AWESOME & AWFUL - Marriott Marquis Atlanta

BOTH: The Marriott Marquis Atlanta has a lot of positive things going for it - absolutely non of them at ground level. Three sides of this block sized development are simply as inhospitable as one can make a blank wall of concrete. I even had a hard time finding the egress on the east side (facing the Hyatt) and only  stumbled upon it by accident.

So, on the AWFUL scale this hotel provides 3 block faces with 2 - 3 stories (depending on the elevation) of blank concrete and a total disconnect from any pedestrian realm. It was so bad I didn't even bother taking any pictures. Add to this the multiple skybridges and lack of obvious ways to find the street, and you have the usual Brutalism era hatred of the ground level, save access for automobiles and trucks.

The auto entry itself is pretty cool (see pic just below) but even this space is a bit oppressive for the average pedestrian.

Now, on the AWESOME side of the equation, we consider the soaring interior spaces the architect created... One cannot help but be impressed with the volume, the tapering balconies and the glass roof, 48 stories above. 1663 rooms and suites ensure a population guaranteed to fill the cantilevered Pulse Loft bar and the sail-like Pulse lobby bar. It obvious the interior decor has been tastefully and expensively updated in the recent past. If only the architect and the planners involved had given the same love to the ground level surrounding the hotel, this building would be long regarded as one of the best in Atlanta.

Sadly, the era in which this was constructed dictated that it was not to be so.

More photos on their website.

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AWESOME: David Williams, Painter

One of my favorite artists is David Williams of St. Petersburg. David recycles commercial and graphic images from the past and present to create a whole new dialogue with the world today. His website shows a variety of work from current and past shows. The one thing you cannot appreciate online are the wonderful surface textures he includes in every work. And he just keeps getting better with each new set of work.

© 2006 David Williams 48" x 60" Sirens:Bahama Shores Drive, acrylic on canvas.

Remember, buy art because it moves you, and if it clashes with the couch, get a new couch.

AWFUL: The Horrors of the Atlanta Merchandise Mart

AWFUL: The Atlanta Merchandise Mart is 3 blocks of consumerism and serves boutiques and retailers across the region... that said, the buildings it occupies are pretty ugly and do nothing to serve the city in which they landed. Oh, and what about a window or two?

The ground level of all 3 blocks has nothing but blank walls and a few sad trees. The skybridges keep the buyers and sellers out of the city entirely. It seems there are 8 or 9 blocks interconnected in such a way as to connect at least 3 hotels to the Mart and once inside, its not very easy to find a way to get to the street level - kinda like not being able to find a way out of a casino in Vegas.

I do have to say that I like the RoboCop style round staircases on the corner, and the building is, in spite of its shortcomings, a bit of modern sculpture that typifies its era in a strong way. Its a great thing to learn from and never repeat.

AWESOME: The view from the 72nd Floor of the Westin Peachtree in Atlanta

Looking West - L to R: Georgia Dome, CNN Center, Georgia World Congress Center and Olympic Centennial Park. Georgia Aquarium sneaking in at top right. Bottom left is the Tabernacle - a fantastic old chruch turned civic auditorium. Notice all the surface parking lot space - what a waste of land.

Looking North - The W Hotel seems to be the terminus of 75/85 as it comes into downtown from the North. I like the cantilevered pool halfway up the right tower.

Looking ENE: An economy of architectural effort and creativity - 6 towers almost exactly the same, and every one a horror for the pedestrian. The two at the Marriott Marquis were better at ground level due to the hotel entry between them - the others shield a mall from passers by - yes, Peachtree Center is on the 2nd floor and is primarily accessible to office tower workers through sky bridges. The city is excluded as much as possible from this hermetically sealed environment. Awful streetscapes.

I keep meaning to go into the Hyatt and go up in that little spaceship bar that landed on top but I never do. Note that through the sky bridges, you can go from the Hilton at top right all the way to Centennial Park without ever touching a sidewalk. Great way to kill your downtown.

AWESOME: Andres Duany at The Congress of the New Urbanism CNU18

So, I got the opportunity to see architect and New Urbanism prophet Andres Duany speak on a number of occasions at the Congress. Andres is a highly charismatic guy - one could actually term him messianic when it comes to the message of Urbanism. The creator of Seaside was far more approachable and likable than I expected. Much is made of the egos of architects, but in his case I'd discount that from 'ego' to 'clarity of vision'.

Duany is, in spite of his renown and his position as the leading light of the Urbanist movement* is - and most will disagree - a humble guy.

