Comments on: What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate

By: Steven

Steven — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:47:08 +0000

It’s clear the fire dept. doesn’t have a true vision or qualification process for what “urban design” really is. Heck, they seem to be out of touch on what Bricktown is, uh I mean Brick Town… Personally, I have no problem with a noisy fire station being downtown (I’m not sure what all that fuss is about), the noise of fire trucks at 3am is part of the urban experience. I don’t think Chicago, NYC, Dallas, Denver, San Fran, etc. are complaining about that in their downtowns. Please stay on top of this story and keep the details in the media.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:58:41 +0000

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/8765766.jpg

By: Wylie H.

Wylie H. — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:15:33 +0000

Steve,

As a former resident of Oklahoma City who has been extremely proud of the advances it has made in recent years, I am extremely happy you are staying on top of this.

I almost had a heart attack when I looked at the design and the proposed location of the station. They are talking about placing it directly in front of what will be the eastern “gateway” to Bricktown.

The design is absolutely terrible and completely out of context. Also, the rationale for placing it right in the middle of Bricktown doesn’t make sense. To be effectively served, Bricktown doesn’t need a suburban fire station sitting inside its front entrance any more than Penn Square or Quail Springs does.

Why does the University of Oklahoma need the site of the current fire station? That appears to be the primary driver of the effort to build a replacement station on a new site. The medical district seems like a FAR more suitable place for a fire station such as this.

By: slackmeyer

slackmeyer — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:55 +0000

Yes, I noticed that as well but wasn’t going to say anything.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:51:35 +0000

Cecil is clearly VERY knowledgeable about this Brick Town place…

By: slackmeyer

slackmeyer — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:44:03 +0000

Here’s another interesting tidbit from the conversation; Clay talked about LWPB is a respected firm that has designed several fire stations and that qualified them for this job. I noted that the Small Group has a portfolio that includes specializing in historic architecture. Was any such consideration made in hiring architects for the Bricktown fire station? Again, he responds that LWPB was a respected architecture firm. Not sure if he understands that a firm that does great work in designing schools might not be good at designing homes, or that a firm that specializes in designing churches might not be good at designing historic renovations.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:10:28 +0000

This is a scary comment: “…focus has been on interior function… you can place any exterior around an interior once the interior is set.”

The interior has to be designed based on some kind of program of adjacency and area requirements, etc. It’s clear that a 2-story building was not programmed; it would be extremely difficult to place a 2-story exterior on a 1-story interior.

The very next comment: “…pitched metal roof… is in keeping with the historic Bricktown look…”?! Which Bricktown are they talking about? Give us a break. Pitch the pitch!