Saturday, October 28, 2006
Changing the skyline
Do you like this story?
Updates:
- Architect and local blogger Jason at Four Square No. 266 had posted on this a couple of weeks ago. How did I miss that???
- The Tribune [via] covers "an intriguing conference at the Illinois Institute of Technology last week" with an impressive international panel that touches on this very subject. Are high profile buildings a fad or are they here to stay? Obviously many opinions on both sides of the fence...
Indianapolis has a rare opportunity to dramatically alter it's skyline. By 2010 the city wants to add 800 to 1000 new hotel rooms. The Marriot, The Westin and the Intercontinental have all proposed plans to the city. The Marriot and the Westin did not seem to spend much time on their proposals but from what I could find, imagine a really big Marriot or a really big Westin and you pretty got it. (Follow this link to the bottom and click on PLAN to get a pdf rendering for the Marriot). If you don't want to follow that link, just imagine a new building that looks like 90% of the other buildings in central Indiana.
The one interesting option (with fancy video) is the Intercontinental (image at left). They have proposed a 44 floor tower on the site of the under-used/never-used Pan Am Plaza (site 3 in top photo). The Marriot Plan and the Westin plan include one 25 story structure and two 16 story structures respectively. Visually the Intercontinental has the most punch, although all are in the very early stages of development and I am sure will go through multiple changes before any are realized. It's been estimated that the city may need to contribute as much as $55 million for any of these projects to be completed. I personally think this could be money well spent but with that amount of our tax dollars going to this project, we should demand something dramatic. A building that not only fills the need for hundreds of more hotel rooms, but has the visual impact to help define the city for the decades to come.
If you feel compelled like I do, please contact the Capital Improvement Board (CIB) which Finances and manages public capital improvements in Marion County. Examples include the Convention Center and RCA Dome, Victory Field, and Conseco Fieldhouse.
| Contact Info: | 100 South Capitol Avenue |
| Indianapolis, IN 46225 | |
| (317) 262-3400 |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 Responses to “Changing the skyline”
October 29, 2006 at 1:28 AM
This is great. The more skyscrapers the better. I get panicky if there are no tall buildings in sight.
October 30, 2006 at 9:28 AM
I prefer the Victory Field site and the amenities it brings and the connection that is made to White River State Park. I agree that the Pan Am plaza hotel creates a visual interest, though I think it could be far more interesting. I had commented on it on my blog.
Post a Comment