Tired of all glass towers ?

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scott2
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Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby scott2 » 01 Nov 2021 14:25

Did not know where to put this rant about the current fashion of all glass high rises but I am SO READY for a return to what we once called "post modern" design. Granite, marble, limestone buildings were all the rage in the 1980's. I realize cost is a factor and apparently glass is the most cost effective means of sheathing a tower but regardless of the shape of the tower, color of the glass.......they all look the same in the end. Is this only me? Will skyscrapers always be towers of glass? Any thoughts on the matter?

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vman
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby vman » 01 Nov 2021 15:11

I'm not sure if I'm tired of glass towers or just tired of the bland, boring ones Dallas has put up in the last couple of decades.

Tnexster
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby Tnexster » 01 Nov 2021 16:38

I don't mind glass, Museum Tower and the FountainPlace towers both look great. I am just sick to death of cereal boxes because that is all they want to build.

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tamtagon
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby tamtagon » 01 Nov 2021 17:14

I'd like to see more stone and less glass, Fair Park Deco style.

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Warrior2020
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby Warrior2020 » 01 Nov 2021 18:03

Houston and Austin are crushing dallas right now with not only the # of skyscrapers that are going up, but the quality and height. I know because I follow urban development sites just like this for houston, austin, and fort worth. Not tying to turn this into a dallas vs other city topic but its kind of sad that austin is about to break ground on the tallest tower in TX & dallas has just been all talk forever

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potatocoins
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby potatocoins » 02 Nov 2021 09:06

Warrior2020 wrote:Houston and Austin are crushing dallas right now with not only the # of skyscrapers that are going up, but the quality and height. I know because I follow urban development sites just like this for houston, austin, and fort worth. Not tying to turn this into a dallas vs other city topic but its kind of sad that austin is about to break ground on the tallest tower in TX & dallas has just been all talk forever


Do we know the square footage that is under construction in all three cities?

I'm not sure I'd want to be in Austin's position right now. It's great they are getting so much height, but I'm not seeing as much more room to grow in the urban core.

cowboyeagle05
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby cowboyeagle05 » 02 Nov 2021 10:33

Yeah we could talk for ages on why Austin is getting height and Dallas isn't. In fact we have on multiple threads. Just be happy with what you have cause the illusion of the grass is greener is just that an illusion.
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell”

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Cbdallas
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby Cbdallas » 02 Nov 2021 12:03

About 5 billion dollars to do what really needs to happen with the Trinity and that would change the course. We just have no natural draw to downtown like Austin has with the entire river area. Those towers in Houston are they residential downtown or just more expansion of oil and gas companies expanding with the rise in oil? Three very very different cities with very different needs and desires.

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I45Tex
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby I45Tex » 02 Nov 2021 14:41

Stone towers in the 80s were a fad in the midst of a longterm pattern of increasing glass usage 1940s or 1950s to 2020s.

Glass boxes are a low % of all mid-rise hotel, office, and residential buildings and a relatively higher % of all tall ones.

...possibly because, when a room's views are longer and the privacy from neighbors is also less complicated, tenants would like to let the sunshine in. Floor to ceiling glass was already popular even before the technology was completely ironed out, and it has remained in demand ever since. I agree it's monotonous from outside.

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Warrior2020
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby Warrior2020 » 03 Nov 2021 08:25

Cbdallas wrote:About 5 billion dollars to do what really needs to happen with the Trinity and that would change the course. We just have no natural draw to downtown like Austin has with the entire river area. Those towers in Houston are they residential downtown or just more expansion of oil and gas companies expanding with the rise in oil? Three very very different cities with very different needs and desires.

They aren't building oil and gas towers like that look at the c-19 and that hasn't really been a boom for them like it once was ,so its lots of high rise residentials going up and mixed use developments and in the medical center they are building a mix of residential, hotels, and health and life science towers etc

cowboyeagle05
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby cowboyeagle05 » 03 Nov 2021 08:44

Each city has its thing that's cultivating and discouraging development and I wish it was just one thing that Dallas could just change and be like the other guys but that's just it we aren't for good and bad reasons. The reality is Austin and Houston have plenty of negatives of their own and issues related to development looking at one result the architecture of final product is not a good overall indicator of success.
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell”

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Warrior2020
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby Warrior2020 » 03 Nov 2021 13:48

cowboyeagle05 wrote:Each city has its thing that's cultivating and discouraging development and I wish it was just one thing that Dallas could just change and be like the other guys but that's just it we aren't for good and bad reasons. The reality is Austin and Houston have plenty of negatives of their own and issues related to development looking at one result the architecture of final product is not a good overall indicator of success.

Maybe things will pick back up in 2022. I also think because those cities don't have as much competition in their regions like dallas does.

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Addison
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby Addison » 04 Nov 2021 14:29

I posted this on the Discord board, but I think it's relevant for this thread too:

Dallas is hurt by a number of factors that stunts its potential for new and/or non-generic towers

1. The polycentric growth pattern in the Metroplex.

It would help if downtown Dallas was the geographic center of population & commerce for the Metroplex (like downtowns Austin and Houston are) and not Irving - Carrollton - Addison. Right now, downtown virtually sits on the edge of civilization (in a manner of speaking)

2. The proximity to Love Field and the orientation of its runways imposes FAA restrictions on building height downtown.

3. Developers have an easier time making the numbers work for residential towers in Austin because, with the tech industry, you have so many folks making well above 6-figures who can afford the exorbent rents / purchase prices they want to charge.

There really isn't much we can do to change these factors.
Last edited by Addison on 04 Nov 2021 14:35, edited 1 time in total.

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Addison
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Re: Tired of all glass towers ?

Postby Addison » 04 Nov 2021 14:32

That said, as someone else said, the grass isn't always greener.

Austin is suffering from an increasingly high COL and a lack of cultural diversity.

Houston is a sight for sore eyes with its lack of zoning and is suffering from a lack of economic diversity.

For all of Dallas' drawbacks, it's still doing something right to anchor the fastest growing metro in the US.