Eyesores & Architectural Blunders (ongoing thread)

[Midtownkid]

I don't know how many architects you know, but your statements are quite blanketed.  'Most' architects do not design 'signature' buildings that stands like lone sculptures.  Also what makes you think most architects hate tress?  That's just a dumb statement.  (I love trees!)  Maybe some retail would have been nice around the SC, but it would surly be empty had space been built.  I like the SC!  That hall of fame is kind of ugly though

I totally agree that P&L seems to shun looking at the Sprint Center.  Walks are too narrow and the buildings do not address the street well.  Outdoor seating?  Woulda been nice.

As for a nice boulevard--something like 47th St on the Plaza--would have been nice also.  But that would mean trees would be planted.  Most architects I know hate trees.  How could you ever see their artpiece with trees in the way?(HA!)

I also hate all that wasted frontage on Grand & Truman around the Sprint Center.  Really?...What good is grass?  Load those areas up with retail and energize Grand a bit.  (Again, these would block the “pure beauty” that is the building, according to the architects).

Very few architects understand how to make a “place” full of vitality.  Most only know how to make an autonomous piece of sculpture (despite what they think).

[slimwhitman]

I don't know how many architects you know, but your statements are quite blanketed.  'Most' architects do not design 'signature' buildings that stands like lone sculptures.  Also what makes you think most architects hate tress?  That's just a dumb statement.  (I love trees!)

Maybe you’re in the 1%?  I know A LOT of architects and the first question I hear about tree placement relates to "preserving views to the building" not "let's place them in the best way to create the best possible street experience".  I have had this discussion dozens and dozens of times with architects.  The rare architect truly gets “placemaking”.  Don’t agree?...Look at the built environment around you.  Who has been designing our world as though they hate pedestrians?:  Architects.

Few architects would say they hate trees, they just make design decisions that prove otherwise.  

[mlind]

It's actually landscape architects who work with the architects re plantings.  The budget is always skimpy (that's why you see those skinny trees) and since it's a line item, it's always subject to being reduced or cut.

You're right about not caring about the street view and pedestrians.  If you look at all the wonderful terra cotta decorations on old buildings, most of it is above eye level, often on the top.  But it all looks great in the drawings. 

I can never understand why planners/architects don't make the ground level more interesting - plantings, plazas, art, etc.

[trailerkid]

coulda. woulda. shoulda. Sprint Center does what it needs to do.

we can still have more incredible contemporary architecture in KC. worry about the next great KC space instead of dwelling in a past decision that hasn't been negative whatsoever.

[mykem]

I like how AEG did LA Live. You can sit atop one of the Staples Center's outdoor patios and see all of the video boards, and people on the large plaza. The architecture of LA Live compliments the Staples Center as well.

Right now AEG is working on trying to build a billion dollar retractable roof football stadium at the current site of the old part of the LA convention center that will connect with LA Live, the Staples Center, and the new Ritz Carlton Hotel.

[trailerkid]

i will amend my comments. as a more involved arch statement...BOK Center > Sprint Center. however, i think Sprint Center works much better in an urban context than BOK Center.

[FangKC]

This popped up on my Instagram feed. Who would do this to the beautiful brick facade of this Tudor house in KC?

First of all, don't paint over brick. It needs to breathe. Secondly, why make your house look so bland when it's architecturally stunning?

https://www.instagram.com/p/DHe_eEluIM- ... BiNWFlZA==

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.01469,- ... FQAw%3D%3D

[Belvidere]

This popped up on my Instagram feed. Who would do this to the beautiful brick facade of this Tudor house in KC?

First of all, don't paint over brick. It needs to breathe. Secondly, why make your house look so bland when it's architecturally stunning?

https://www.instagram.com/p/DHe_eEluIM- ... BiNWFlZA==

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.01469,- ... FQAw%3D%3D

Oh wow.

[moderne]

Ugh. This is a worst case. You can paint brick without causing harm, but it cannot be the usual latex paint which does not breathe.
I would imagine who ever did this was born after 1990.

[Chris Stritzel]

House flippers are a cancer! Only in it for a quick buck. Very rarely do you get flippers who do good work.

Probably going to sell that house for a $200k profit.

[shinatoo]

It sold in January. Likely this room is now all white, along with all the beautiful woodwork inside.

[FangKC]

Imagine how many people buy older houses with stunning woodwork that has been painted over to flip, and then the new owners have to spend money or their own time removing all the paint to get back to the original wood.

[FangKC]

It sold in January. Likely this room is now all white, along with all the beautiful woodwork inside.

If they paint over this room, when it comes up for resale, we should all go look at the house and mention in front of the realtor, "I'll bet that original wood underneath was beautiful. It's too bad they painted over it. I'd have to pay to remove it, so I'm not interested in the house. I also hate that they painted over the exterior brick."

[FangKC]

...You can paint brick without causing harm, but it cannot be the usual latex paint which does not breathe.
...

But if you want to return it to the original look, wouldn't you have to sandblast the paint off, and wouldn't sandblasting the brick do harm to it and the mortar?

When I see a house for sale with recently painted brick, I immediately think they painted it to hide something.

[moderne]

Sandblasting would destroy the brick. Would have to use solvents and water blasting. They did hide something here. The beautiful masonry work. That diamond pattern in contrasting brick is now hidden. I guess brick is not desirable now because it is not black, charcoal grey or white, which have become the new beige.

[FangKC]

The longer I live, the more I have difficulty understanding some people.

[Eon Blue]

I'm mostly curious what project/building started this thread 20 years ago. Webrot has 86'd all the images and the posts don't offer enough context clues.

[TheLastGentleman]

I'm mostly curious what project/building started this thread 20 years ago. Webrot has 86'd all the images and the posts don't offer enough context clues.

One of the posts mentions the project was a bank building, and it sounds like it was somewhere in the crossroads. Interesting mystery

[TheLastGentleman]

I'm mostly curious what project/building started this thread 20 years ago. Webrot has 86'd all the images and the posts don't offer enough context clues.

One of the posts mentions the project was a bank building, and it sounds like it was somewhere in the crossroads. Interesting mystery

Actually they mention it being near the city market. Could this have been about 300 Wyandotte St? Populous's old headquarters. Loopnet says it was built in 2005.