Even with the 9-11 attacks, attendance at the Empire State Building observatory deck has only increased. So, i think people will be going in great numbers to the museum and public plaza in MP.

 

but on a side note....i can remember going to the observatory deck on the Carew Tower in cincinnati last year , and the only person there was a little lady to take my five dollars lol.....no security..

 

First of all, if you compare MP to ESB...or Louisville to NYC again....I just may vomit!!!

 

As for Carew...it is not marketed as a destination.  The observation deck was a much bigger deal when Carew first opened, now the bldg does not hold the same meaning it once did, and you see no marketing/liitle knowledge of the observation deck...even among locals.  Not to mention you must navigate you way to the top by taking business worker elevators and a narrow stairwell, or outright scary 2nd elevator.  Carew does not claim to be a great observation deck, nor will it ever.

well...i didn't compare the buildings....just showing how directly after 9-11 when security was at its highest, the attendance of the ESB increased. So, i don't see how security in Louisville, which isn't anywhere near that high, will stop people from going into the plaza.

just showing how directly after 9-11 when security was at its highest, the attendance of the ESB increased. So, i don't see how security in Louisville, which isn't anywhere near that high, will stop people from going into the plaza.

 

Part of that increase could be due to the loss of the WTC observation deck, and not necessarily a renewed love affair with observation decks.

It looks so isolated and exclusionary. If you're going to do a wild and crazy design, make it look more organic. It's like they tried too hard to make it look wild and crazy but at the same time they're using traditional shapes, making it look too structured and...scrupulous?

 

Also, the last thing people are going to like is a building that looks like it's about to collapse at any moment. It doesn't look balanced.

The observation deck was a much bigger deal when Carew first opened, now the bldg does not hold the same meaning it once did, and you see no marketing/liitle knowledge of the observation deck...even among locals.  Not to mention you must navigate you way to the top by taking business worker elevators and a narrow stairwell, or outright scary 2nd elevator.  Carew does not claim to be a great observation deck, nor will it ever.

 

That is really unfortunate if this is the opinions of Cincinnatians on the Carew Tower as the building is so iconic and such an excellent urban set-piece. Also getting to the observation deck is half the fun, plus it really is a great obersvation deck as it is outdoors, which is now very rare for skyscrapers (at leas the ones that are open). 

 

It looks so isolated and exclusionary. If you're going to do a wild and crazy design, make it look more organic. It's like they tried too hard to make it look wild and crazy but at the same time they're using traditional shapes, making it look too structured and...scrupulous?

 

Also, the last thing people are going to like is a building that looks like it's about to collapse at any moment. It doesn't look balanced.

 

Yeah, good comments.  I know the arrangement of the lower towers was predicated in part to permit a big mosaic mural of Muhammed Ali on the Ali Center to be seen by cars on eastbound I-64, and there may be other considerations on the massing. 

 

The blockiness is based on program..they where playing with blocks of repetitious program, which probably imposed some uniformity for the differnt blocks.  The more specific and public program elements; the museum, restaurant, health club, etc, are in the big 234rd floor horizontal piece with the cross bracing.  So form is somewhat following, or expressing, function here.

 

There were a large number of preliminary designs generated, different partis, some more organic, one that looked like the Death Star (no kidding)...so there was a process of elimination going on as they settled on the form.

 

I think cost considerations also played a role in that the surface is pretty generic curtain wall..they are not doing something agressive or high-concept with cladding. 

 

The balance issue is actually pretty serious as there are some seismic considerations that have to be addressed in the structural engineering....but yeah, they are trying to make it look "different", but also maybe a bit more dramatic and barouque, too...if the massing was more symettric or lined-up I wonder if it would look less dynamic and more lumpy and overwhelming than it does now...the irregular composition sort of activates the space around the towers coming up from the plaza area, making for a more visually interesting and active composition. 

 

Hmm..the more I think about this building the more interesting it gets. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^I completely agree with you about Carew's observation deck...I didn't mean for it to come across that I thought Carew's observation deck was bad...but rather that people in general don't revere the tower as they once had (I go there 4-5 times a year).  Unfortunately many of the historic features of the city seem to be lost by the wayside as others capitalize on what is truly historic to Cincy (NYC I'm calling you out!!).

 

-Many people would say that the 1st pro baseball team is 1. Brooklyn Dodgers 2. New York Yankees 3. Boston Red Sox...Cincinnati doesn't even register with the general public as being the birthplace of professional baseball.

 

-Brooklyn Bridge gets soooo much hype, but guess what it was modeled after THE Roebling Suspension Bridge...this is even less known than the baseball tidbit.

 

-Chicago is looked at as the hotbed for architecture, and the birthplace of the steel supported skyscraper, but once again guess where the original trial for that type of bldg was built....CINCINNATI!!!

 

I could go on, but I've had a long enough day as it is, and I don't want to depress myself anymore :|

If people visit louisville just to see a giant christmas tree, i think they will go to see MP....

 

Janet Runner, of Sandusky, Ohio, took a photo of the tree moving into place with her camera phone.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061114/NEWS01/61114016

I'm sure she just stopped in Louisville on her way to Florida...

