OFFICIAL - Federal Reserve HQ construction

ComandanteCero · Post by **ComandanteCero** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 3:02 pm

don't know if today's article was posted anywhere else. But here it is. It has a bunch of people pointing out the same things many of us critics are pointing out also (isolation, waste of a prime location, average-at-best architecture, absolutely no contribution to the public realm). I think Serda's final quote sums up the reason why many of us are pissed.

KC Fed Bank unveils design for headquarters

Some observers criticize the new look

By KEVIN COLLISON

The Kansas City Star

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City unveiled the design of its new headquarters Monday, a 14-story limestone-clad tower bordering the south edge of Penn Valley Park.

Federal Reserve officials acknowledged that the design, which includes a two-story conference and visitor center, was shaped more by a need for functionality and security than by an overt desire to make an architectural statement.

â€œWe don't want a tribute to ourselves,â€

Downtowner · Post by **Downtowner** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 4:13 pm

What a shame...this design is horrible. I thought the architect would take into consideration how close it would be to a great memorial. It needed to compliment the Liberty Memorial. Instead, he designs a suburban box. If this firm has a website, everyone should voice their opinion in an email.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 4:22 pm

I'd say the limestone is because of the lib. memorial.

FangKC · Post by **FangKC** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:45 pm

KCDowntown · Post by **KCDowntown** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:59 pm

If you want to let Pei Cobb Freed & Partners know your opinion of the Federal Reserve Building send an email to:

pcf@pcf-p.com

put "attn: Henry N. Cobb" in the subject line (not that he'd ever see it)

KCDowntown

Critical_Mass · Post by **Critical_Mass** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:23 pm

Geez, calm down people. You're judging the design based on one 3"x2" computer rendering.
Now I'm not saying it's wonderful, but it's not bad either. No speculative office building in the burbs would look this good. Firstly, they're using an expensive material, Limestone, to clad the building. This should look nice and age really well, as evident at Liberty Memorial & Union Station. Secondly, the design appears to have some play w/ pulling the surfaces of the building in and out, something you'd never see in the burbs, because it's not the cheapest way to do things. If you want to see a suburban tower, look at that newest one they built next door at crown center. That's closer to the office towers of Corporate Park. In the burbs they just take a floor plate, stack several on top of each other, and wrap it in curtain wall. There is no design, the only interest comes from whatever glass curtain wall was selected from the catalogue.
And Fang, I hope that last post was a joke. You don't seriously expect them to design a 14th century gothic fortress that you'd see in France. Seriously, do you know how much that would cost? You'd be hard pressed to find the labour skilled enough to construct that. There's a reason buildings aren't built like they used to be, right up to the 1940s. The cost is astronomical, and since no one does it anymore, no labour is trained in those earlier construction methods.

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 11:05 pm

Critical_Mass wrote:Geez, calm down people. You're judging the design based on one 3"x2" computer rendering.
Now I'm not saying it's wonderful, but it's not bad either. No speculative office building in the burbs would look this good. Firstly, they're using an expensive material, Limestone, to clad the building. This should look nice and age really well, as evident at Liberty Memorial & Union Station. Secondly, the design appears to have some play w/ pulling the surfaces of the building in and out, something you'd never see in the burbs, because it's not the cheapest way to do things. If you want to see a suburban tower, look at that newest one they built next door at crown center. That's closer to the office towers of Corporate Park. In the burbs they just take a floor plate, stack several on top of each other, and wrap it in curtain wall. There is no design, the only interest comes from whatever glass curtain wall was selected from the catalogue.
And Fang, I hope that last post was a joke. You don't seriously expect them to design a 14th century gothic fortress that you'd see in France. Seriously, do you know how much that would cost? You'd be hard pressed to find the labour skilled enough to construct that. There's a reason buildings aren't built like they used to be, right up to the 1940s. The cost is astronomical, and since no one does it anymore, no labour is trained in those earlier construction methods.

I'm as harsh a critic as anybody on KC, and I agree with Critmass as I mentioned before.

FangKC · Post by **FangKC** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 1:22 am

Critical_Mass wrote:And Fang, I hope that last post was a joke. You don't seriously expect them to design a 14th century gothic fortress that you'd see in France.

Of course I was joking. I was trying to be ironic.

I just thought we needed to cleanse our palates with some funky old castles.

