Comments on: Short Changed?

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:28:16 +0000

“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.

By: jbgraves

jbgraves — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:18:14 +0000

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?

By: Lew

Lew — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:58:10 +0000

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?

By: Ernest

Ernest — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:32:26 +0000

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.

By: Dana

Dana — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:20:57 +0000

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.

By: tj

tj — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:04:46 +0000

Did Flash do that downtown rendering?

By: RaleighRob

RaleighRob — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:59:58 +0000

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.

By: Andy W.

Andy W. — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:49:34 +0000

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.

By: dbearhug

dbearhug — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:51:30 +0000

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

By: TONY

TONY — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:06:53 +0000

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.

By: Dana

Dana — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:38:37 +0000

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.

By: Bill Mather

Bill Mather — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:05:55 +0000

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.