Short Changed?
Over the past few years Raleigh residents have enjoyed the excitement of a new building rendering on several occasions. The dreams and hopes of our next generation of buildings is typically energizing and builds expectations of a better tomorrow. As Raleigh’s tallest building takes form, we can now look back at a couple of artist renderings and see how close they were.
For best results, open each photo in a new tab, then switch back and forth to compare.
The popular skyline rendering can be compared to the picture on the right, taken on February 29, 2008. The nearly topped-off RBC Plaza stands in the center while the convention center and Marriott have completed their massing. It appears that the RBC Plaza’s rendering was the most accurate. While the building is actually farther to the right and is wider than portrayed, the size is fairly close. The building’s 22nd floor (marked by the yellow horizontal band) steps back at almost the same point relative to Two Hannover Square, but the residential floors will not be quite as tall as the rendering shows (the buidling’s highest inhabitable floor has been poured). I added a black triangle to the photo to show where the spire will top out (based on proportional measurements of lower floors compared to the cutaway diagram). Because the spire itself reaches the same height but the residential section is indeed shorter, the spire will proportionally be slightly larger than shown in the rendering. The error is minor, however. The rendering’s portrayal of the building’s blue glass is somewhat overly saturated in color. On the other hand, the shadows in the glass are full of errors. Overall, though, the RBC Plaza rendering is an accurate portrayal of what is being built.
The second project, the convention center, is also well portrayed. The rendering’s structural details are impressive, especially the NW corner’s glass protrusion and the roof’s support features. The building did not end up being as tall as hoped, though. The resulting roofline is about 40 feet lower (as compared to the Sheraton’s windows) and is much flatter than portrayed. Overall this is a good rendering, though.
…And then there is the Marriott. When the rendering was published, it was met with a chorus of boos. The insipid design in a prominent location was criticized as a missed opportunity. Critics at least were optimistic about the building’s massing and future contribution to the skyline’s density. In reality the building is an enormous disappointment and shows the rendering’s wild inaccuracies. The Marriott is vastly shorter and farther to the right than anticipated. Its windows are proportionally much smaller, making the building more similar to the high-rise jail than a second rate hotel design. Finally, is it me or does the photo show the hotel leaning to the left, somewhat, compared to One Hannover Square (Bank of America)? While the actual placement of the Marriott’s tower is much farther east than anticipated, the Progress One building is still visible and gives the appearance of more density. Perhaps we are lucky that more buildings appear in the “money shot”. Overall, though, the Marriott rendering turned out to be a poor one.
Another anticipated area this decade has been North Hills. Shown here is the Alexan rendering and a photo taken on February 20, 2008. Like the convention center, is it impressive how many details were included from the streetlight design and Storehouse awnings, to the black oval Alexan sign straight ahead. The artist did not anticipate the site’s terrain, though. In actuality The Alexan sits much farther back from and higher than Lassiter Mill Road. The error is most evident in the stairway that had to be built in front of the Alexan’s first storefront. The rendering shows a quite walkable, seamless site whereas reality offers pedestrians a busy street plus a flight of stairs to continue their experience. This is not a bad rendering, but the terrain issues prevent this from being a great one.
One of Raleigh’s most anticipated projects was the Entertainment and Sports Arena (RBC Center). The 1990s rendering and final product turned out to be extremely similar. There are several fairly minor differences, though. The rendering shows the building’s ovoid shape continuing, unbroken, at the main entrance. Some design changes by The Carolina Hurricanes included a bumped out entrance which allowed space for a ticketing lobby, retail store, club restaurant, Hurricanes offices, and the VIP entrance. The roof ring level is also bumped out, and houses the CanesVision video production studios. Another difference is the green glass and the absence of red in the actual structure. This is the exterior’s big failure . The original plan called for a rose-based smoked glass. Unfortunately the wrong color, green, was ordered and the result is ugly. Finally, high resolution versions of this renderings show multicolored uplighting on the roof’s ring. In actuality this aluminum crown is uplit with disappointing white light. Festive colored lighting (as shown in the rendering) would improve the building’s nighttime appearance. Overall, though, the artist did an excellent job with proportion, scale, and terrain and produced and excellent rendering.