KC0KEK · Post by **KC0KEK** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 1:11 pm

scooterj wrote:. . . seeing life only when mediocre hospital dramedies need to be filmed?

What was filmed there besides Article 99?

MidtownCat · Post by **MidtownCat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 1:37 pm

If anyone has the rendering they presented, please post it.

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 1:58 pm

OK, I drove all over Downtown during lunch and imagined this building in place. It WILL be a very dramatic addition to the overall downtown/crown center skyline while you would barely notice it over by City Hall. Just a thought.

MidtownCat wrote:If anyone has the rendering they presented, please post it.

[img]

KC0KEK · Post by **KC0KEK** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:03 pm

At least it's not as ugly as the Clinton Presidential Library.

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 8:50 am

KC0KEK wrote:At least it's not as ugly as the Clinton Presidential Library.

I actually like the design of Clinton's library.

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 1:05 pm

I doubt if this triggers any changes in the design, but who knows...
From the KC Star editorials:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 207996.htm

Rethink Fed building

Judging by the architectural drawing made public this week, the plan for the new Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is living down to expectations.

The project's suburban-style setting was foreshadowed last year, when the Fed announced plans to leave its location inside the downtown freeway loop for a new site near Penn Valley Park. The outsized plot â€” nearly 16 acres â€” combined with the increased demand for security after Sept. 11, 2001, strongly signaled another development disconnected from its surroundings.

That's exactly what the Fed plans to build. Dave Scott of the Urban Society, a group that promotes suitable urban design in Kansas City, says the project will stand â€œaloof from all that surrounds it.â€

KC0KEK · Post by **KC0KEK** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 2:17 pm

It would be great if the Star or KCPT or even The Pitch would get Thomas Hoenig, Henry Cobb, Dave Scott, Raymond Braswell, Reeves Wiedeman and Daniel Serda together in a room to discuss this design. The comments that a roundtable setting provokes are much more insightful and interesting than a newspaper article that's based on individual interviews. Better yet, do it with an audience so that there's an opportunity for Q&A.

ComandanteCero · Post by **ComandanteCero** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 2:22 pm

^exactly. I think the public buildings, built with public dollars should represent everything we as a people strive for. Back in the day when you saw all those public institutions with greek motifes and columns there was a reason for that. The U.S believed in the ideals of a DEMOCRACY similar to the one thought to have existed in ancient greek cities like Athens. They saw themselves as something new in the world, our country was to be like a beacon for the world showing off liberty, happiness, etc. Since the greeks motifs represented that for them, they used it in their public buildings. In the same way we have to find ways in which our public buildings continue to express our democratic values and serve as reminders to the public of what we strive for as citizens. This building isn't bad, but it's not great either, it's average, and sorry, that is not the kind of architectural legacy we as a country should be striving for in our public institutions. (even though it might actually be doing exactly what i'm saying in its own unremarkable way. It shows a country that has lost its optimism and sense of purpose and faith in public institutions.)

FangKC · Post by **FangKC** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 3:15 am

Very well put Comandante.

I'm glad The Star did an editorial so quickly after the release of the rendering. Let the mocking begin!

Personally, I think that American Century should trade its two towers on Main to the Fed for use as their bank, and take the Penn Valley site in trade. Then Am. Century would put up a signature tower or a couple of them. Am. Century has the money to pay for good architecture.

moderne · Post by **moderne** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:49 pm

Now that the west side of St. Mary's is coming down, a new view from the highest hill around is opening up. If you drive north on Baltimore from 31st you can see it. When the old hospital is completely raised there will be a wide panorama centered on the Liberty Memorial and including Crown Center. With the Fed tower going in on the northeast section of the plot, maybe at least the view of the memorial will be unobstructed

moderne · Post by **moderne** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:49 pm

Now that the west side of St. Mary's is coming down, a new view from the highest hill around is opening up. If you drive north on Baltimore from 31st you can see it. When the old hospital is completely raised there will be a wide panorama centered on the Liberty Memorial and including Crown Center. With the Fed tower going in on the northeast section of the plot, maybe at least the view of the memorial will be unobstructed

ComandanteCero · Post by **ComandanteCero** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:50 pm

quote from Collison's article today:

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis also built its new headquarters on the nearby riverfront. Martin said the Fed's plan was held up for six months until changes were made to make it more compatible with its environment, including creating a park-like space with art and pedestrian access, and limiting the height to that of nearby historic warehouses.

hmmm......

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