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.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Creating Places: Midtown Place update

Attached is a photo of the recently completed Midtown Place, located at 1016 18th Ave. S. and designed by Nashville-based DA|AD. It is no secret that this writer is a fan of the DA|AD aesthetic. The company does quality work and all its buildings display a certain "DA|AD vibe" that I admire and respect. That said, Midtown Place might offer a flaw (though I'll be curious to get the opinions of those who follow this blog). In simple terms, I don't much care for the placement of the building's mid-section balconies. There is an imbalance of sorts with the left and right sides of the structure's balconies in the correct facade spots but the two mid-section vertical balcony rows not exhibiting proper proportionality (if anything, they seem much too closely placed). Maybe it's just me and, admittedly, I'm not an architect. But this balcony placement seems odd. I do like the exterior color scheme and materials. But the balcony placement ... Thoughts?


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13 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 13, 2012 at 8:03 AM

    Geez William, you are just so picky! No issues with the tiny little balconies.

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  2. Rachel HayesAugust 13, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. AnonymousAugust 13, 2012 at 10:54 AM

    Looks a lot like a Towne Place Suites I've stayed in a couple of times in Minneapolis...in other words, rather uninspired!

    donNdonelson

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  4. MyronAugust 13, 2012 at 11:33 AM

    I would agree with your complaint about the balconies, and think they should have been extended to beyond the windows (maybe all the way across to the vertical break in the facade). But I also absolutely abhor any whiff of vinyl siding, and the siding at the top of the building makes it look like they are cutting corners and trying to finish this one "on the cheap".

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  5. AnonymousAugust 13, 2012 at 1:46 PM

    Looks rather good to see a new building where there was nothing before.

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  6. PillowTalk4August 13, 2012 at 3:24 PM

    Not sure what elese they designed, but this building is rather bland to me even with the differing colors and finishes. The balconies are useless because of their size and will potentially become an eyesore as people will use them for outdorr storage. Nashville didn't need another box. I see where they were making an attempt to build something that looks like an old warehouse converted to residential lofts. Sorry, new contruction rarely has that old warehouse feel. They missed the mark in my opinion.

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  7. AnonymousAugust 13, 2012 at 4:22 PM

    Actually, there was a building there... it was a two-story apartment building. It was demolished and a very large... old tree that shaded the sidewalk.

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  8. AnonymousAugust 13, 2012 at 5:42 PM

    Yawwwwwwwwwwwwwn!

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  9. William WilliamsAugust 13, 2012 at 10:39 PM

    A-Mous,

    You are correct. I can clearly visualize the building that previously stood in this spot. It likely was constructed in the 1960s, was made of stone and had a little courtyard. I actually found it attractive in its own quirky way.

    Myron,

    The siding is metal (and, fortunately, not hideous, cheap vinyl). Still, I can see your concerns.

    I do like the way the three colors of Midtown Lofts create a defined base, mid-section and cap.

    Overall, the building's exterior is acceptable (I hope to see a few units at some point, too), but this clearly is not one of DA|AD's better designs.

    WW

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  10. AnonymousAugust 14, 2012 at 8:10 AM

    Oh that'll look "great" when that metal siding starts to rust.

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  11. AnonymousAugust 15, 2012 at 2:36 PM

    Where is located? I don't recognize it at all.

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  12. William WilliamsAugust 15, 2012 at 10:18 PM

    My bad. At 1016 18th Ave. S. And it's Midtown Place (not Lofts).

    WW

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  13. AnonymousAugust 17, 2012 at 9:30 PM

    I watched it being built. The older building probably needed to be demoed. This building was built very quickly and worked on 7 days a week, and was just completed before the school year started at the local colleges. It is already occupied.

    Based on the time line and work observed, I seriously doubt that (while structurally sound), this is quality work. Additionally, since I prefer more traditional style construction (I own some commercial older buildings) I am completely underwhelmed with the appearance of the building. I'm sure it's a great cash flow cow, but architecturally uninspiring. Sorry.

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