I really like the darkness of it. So many times these days buildings are silver metal and blue glass. It's tiring. Does that have a place? Absolutely. Would that look good contrasting the brick and mortar of Cincinnati? Most likely. But is it as unique as black (sparkly) concrete with clear glass which will show a very modern, white + bold color interior? No. I'm really excited to see this facade come together.

Soooo I just walked past this project and I have no idea what to think, the facade is pitch BLACK I'm starting to think this thing is going to look either really Good or really BAD!

 

Yeah, this thing looks absolutely horrid.  Brings a negative vibe to everything near it. 

Yeah I'm very nervous about the design of this building(Star Wars U.S Ops Center?lol). I'm hoping that it's just early and it will come together nicely over the next few months or so. If anything it's seems the building will be unique as I have never seen a blacked out building such as this is looking, the CEO comes into our restaurant very often for dinner and I'm tempted to ask him what are his thoughts so far with construction.

Soooo I just walked past this project and I have no idea what to think, the facade is pitch BLACK I'm starting to think this thing is going to look either really Good or really BAD!

 

Yeah, this thing looks absolutely horrid.  Brings a negative vibe to everything near it.

 

When it's all done I think it will contrast quite nicely with the glass facade. Very modern look.

I drive by everyday on my way home from work and I am greatly anticipating the first installation of windows. Whenever I notice I'll go get some photos for everyone. I actually like the black but the windows are really going to need to be clear and hopefully have a contrasting mullion color. White or a light grey would actually work really well.

 

I think right now all we're seeing is the cladding on the parking levels which have significantly less glass which is also throwing off the look. I still think it'll end up being a good looking building but am holding final judgment until more of it is in.

I hope so!!!

Yeah maybe there will be some sort of interesting treatment to the windows, but so far it looks like it's covered in fine grit sandpaper or non-skid.  And the form overall has no sense of weight or weightlessness.  It's a rectangle but it gives the impression of an accidental smudge. 

Sandpaper is THE PERFECT description! I totally agree.

 

I've noticed on that south side that there appears to be a "slit" of sorts in the concrete cladding that might mean glazing will extend straight up there to break up the facade a bit. That could look pretty interesting. I'm rarely a fan of expressing the horizontality of a tall building, but at least it will seemingly be complimented by some vertical elements.

I don't have pictures but the first of the glass panels have been installed on the Northeast corner of the building.

How did they look? Clear, reflective, blue? I'll have to check them out on my way home today.

^ They looked pretty clear to me. Definitely not blue at all.

Here you go:

Here's a photo of the northeast corner taken around lunchtime today.

Could be Cincinnati's Ministry of Love.

Yea its pretty interesting.  Definitely not like anything else dowtown.

Notice how dirty and streaky it is already.  Yes it's construction mess, but that doesn't bode well for its long-term appearance. 

This might be the ugliest building in our downtown.  What a flipping disaster.   

Could be Cincinnati's Ministry of Love.

 

This is not entirely inappropriate. What does Dunhumby do? They aren't in the business of making loyalty cards. They are in the business of tracking people's activities and compiling information. In that sense, I think the building is somewhat...appropriate.

I am withholding judgement until it is finished. I think it still has potential.

I'm already in love.  The way it catches the light, juxtaposed against the black matte walls, is stunning.  I cannot wait to see more.

It still looks better than The Banks.

Could be Cincinnati's Ministry of Love.

 

This is not entirely inappropriate. What does Dunhumby do? They aren't in the business of making loyalty cards. They are in the business of tracking people's activities and compiling information. In that sense, I think the building is somewhat...appropriate.

 

Not lost on me, trust!

There's a huge contrast between the windows and the black which I think is really nice and will bring balance to the building. It's still entirely too early to be making claims like "This might be the ugliest building in our downtown.  What a flipping disaster." 7 windows are in. Give it time.

It still looks better than The Banks.

 

The main reason I liked this post is because 8 people had already liked it and I wanted to join the bandwagon. But I agree. It looks better than The Bank so far. I'm excited to see the finished product.

If the glass is all two-way mirror looking it will be very imposing and big brotherish like a panopticon for downtown constantly keeping an eye on people (which as stated above, is kind of their business model). It's early still but I like it, and regardless of daytime reflectivity, at night it will look clear. I agree that the juxtiposition of the light reflective glass with the dark nearly brutalist precast could be great.

Not to get off topic, but I think the Great American Tower would look a lot better with reflective glass. It looks ugly at night during Reds games when you can see half of the floors lit up and and the messy hodgepodge of cubicles going right up to the window. I wish I couldn't see inside at all. It would look a lot sleeker.