 

I mean...okay, the Slugger Museum, sure.  A giant Christmas Tree?  And taking it with a cell phone?  'nuff said.

^^thats the worst rationale i've ever heard!!!!

 

I'm sure that the kid was there visiting relatives with his family...why the hell else would he be!?!?  Every damn city has their own giant xmas tree...nothing special...just something for the locals to relate to.

^^thats the worst rationale i've ever heard!!!!

 

I'm sure that the kid was there visiting relatives with his family...why the hell else would he be!?!?  Every damn city has their own giant xmas tree...nothing special...just something for the locals to relate to.

 

 

oh...i forgot...."LOL"...but ummmm, thats not a kid...that a grown woman... :clap:

 

so, i suppose neither of you guys will go to louisville to get a peak at MP when it is finished??

^I've been to Louisville twice before, and in my mind...thats 2 times too many!!!  I do not enjoy the place in one way shape or form (kentucky aside).  The only way I might see it is if I am blowing past Louisville on the highway that sooo conveniently runs adjacent to this disgusting building.

 

ohh and if we're going to nit pick details on posts then:

thats not a kid...that a grown woman... :clap:

 

sorry, but uhhh it would be: that is a grown woman

I do enjoy Louisville, personally, and thus I'm showing my "disappointment" with this building, as Louisville (or Luhl-vul) deserves better.

How can you like a place where the CORRECT pronunciation is "luhl-vul"!!??!?!?!

Or a university mascot named after a civet, which are known for false-penises?

^I've been to Louisville twice before, and in my mind...thats 2 times too many!!!  I do not enjoy the place in one way shape or form (kentucky aside).  The only way I might see it is if I am blowing past Louisville on the highway that sooo conveniently runs adjacent to this disgusting building.

 

ohh and if we're going to nit pick details on posts then:

thats not a kid...that a grown woman... :clap:

 

sorry, but uhhh it would be: that is a grown woman

 

lol, i wouldn't call it nit picking, even the guy before you said it was a woman....but then again, i don't know too many boys named Janet lol

Reno?

Or a university mascot named after a civet, which are known for false-penises?

 

Hey....lets leave mascot manlihoods out of this please!  The Bearcat is more of a man than a Cardinal could ever be!!!

Man threads about this MP seem to always get WAAAYY off topic  :laugh:

lol...i hope you guys aren't serious, i look forward to seeing some pics of the new louisville skyline in the urbanohio "other" section ;)

Or a university mascot named after a civet, which are known for false-penises?

 

Hey....lets leave mascot manlihoods out of this please!  The Bearcat is more of a man than a Cardinal could ever be!!!

 

A tranny rodent versus a ratbird.

 

Christ.  The Big East is screwed.

lol...i hope you guys aren't serious, i look forward to seeing some pics of the new louisville skyline in the urbanohio "other" section ;)

 

I'll make sure I Photoshop the Jenga of Terror out, just for you.

A tranny rodent versus a ratbird.

 

You mean a vicious beast versus a scrawny ratbird

A tranny rodent versus a ratbird.

 

You mean a vicious beast versus a scrawny ratbird

 

If beast, you mean RuPaul, then sure.

Hey hey hey don't start trash talking the Bearcat. You don't want to take it there when your mascot is a useless nut. d:]

 

 

But that "useless nut" is the symbol of your state.  Unless, of course, UC is a satallite campus of the University of Kentucky system.

 

The way it's sounding, it might as well be.

I think it says alot that Louisville actually has the demand for this magnitude of a structure.  Says alot for the economy of the region along with vibrancy.  No where in Ohio are we seeing work like this, and I wish we were.  Despite what it may look like (and renderings are way off sometimes) good for Louisville. 

lol...i hope you guys aren't serious, i look forward to seeing some pics of the new louisville skyline in the urbanohio "other" section ;)

 

I'll make sure I Photoshop the Jenga of Terror out, just for you.

 

out or in? what are you talking about?

Out.  The building isn't worthy of the FujiFilm.

hmm ok, still does't make any sense.

what if someone wants to purchase a louisville skyline shot with MP in it? seems like you should put the legitamcy of your site over your bias towards a building :whip: :whip:

what if someone wants to purchase a louisville skyline shot with MP in it? seems like you should put the legitamcy of your site over your bias towards a building :whip: :whip:

 

Yes.  I'm sure only Judy Garland would buy an image of the darkened City of Oz and she's dead.

"Seems like you should put the legitamcy of your site over your bias towards a building"

 

Don't make me laugh - this site's "legitimacy" may be questioned by the likes of you, but not by anyone else. Also, what would that tell us if people come to UrbanOhio to purchase images of Louisville, Kentucky?

Well, there isn't an UrbanKentucky...

I think it says alot that Louisville actually has the demand for this magnitude of a structure.  Says alot for the economy of the region along with vibrancy.  No where in Ohio are we seeing work like this, and I wish we were.  Despite what it may look like (and renderings are way off sometimes) good for Louisville.

 

Well, I guess my city is in the economic shitter, then, because we don't have any buildings over 13 stories tall.

