Polling will end 6 p.m. Monday

Wow. Just voted and it looks like it’s split 50/50. Come on, folks. At least it’s not a brick box.

A brick box would be far superior. That building says, we hate our neighbors, we hate the street, we hate good urban design.

No I disagree, that is a good design and the open plaza would be good for the Dead Center Festival as well as other downtown festivals. And I like the idea of keeping some of it as public space, I enjoyed the little park that was there.

A brick building would be much less flashy and appealing to companies seeking to move here. You want potential companies to be wowed. I don’t see how its a bad design to its neighbors either, its a good design around the wole building, it doesn’t have an ugly side to me.

I like it, and I like it a lot. What’s an “icon” anyway? As best as I can tell, that’s in the eye of the beholder, you know it when you see it, etc., and, to me, yes, it’s an icon and will remain so.

Michael, and Michael, how do you define “good urban design”? Should a downtown building be built out to the curb and have a limited set-back? Or should it feature a large plaza at the entrance filled with trees, plantings and even a pond? And how about the placement of the surface parking – the designers here placed most of it between the building and the railroad tracks in what is probably one of the least visible locations….
I’m not taking sides on this – but I really want to hear more from both sides on this. I don’t think there is anyone who would argue this is one of the most important undeveloped sites left downtown outside of where Devon Energy wants to build a new tower.
For those of you who don’t know, Michael Bates is a prominent Tulsa commentator (Urban Tulsa newspaper) and blogger who has gained quite a following with his insights on urban design issues and challenges facing his hometown. It’s a blog I read daily, and on my next visit to Tulsa, Michael, I hope to get to meet you.
-Steve

I see Michael Bates’ point. Iconic is such a strange requirement for a building because it’s so vague, and as Doug Dawg says, it’s in the eye of the beholder. I do not think it will be remembered for its design; superficially, it looks like a rectangle from the front and an ellipse from the top. But that’s it.

I suppose it would have been iconic if it integrated the materials of the Oklahoman and TAP buildings with a glass facade that leaves no doubt it is a 21st century structure. But the LED screen, plaza, and paving will make it a decent public space.

I really like the design for what it isand what they want to accomplish. Excellent use of the space.

Hey…is this on the land across from the old OPUBCO building? If so, does OPUBCO own that land? Isn’t this the piece of land where E.L. Gaylord planned to build a new office before taking his toys and going home to north OKC?

The land is paritially owned by OPUBCO, partially owned by the Urban Renewal Authority. A story in The Oklahoman on Friday detailed how OPUBCO is donating it’s half of the property. The Urban Renewal Authority issued a request for development proposals for its half, and responses are due tomorrow.

I’m kind of mixed on this one. On one hand, it does seem to fit in nicely on that land, which is kind of an ackward location, and it does look nice from the 3-D rendering; although the finished product rarely looks as good. It isn’t very good urban design though: it’s set back way too far, doesn’t fit well with it’s surroundings, and is single use. I believe it also violates the new city dowtown design standards. The plaza will look nice, but will be vacant after business hours. It doesn’t do much to promote a 24-hour city.

I’m kind of mixed on this one. On one hand, it does seem to fit in nicely on that land, which is kind of an ackward location, and it does look nice from the 3-D rendering; although the finished product rarely looks as good. It isn’t very good urban design though: it’s set back way too far, doesn’t fit well with it’s surroundings, and is single use. I believe it also violates the new city dowtown design standards. The plaza will look nice, but will be vacant after business hours. It doesn’t do much to promote a 24-hour city. And if the chamber really wants to promote pedestrian access, they should build closer in to the core. Guess I’ll have to vote no.

True, iconic is in the eye of the beholder. This building is not urban at all, it’s just the opposite. It’s a very vanilla building outside of trying to be shaped like the boathouse, lack of originality. From an architectural sense the design leaves little to be desired. It is not iconic. Look in other cities, look at award winning architecture, look at trends in design from work reknown firms. This design is not even close. The Chamber and thier committee missed an oppotunity to create something that would be the talk of the town and the envy of other chambers in bigger cities. They missed a postcard chance to create something great.