 

For large, glass buildings, I don't want to see inside it from the street.

For those wondering what the 4th & Race tower looked like, you can see part of it in this photo.  There were two floors of retail, with the skywalk wrapping around the southeast corner of the building, open to the weather, like the old skywalk you can see here crossing Fountain Square. 

 

From my weekend walk downtown. Taken with my phone. Not much progress on the facade really.

 

 

Dunnhumby Centre ‘tops out’ in downtown Cincinnati: PHOTOS

Tom Demeropolis Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

DunnhumbyUSA CEO Stuart Aitken made the final concrete pour on Wednesday at the company’s new headquarters building in downtown Cincinnati.

 

Dunnhumby Centre, located at Fifth and Race streets, is a 280,000-square-foot office building with street-level retail and a parking garage. Aitken, along with Mayor John Cranley and executives from Turner Construction Co. and Gensler Architecture, celebrated the milestone with lunch for construction workers and one of the last pours needed to complete the concrete portion of the structure.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/08/20/dunnhumby-centre-tops-out-in-downtown-cincinnati.html

Convince me this looks better than the old Fifth/Race.  Halfway kidding.

Really? I think it's the coolest building downtown.

The building looks like it's shaping up to make a bold statement.  It's just not possible to fairly judge any building at this juncture though.  I like the textured black panels as long as they can be kept streak-free.  How the street level ends up being treated will be very important, as always. 

 

Architecturally, so far it beats most of its neighbors (which isn't really saying much) except for the Carew Tower:  Fountain Place to the east is disappointing, and most of what's to the west of it along 5th Street for the next few blocks is too.  The Hyatt's okay I suppose but everything else except for the Convention Center ranges from underwhelming to embarrassing.  The Walgreens/apartments to the north aren't exactly architecture at it's finest, either.

 

Bottom line:  At the very least, Dunnhumby looks like it'll be much better than anything else that's been built in the vicinity in the past few decades.  At the most, it has the potential to be stunning in a stark, bold way.  I'm anxious to see the finished product.

I think this building will look pretty good once finished.  I like a mix of different types of architectures.

This is the first time I can recall a development in Cincinnati getting so much positive architectural criticism. Definitely not unanimous, and still too early to be sure, but this seems promising.

Really? I think it's the coolest building downtown.

 

:-o :-o :-o

 

Cooler than the Contemporary Art Center, Carew Tower, PNC/Central Trust tower?

 

This is the first time I can recall a development in Cincinnati getting so much positive architectural criticism. Definitely not unanimous, and still too early to be sure, but this seems promising.

 

You must have not lived here when the CAC opened.  The New York Times called it the most important building to open since the Cold War http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/08/arts/art-architecture-zaha-hadid-s-urban-mothership.html.  This building is unique, and the configuration of interior space seems to be really great, but the massing of the structure seems bulky and the black color is pretty stark.  It looks like the glass will be very reflective, so that might have kind of a cool effect during the day, and I bet it will look striking at night.  I guess it's too soon to judge, but I'm not a huge fan of it so far.

^ Sorry, I was referring to UrbanOhio forumers in Cincinnati, I didn't make that clear. It made perfect sense in my head.

 

And I was around in Cincinnati in 2003, but I was 14. Not exactly in touch with architecture at that age or reading the New York Times.

CAC is absolutely beautiful.

CAC is absolutely beautiful.

 

The gym or the museum?

 

The Ascent was another more recent building that got some good reviews.  Overall reaction is mixed - I like it though I wish it was better integrated into the neighborhood - the retail layout (which is still not filled) is kind of bad.

Looks like they are installing screens instead of glass on the parking floors which don't look good at all.

Looks like they are installing screens instead of glass on the parking floors which don't look good at all.

 

i see glass...

Here is the ugliness that I hope is only temporary...

Looks like a safety screen to take the place of the 2x railings before the actual glass can be put in.

 

I'm really excited to see the building fully clad and glazed. I think it's going to be a really interesting contrast. The super reflective glass will also reflect back the surrounding buildings in areas like the entrance where there is more glass than concrete. Should be an interesting effect.

Didn't take a picture but It's starting to look Pretty OK/GOOD!

Come on guys. Anyone can take a picture with their phone. Here's one from the 23rd, which was the last time I was down there.

 

I think it's starting to look good, albeit sinister. Will be interesting to see what the ground floor looks like as it comes together. Thanks for the pic, Civvik.

Haha don't thank me, thank Cygnus and Travis. Those guys rock.

If the panels weren't charcoal gray/black I don't think it would bother me nearly as much.