 

Back in 1977, Detroit opened the Renaissance Center.  The building consisted of five towers, including the then-world's tallest hotel with 1400 rooms.  Cost was $350 million (in 1977 dollars).  Henry Ford II, who headed the project, hoped that construction of such a complex would demonstrate to the world that Detroit was ripe for new investment. 

 

The Ren Cen was a colossal failure, and lost money every year.  The little street life Detroit had was sucked into the enormous vacuum of the isolated, internally-oriented complex.  General Motors purchased the building around 1999 for its new world headquarters, at a then-cost of $75 million. 

 

 

 

Well, there isn't an UrbanKentucky...

 

well thats how i found this site...lookin for pictures of louisville in google...so nanny nanny boo boo....:)

Because no one else will take photos of Kentucky.

I think it says alot that Louisville actually has the demand for this magnitude of a structure.  Says alot for the economy of the region along with vibrancy.  No where in Ohio are we seeing work like this, and I wish we were.  Despite what it may look like (and renderings are way off sometimes) good for Louisville.

 

Well, I guess my city is in the economic shitter, then, because we don't have any buildings over 13 stories tall.

 

Back in 1977, Detroit opened the Renaissance Center.  The building consisted of five towers, including the then-world's tallest hotel with 1400 rooms.  Cost was $350 million (in 1977 dollars).  Henry Ford II, who headed the project, hoped that construction of such a complex would demonstrate to the world that Detroit was ripe for new investment. 

 

The Ren Cen was a colossal failure, and lost money every year.  The little street life Detroit had was sucked into the enormous vacuum of the isolated, internally-oriented complex.  General Motors purchased the building around 1999 for its new world headquarters, at a then-cost of $75 million. 

 

 

 

 

what is in the ren center? is it a business structure, or does it include entertainment, lofts and condos?

 

as far as MP goes this is the rundown of what will be in it

 

-Contemporary Art Museum

-condos

-Lofts

-300-room hotel

-University of Louisville Fine Arts Graduate Program

-microbrewer distilerry

-21 story public plaza

-food market

 

and more

 

 

I don't know...i've been to detroit and the ren center didn't seem like it had those types of attractions in it...but i may be wrong.....but it just looks like MP will have much more life. Museum plaza will even have a pretty large park outside, and not to mention the Ali Center park that will be finished soon.

The RenCen includes shopping, dining, a movie theater, "GM World," conventions, offices, and a hotel.

 

It isn't far off from the Jenga.

Because no one else will take photos of Kentucky.

 

no , this was just one of the sites i found :)

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=louisville+skyline&spell=1

Trash.  The rest of the sites are trash.

but i guess if you don't know how close the Ali Center and the base of MP will be, i could see how you would think it would be devoid of life....but the fact remains that the Ali Center and MP will feed each other millions of visiters...this is the Ali Center plaza which will sit right to the left of MP when finished

 

I don't know...i've been to detroit and the ren center didn't seem like it had those types of attractions in it...but i may be wrong.....but it just looks like MP will have much more life. Museum plaza will even have a pretty large park outside, and not to mention the Ali Center park that will be finished soon.

 

Just because you throw a park around something does not automatically mean that it is ped. friendly.  Have you not seen the disgusting projects that were built all around this damn country, and people thought that because they torn down the old urban environment for taller bldgs...allowing for more parks...that it would solve all problems.  We have since come to learn that this whole type of development sucks and is always poised for failure.

^^The Ali Center looks like it will be very cool...but "millions of visitors"!?!?!?  That seems a bit much.

but i guess if you don't know how close the Ali Center and the base of MP will be, i could see how you would think it would be devoid of life....but the fact remains that the Ali Center and MP will feed each other millions of visiters...this is the Ali Center plaza which will sit right to the left of MP when finished

 

 

The idea of creating "The Big Top" doesn't always mean the circus is going to be in town.

^^The Ali Center looks like it will be very cool...but "millions of visitors"!?!?!?  That seems a bit much.

 

it brings about 100,000 a year so far, and the plaza isn't even complete yet.

So you think 900,000 will magically appear!??!

I don't know...i've been to detroit and the ren center didn't seem like it had those types of attractions in it...but i may be wrong.....but it just looks like MP will have much more life. Museum plaza will even have a pretty large park outside, and not to mention the Ali Center park that will be finished soon.

 

Just because you throw a park around something does not automatically mean that it is ped. friendly.  Have you not seen the disgusting projects that were built all around this damn country, and people thought that because they torn down the old urban environment for taller bldgs...allowing for more parks...that it would solve all problems.  We have since come to learn that this whole type of development sucks and is always poised for failure.

 

as far as i know, louisville is one of the best in the country when it comes to building waterfront parks.....have you seen their waterfront lately? i think it has one just about every award.

^^damnit...ColDay beat me to the punch....that is a HUGE gap to close!!!!

Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville has been named one of the nation's top 10 urban parks by the Urban Land Institute.

http://louisville.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2006/10/30/daily23.html?surround=lfn

So you think 900,000 will magically appear!??!

 

well i did say millions.....but i meant over our lifetimes...not in one year...bozo lol