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March 1st, 2008 at 7:05 am
Nice comparisons. I had forgotten about the glass controversy in the RBC Center. It looks right, now. Is there a secret to getting the “perfect shot” of downtown? It almost looks like the phtographer was in the air.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:38 am
HA ha. Thanks Bill! In order to recreate the downtown shot in the rendering, I loaded the rendering into my Treo. I then went and parked in the grass on S. Saunders St. extension and walked around looking at the rendering trying to line up objects such as light poles and signs. The actual spot the original was taken is now obscured by tree limbs, so I had to settle for a spot a couple of steps away.
I took it with a 10.5MP Canon RebelxTi with an 18-55mm lens, then cropped the image on my computer to match the rendering’s borders.
That is a great view of downtown. The road descends and you get a good view of almost every building pretty far down to their bases.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:06 am
Look on the bright side, “The Layfette” will cover up that ugly second rate hotel (Marriott). Who has labeled this 4 Star - it is not a 4 star and should never be recognized as a 4 star? Anybody associated with this hotel should be “fired”, especially the architect, what an embarrassing building. Hopefully, “The Layfette get’s taller than the planned 22 floors, either way, we will only see a sliver of this hotel.
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:51 am
I can’t wait to see this photo when the Cree shimmer wall is installed on the west face of the convention center. This view will definitely pop!!
http://www.raleighconvention.com/index.php/homepage/news?action=news-detail&neid=29
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:49 am
Another large project that is a good comparison is the new Terminal 2 at RDU. From the renderings I have seen, and the construction I see practially everyday, they are very similar. Somewhat hard to see right now that only half of the building is under construction. Easy to forget too that twice the money is being spent for this building in comparison to the Convention Center downtown.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:59 am
Good eye for noticing these differences.
I’ll wait for completion before judging how RBC Plaza turns out. Who knows how it’ll turn up.
Alot depends on angle and such. For example, in my eye, both West and Quorum look taller than they are if you’re driving into downtown down Capital Blvd. (Is it just me?) And for some reason, on some days coming down Western Blvd from the Mission Valley area, the Wachovia building looks huge.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:04 am
Did Flash do that downtown rendering?
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
TJ,
I’m pretty sure that Flash did not to that downtown rendering. It is the “official” one that RBC put out when they announced the new design which added the birthday party hat to the top. They took the official Marriott rendering from some point and added their building.
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Let me join those of you who are disappointed with the new Marriott Hotel. I know it is too late now, but the city leaders should be aware that there is a large group of people who are not happy with the way things look today. I had my doubts about the size of the hotel before they even broke ground and I am sad to say I was not wrong - I wish I was. The ONLY reason why I would let our city leaders know about my disappointment is because I want them to realize that wasting city-owned properties on such bad projects should not be in their agenda. They should ensure that such investments do not take place on Sites 2 and 3. It is a shame having to bet on Site One and Lafayette to cover the mediocrity of Marriott Hotel.
For a good idea of what Flash envisioned, check out his renderings/photos:
http://raleighskyline.com/content/2006/10/29/the-future-raleigh-skyline/
Flash has taken a more conservative approach, as you can see. Site One and Lafayette will be wider and therefore have more impact than shown in the renderings. The Hillsborough will definitely be shorter, although Flash got it right based on the data we had back then when he put the rendering together. The new Wake County Justice Center and the Clarence Lightner Public Safety Center will prove to be the dark horses, I think. Both of them will end up taller than the Marriott Hotel, although the elevation on those two sites is lower and the impact will be kept minimal.
March 4th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Marriot - that thing of a hotel design would fit in perfectly alongside I95. It’s really sad when you have to wait for another building to be constructed that will cover yours up. I mean where did they get that design from … the 1970’s Marriot Architectural storage closet?
March 4th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I am so sorry to be the one to point this out, but I can’t help myself. You used money shot in quotes. Care to elaborate?
March 5th, 2008 at 8:28 am
“Money shot” is the term many use for the angle from S. Saunder St. It’s kind of funny to me because it makes me think of the movie “Swingers” as well as being a view that features a tall bank building.
It’s interesting how much better this collection of buildings looks from this angle than it looks from the Boylan bridge or from Dorothea Dix.