What? How is that possible?

Simple: He is so absolutely sure of his vision, the goals and the product itself, that - while he is delivering the message in a way no one else can - he does so on service of the message itself. Sure, he is the center of attention, and sure, he is the architect... but its not about him, its about a better way to live. Hence, I adjudge him as 'humble' as compared to most other architects.

*Seriously. I never use the word 'movement' outside of discussing digestive issues because it smacks of stoner hippies whining about some idiotic claptrap, but in this case - it actually makes sense and makes me smile.

AWESOME: Complete Streets

While at CNU18, the phrase 'complete streets' kept wandering into the conversation. Somehow I missed that couplet along the way, all the while having been a fan of the ideas inherent in the concept. No idea how that happened...

There is a great FAQ on the Complete Streets Coalition's website for those who'd like to review the concepts involved. The main key to to realize that we need 'streets' not 'roads' in our cities. Streets serve people first and cars second. Roads serve cars exclusively. Roads exist to get people from one point of civilization to another, but tend to destroy that civilization when they run through it.

Below is a pic from the Complete Streets Flickr feed - notice: 2 lanes, center shared turn lane that allows through traffic to move freely, bike lanes, on street parking offers traffic calming and a shield for pedestrians, urban trees as appropriate. This can move as much traffic as a 4 lane road with no center turn lane, and do it in a safer manner for all. Added benefit: Increased property values benefit neighborhoods and the city's ad valorem base.

AWESOME: Record Stores in Atlanta/Little 5 Points

AWESOME: Its been quite some time since I was in Atlanta, and it was quite gratifying to see that Wax N Facts is still there doing its thing in Little Five Points. In fact, with the resurgence in VINYL the place had very few CDs and was mostly albums and 12"s. While I was browsing the old bins, I noticed the crates had such names as Peaches and Sound Warehouse on the ends... nice retro touch there. People were actually coming in asking about new releases and whether they would be on vinyl, Double awesome.

Around the corner on Euclid is a SECOND record store called Criminal Records. This one is a bit more glossy and full of indie rock, kitch, dunnys and the like - but the fact that TWO record stores are thriving within a block of each other is really gratifying. I noticed 180 gram re-issues of vinyl I bought 25 years ago (DEVO baby!) for 17.99 and up. Of course, since I have the original sleeve and inserts mine is cooler - the one advantage of being old I suppose.

Little 5 Points has changed little in the last decade or two. Eat Your Vegetables is gone, Throb is gone, but those are the only two businesses that seem to have really disappeared. Junkman's Daughter is still selling stuff for very cute girls and the package store seems to have the same two broke down winos in the parking lot. Abba Dabba's is still rocking the Doc Martens and other specialty shoe labels, and seems to have grown. I used to visit Atlanta a lot in the 80s and early 90s, and its nice to see that, while some thaings have changed, most of the best stuff is still around.

David Byrne speaks to Congress for the New Urbanism on Bicycling - Atlan...

CNU 18 - Two videos and then commentary below:



Part two below:



It was very cool to be sitting in the front row of the Tabernacle in Atlanta watching David Byrne make his presentation on cycling in various places around the world. Sorry for the shaky cam and the fact that part 2 got cut off a bit toward the end.

CNU 18 was a fantastic experience. To get to meet and hear from Andres Duany, John Norquist, Peter Calthorpe, Emily Talen and many, many more during the course of a day is pretty exciting stuff to someone who drank the New Urbanism KoolAid a loooong time ago.

Not that the movement is perfect - far from it, and part of why the Congresses keep growing. I think people are still really learning what NU is and what it is not, and the Congress and its members have not really defined a message that the general public really understands. In fact, I think the academic focus on Celebration and Seaside is actually detrimental to the overall message. The Congress and the ideas it champions would be far more effective in promoting the HOPE IV initiatives.

Secretary Donovan of HUD spoke one morning and had many positive substantive things to say. When he quoted and credited Jack Kemp, and mentioned Howard Roark, I almost fell out of my chair. An Obama administration official actually quoting Ayn Rand and saying nice things about Kemp? Holy moley! I expected a partisan political speech and a lot of blather - what I got was a bit of bipartisanship and substance that we can all support. Amazing.

NextGen: There is a sub group within the Congress that is centered on students and recent grads - and people like me who have never been to a CNU before - and they are pushing for new ways to expand the portfolio of ideas and promote the canon to future leaders. Bravo to them. Since I've been involved in  planning since about 1991 or so (I am old) in various fashions, I expect to get active with this group - I know the issues, but really have no past with the congress and its leadership. In an odd fashion, I can be 'new' and still not lose any of the 'old'.

The message about compact growth is becoming ingrained in the public discourse, but it is still lost behind the shadow of Seaside. There needs to be a marketing push that hones the concept to something the general public can support. Demographics are already in favor of New Urbanism, but the concepts are not yet defined as simply as necessary.

Congress for the New Urbanism, Atlanta

So, after 3 full days as a participant in the Congress for the New Urbanism, my brain is close to being fried. One more intense day ahead (not to mention the rest of today) and then travel home. Lots of information to digest and an astounding pile of ideas to sort and apply. Look for new updates next week starting Monday on Atlanta and CNU 18.

AWESOME. New Brendan Perry Album "Ark"

AWESOME. The inimitable Brendan Perry (half of Dead Can Dance for those of you who don't know...) will be on tour and I just listened to his sparkling new album Ark. Hopefully his tour will cross Berlin while I'm there this fall *fingers crossed*
Ark is the sort of album you'd expect from Mr. Perry. Babylon is fill of the horns and timpani drums that inhabit his creations - with his lush baritone mixed in at just the right level. The standout track for me (so far) is The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, although it appears Utopia (below) is the 'single' for the album. Not a bad track if you are a fan, and a great place to start if you weren't already!~

AWFUL. Wachovia Bank Building on North Main St

AWFUL. This thing looms over Gainesville's Main Street like a bad matte painting background in a particularly terrible 1970s sci-fi TV show. At least this unfortunate pile of masonry and poured concrete has the good sense to be on the edge of downtown, where it handily cuts off the residential neighborhood of Fifth Ave/Pleasant St from traffic noise on Main St. (I'm trying to be positive here.)

Fortunately, it has a rather small footprint and the pedestrian level is less offensive than many of the period. Plus, you can actually find the front door. The landscaping does a lot to eliminate the negative relationship between the building and the street. Yay trees!

The actual worst part of this big box of ugly is its parking structure, which consumes a whole block behind it. That was a result of misguided development regulations in that era, and one cannot blame the developer for that mistake, cuz you know no developer would waste money like that unless someone made him.

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AWFUL. Alachua County Courthouse. Implode & recycle please.

AWFUL. Truly one of Downtown Gainesville's most horrible moments. This massive ungainly lump of post-lego block design has it all. This is the Alachua County Courthouse, Family & Civil Division.

• Three elevations calculated to prevent pedestrians from approaching it?  Check!
• Gigantic slabs of poured concrete that say: "Fortress - Keep Out!" ?  Check!
• A massive deficit of glazing on the side facing the downtown plaza?  Check!
• An entry that is hard to locate and singularly unimpressive and uninviting?  Check!
• Vast slabs of pebble textured concrete, to complete that hideous 1970s ambiance?  Check!
• Prominent location so you can't ignore its massive ugly bulk?  CHECK AND MATE!

In short, this is the single most hideous building in the downtown. It contributes nothing to the streetscape, and exhibits all of the very worst habits of 1970s architecture. Plus, it eats up one side of the most visible public space in downtown. Of course, the downtown plaza is a horror in and of itself, but we'll deal with that one another time. 

Pedestrian view from a prominent corner in the downtown. Breathtakingly awful in its composition.

This plaque fingers those responsible for this carbuncle on the face of downtown. May the shame of Craig Salley & Associates never be forgotten. Oh - and this firm still exists. Check out their website to see the kind of structure these guys are proud to occupy.


Added: Now that I've checked out their website, it seems they have graduated to public schools that look like cheap strip shopping centers.


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AWESOME. Depeche Mode - Fly On The Windscreen

AWESOME. Thought I'd post the video for this song for those of you who might not know it. Its probably my favorite Depeche Mode song of all time.

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AWESOME: University Lutheran Church, Gainesville Florida

AWESOME: Gainesville FL has a variety of architectural gems, but the mid-century modern stuff has been overlooked by the local preservation people. This AWESOME building does not seem to be in any danger but it does sit on a prime piece of land across from the stadium - one beautiful church on this strip was lost in the bubble, and rebuilt recently in a far less attractive form. The good news is, with the current slump in development, there is the opportunity for the Preservation folks to get ahead of the next wave of development. As far as I can tell, this is the only example of Polynesian Modern anywhere in the 'ville.

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First Post

So - here's my opinion on stuff I find awful or awesome. You'll find comments on art, architecture, music and food. Hopefully it will spark a conversation.