Such was the case with the aforementioned Gherkin. Since its construction, London has seen the arrival of several other high-reaching buildings complete its skyline, including the Willis Building and Broadgate Tower. Even more are planned for the future.
So when designing a skyscraper with the intention of breaking DC's long-held ceiling for its architecture, we must consider not only how this one design will fit into and function with the city, but how more of its kind will eventually work in the urban landscape.
Options could include not merely dismissing the height restriction, but instead amending it to some greater height limitation, or setting a cap at the number of tall buildings the city would be allowed to house.
It may make more sense to simply insure that whatever this initial design entails sets the bar for all future constructions to uphold. The city has yet to make the mistake of designing non-environmentally sound skyscrapers, and this design, if made correctly, can serve as a desirable precedent for the inevitable.
_"if that ever happened, Washington would be well situated to lead the way into a new age of urban sustainability" //the washington post
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Instead of paving the way fore more skyscrapers, maybe a skycraper means a cluster of skyscrapers instead of just one individual. Maybe they can only exist in planned clusters. Perhaps they're designed to reflect and redirect light, to focus views, and to create gateways. Can skyscrapers really exist as solitary giants?
ReplyDeleteGood point, they tend to look somewhat cartoonish and ridiculous when alone, as kind of seen in the photo Emma posted of the Gherkin.
ReplyDeleteSo does this cluster mean a skyscraper district? Don't know if it's too much of a thought, but if such a district is created, is our site the best place for it? (We've been evaluating it up til now as the site for this one design.)
I like the idea of the skyscraper as a facilitator of something, especially in this city. I like what Matt said about focusing views and creating gateways. This could tie into some of Carl’s ideas about the “respected height zone.” Perhaps the skyscraper draws attention to other important icons near it, like the national mall and the Washington monument. Maybe this happens through voids that facilitate interaction with those views at the respected height zone. The void could draw attention to the historical height limit. Maybe the building also bridges different buildings and physically ties into the urban fabric around it. Formally it could be allowed to become an icon distinct on the horizon line if it could successfully connect itself to the existing city.
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