Creating Places: A Citizen Observer's Look at Nashville's Built Environment


Writer's Note: William Williams' interest in the manmade environment dates to 1970, at which point the then-young Williams started a collection of postcards of city skylines. The collection now numbers 1,000-plus cards. Among the writer's specific interests are exterior building design, city district planning, demographics, signage, mixed-use development, mass transit and green/sustainable construction and living. Williams began his Creating Places column with The City Paper in February 2005. The column in its original form was discontinued in September 2008 and reinvented via this blog in November 2008. Creating Places can be found on the home page of the website of The City Paper, at which Williams has worked in various capacities since October 2000.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Creating Places: A few quick hits

* * A few random thoughts while reflecting on the ZZ Top concert and pondering who sports the more impressive beard: Billy Gibbons or Dusty Hill ...

* The new Subway sandwich shops on Elliston Place and in the old school building on Granny White Pike (across from Lipscomb University and last home to a laundry mat) have noticeably harmed the visual vibe of their respective locales.

* And on the Granny White theme, the Granny White Church of Christ building (seen below) ranks among the five or so most architecturally underrated religious structures in Nashville.




















* The Omni Nashville Hotel is about to have Floor No. 8 topped. The under-construction building now appears to be about 120 feet tall.

* The lot that will eventually be home to West End Village (located on the southwest corner of 31st Avenue North and Long Boulevard) is absolutely massive. That's a project to keep an eye on as it unfolds.

* I've been told from a very legitimate source that the hideous storage building on the East Bank (and sited near Ghost Ballet) will be gone once an upcoming phase of riverfront redevelopment is underway. Good to hear.

9 comments:

  1. How many floors will be Omni Hotel have when complete? Will it be abut the same height as the Encore condo? How will it compare to the height of the Music City Center? What sort of impact will the Omni have on the SoBro area and the entire downtown skyline?

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    1. it will be 21 floors, about 25 feet higher than the Encore. It will not have a huge impact on the skyline from a distance, but it will have a rather large impact on street level activity once completed. There will be a lot of residents/tourists/conventioners using the facility.

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  2. Why does the rendering for the Omni have 24-25 floors? Are they decoys?

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  3. I was told by an official (I think he is an engineer) at the site that Omni will rise about 285 feet at its tallest point. Encore is about 225 feet at its highest point.

    Given there will be no extremely tall buildings next to it, Omni will seem very tall to most folks (skyscraper geeks who want major height, notwithstanding).

    As to the discrepancy regarding the floors, the first three floors are the equivalent of six "normal height" (i.e. 10 to 11 feet) floors. That could be a part of the confusion.

    WW

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  4. I just got back from a weekend trip ti NYC and stayed at the Sheraton in Tribeca (SoHo). First this hotel seems out of place among the NYC junk vendors around it. But, it aparently does very well and it's within a very short walking distance of two major subway lines (red & blue)for quick hits to, well everything. Anyway, what I noticed about this hotel even with it being 22 stories is that it's footprint is relatively small, and that its curb appeal is bland. Actually, if you aren't specifically looking for this building you'd never notice it because of the junk around it. Anyway, I say all of that to say... in Nashville a 21 Story hotel in SoBro, [depending on the angle in which you view it because of it being on the hill portion of SoBro] will have a relatively decent impact until something else is built around it. If someone decides to build a 30, 40, hopefully a 50 story office building in the area, it'll look like the Sheraton Tribeca. Nice place but will get lost in the scenary around it. The Omni's design in my opinion is bland architecture so, I don't see it standing out among other buildings as the area fills in.

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    1. Would that be the wharehouse near Ghost Ballet on the other side of the walking bridge?

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  5. PTalk4,

    There is a good chance the Omni, once finished, will indeed offer a bland exterior design. But I'm willing to wait. Perhaps it will be better than we expect.

    Of note, the Hyatt Place hotel will have a 24-hour restaurant/bar. Not sure it only hotel guests will be able to access after, say, 2:30 a.m.

    WW

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  6. WW,

    I hope you are right. Obviously my opinion is based on the renderings. Hopefully the completed version will by dynamic and visually appealing to look at. The SoBro area is an area that should give developers and architects the vibe to step out of the box and design buildings that have a unique flare, not just mimmick others designs and styles. Nashville needs a skyline that evokes the growth, diversity and creativity of the city. For a city that is loaded with artistic talent, very few buildings examplify that characteristic. That's why I hope TG's new 505 CST is built. I believe such a building will inspire others to go deeper into their creativity.

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