year :)

Not to be a negative nancy, but I think this could be a complete waste of taxpayers money. My first impression was that this project is just an over the top security measure. Just like that "urban forest" aka concrete bunker that surrounds the place. Admittedly it will look cool, but really that building is nowhere near an eyesore; it looks just fine as is.

Not to be a negative nancy, but I think this could be a complete waste of taxpayers money. My first impression was that this project is just an over the top security measure. Just like that "urban forest" aka concrete bunker that surrounds the place. Admittedly it will look cool, but really that building is nowhere near an eyesore; it looks just fine as is.

 

From what I understand its going to enveloped in glass, not concrete and according to a PD article a few months back, its going to save the building 500,000.00 a year in heating/cooling costs

^^ thats correct hubz. The new facade is only an encasement of glass, therefore creating a layer of air that can make a large stride in the overall thermal system of the building. The facade is fine and will stay the same. They would have updated it by putting in new windows, but due to the construction of it that would have been more costly. This is going to be one giant curtain wall. I am excited to see the finished product!

Not to be a negative nancy, but I think this could be a complete waste of taxpayers money. My first impression was that this project is just an over the top security measure. Just like that "urban forest" aka concrete bunker that surrounds the place. Admittedly it will look cool, but really that building is nowhere near an eyesore; it looks just fine as is.

 

 

 

From what I understand its going to enveloped in glass, not concrete and according to a PD article a few months back, its going to save the building 500,000.00 a year in heating/cooling costs

 

 

500K a year savings on a 120 million investment. I don't know guys, the math....it doesn't seem cost efficient.

 

p.s. is there no safety component to this?

The money would have been spent somewhere else so Im glad we got it. I dont necessarily agree with it but if someone is going to get the money it might as well be us.

Not to be a negative nancy, but I think this could be a complete waste of taxpayers money. My first impression was that this project is just an over the top security measure. Just like that "urban forest" aka concrete bunker that surrounds the place. Admittedly it will look cool, but really that building is nowhere near an eyesore; it looks just fine as is.

 

 

 

From what I understand its going to enveloped in glass, not concrete and according to a PD article a few months back, its going to save the building 500,000.00 a year in heating/cooling costs

 

 

500K a year savings on a 120 million investment. I don't know guys, the math....it doesn't seem cost efficient.

 

p.s. is there no safety component to this?

It's a combination of energy saving retrofit and security update. The glass is supposed to be impact resistant and laminated so that in the case of an explosion there won't be shards flying everywhere. At the same time by providing an extra layer it will reduce heating and cooling costs. (Though of course not enough to offset the cost of the renovation.) The idea is that by significantly renovating the exterior and doing a few minor renovations to the interior they in effect get a newish building without ever having to vacate any portions of it.

 

Also the current windows are being replaced as well, (at night and on weekends) but they can't just replace them with the high efficiency impact resistant glass without making some fairly significant reconstruction, which would actually cost more because it would have required closing each floor of the building as it's windows were replaced, (which means moving costs, and having to rent space in another building) plus the building as it stands is just one massive pile of asbestos and they're trying to minimize how much of that they have to deal with during this project.

 

Side note, the interior of the 27th floor is being gutted and remodeled over the last year and a half as part of a separate contract. It hadn't been updated at all since the 60s when it was first built so everyone knew going in that there would be asbestos but they didn't realize to what extent. The remodel ended up costing about $1.7 million (slightly over budget) mostly due to the asbestos removal.

Not much but you can see some scaffolding

Haha...thanks!!! I've been too lazy to walk over there!!!

Haha...thanks!!! I've been too lazy to walk over there!!!

 

I don't really post a lot, however this is Urban Porn.... we can't complain about sky walks or no store front when we can't even walk a few blocks... LOL but I need to drive back to the burbs.... J/K

 

In jjames' defense, there is a difference between walking down a corridor like Euclid and walking down to that little corner where there is nothing but city hall and the federal building... the public auditorium isn't used, and the aforementioned buildings are only for government employees so it is a bit out of the way

Exactly...I spend all my time in Gateway (where I live), Playhouse, Tower City, or Warehouse District.  I was waiting until I went to the library, but now I don't have to. 

haha, you're welcome for destroying any chance of you furthering you literary education I suppose....

:drunk: hahaha

Looks like they may be prepping the building to begin the casing soon.

Yep, on the eastern facade they've started to attach the supports for the casing - the light silver squares at each 'intersect' on the curtain wall - pardon the crappy quality, cell phone pic  :|

 

The GSA/federal government has been nice to downtown Cleveland--complete rehab of the old post office and federal building, new federal courthouse on the river, and now a major upgrade to this tower, all within the past 15 years or so.

 

Yes that is substantial amount of work, but they cant keep the lights on at the courthouse on the river (cost-cutting measure?).

THese lights near the top havent come on for a year...

 

(April 2010 picture)

 

 

 

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

The GSA/federal government has been nice to downtown Cleveland--complete rehab of the old post office and federal building, new federal courthouse on the river, and now a major upgrade to this tower, all within the past 15 years or so.

 

They have been good to us...it would have been even better if they spent some $$$ in town partying. :evil: