THE STRENGTH OF SIMPLE FORMS JUXTAPOSED

THE STRENGTH OF SIMPLE FORMS JUXTAPOSED

In the commercial development world, budgets are usually tight. So complexity must often be doled out in careful measures. That discipline does help one really drill down on basic forms that are economical to build. But done so in a way that creates an immediate understanding of program and, sometimes, an interesting composition through juxtaposition. The previous owners of Horton Plaza wanted to reduce the retail, as the market was saturated. They proposed to take out the top two levels of retail... while leaving the concrete floor plates virtually untouched. And they permitted some additional height on the residential component. In the form studies above, the yellow/brown is new residential. The blue is creative office with a sliver of that building that goes down to grade for a new lobby. Michael Mindlin with TCA.

And just for the record, in the first meeting the client asked me what they thought they should do and my response was... "sell it". That got a couple of muted chuckles from the ownership group. But they eventually did... sell it, that is.

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