I don't understand why DC doesn't do a Parisian-style La Defense. The central historical DC core can remain at its current height, while skyscrapers and other high rises can be in a designated area.
How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
31–40 of 62 posts
Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#32What a horrible hit piece by WaPo against the plan to raise the height limit. As if the taller buildings are going to be windowless slab-sided monoliths! Height is beautiful: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3nsDtd8zatQ/S9382uGLh6I/AAAAAAAAAh... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/lugnuts/Bridges/IMG_5... http://www.thewrigleybuilding.com/images/about-top.jpg Also, the growth of D.C. is something I intensely dislike. It…
I generally agree but there is the concern that the higher buildings would take away from the prominence of the historical monuments that the city centers on. A good example of this is the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. It appeared prominent and even formidable when it was built in the 18th century but modern construction has surrounded it on all sides and it's not even really part of the skyline anymore[1]. That's…
The only reason these short buildings are considered historic is that important things happened in them before we learned how to make rebar, and before we rediscovered concrete.
We can build tall buildings now. Some of those will become historic, if we build them. Many of them will be very nice-looking, like the new WTC towers. Don't let old building methods stand in the way of progress. I'm not one of those growth-at-all-costs people, but there's a lot of benefit in finding ways to put a large number of people in a small space comfortably.
Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#33What a horrible hit piece by WaPo against the plan to raise the height limit. As if the taller buildings are going to be windowless slab-sided monoliths! Height is beautiful: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3nsDtd8zatQ/S9382uGLh6I/AAAAAAAAAh... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/lugnuts/Bridges/IMG_5... http://www.thewrigleybuilding.com/images/about-top.jpg Also, the growth of D.C. is something I intensely dislike. It…
I generally agree but there is the concern that the higher buildings would take away from the prominence of the historical monuments that the city centers on. A good example of this is the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. It appeared prominent and even formidable when it was built in the 18th century but modern construction has surrounded it on all sides and it's not even really part of the skyline anymore[1]. That's…
> I generally agree but there is the concern that the higher buildings would take away from the prominence of the historical monuments that the city centers on.
Most of the monuments are within 0.5 miles north or south of Constitution Ave, while the business district centers around K street a mile north of that. In fact, I think it would look quite amazing, the way Central Park does in Manhattan.
Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#34I don't understand why DC doesn't do a Parisian-style La Defense. The central historical DC core can remain at its current height, while skyscrapers and other high rises can be in a designated area. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_D%C3%A9fense
Because this is about putting more lobbyists closer to the capital building.
Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#35Limiting housing supply in desirable locations is the new redlining. I understand liking the character of a place, but it seems morally problematic to use the police power to enforce that character at the expense of those who will no longer be able to afford to live there as demand increases while supply doesn't. Those same people are often the first to support affordable housing mandates without recoiling at the ine…
This is never about housing. It's about corporations wanting to be pack in more and more lobbyists as close as they can.
It's about both of those things. Luckily, I don't think corporations and lobbyists are boogeymen. Why shouldn't they be allowed to work in convenient locations? The most successful, established firms already do work in those convenient locations, but since supply is so restricted, smaller firms can't afford it.
When you restrict supply, the folks with money win.
Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#36Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#37Great images, though I'd imagine in real life it would look a bit different from uniform beige boxes.
I too liked the technique, but noticed that if you photoshop in actual building looking buildings instead of beige monoliths it actually looks fine. That makes me wonder if they started there and switched to the monoliths when they didn't get the right impact for the story.
Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#38What a horrible hit piece by WaPo against the plan to raise the height limit. As if the taller buildings are going to be windowless slab-sided monoliths! Height is beautiful: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3nsDtd8zatQ/S9382uGLh6I/AAAAAAAAAh... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/lugnuts/Bridges/IMG_5... http://www.thewrigleybuilding.com/images/about-top.jpg Also, the growth of D.C. is something I intensely dislike. It…
How do you read this as a hit piece...? Nowhere that I saw do they even allude to the various proposals being bad ideas.
Also, DC has a decently sized tech community and industry, a lot of which is not related to the federal government. I'd venture to say it's the largest in the country after SF, NYC and Chicago.
Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#39D.C. would look much more like a real city without the restrictions. This is a good thing! Cities grow! The choice here is between upward and outward. You can keep buildings unnaturally short, which forces the city to spread out, increasing commute times (and a whole lot more). Or you can let things grow, and let the place be more livable for the people that actually live there.
Paris is often seen as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and totally does feel like a real city despite the height limit. In fact the new financial district off to the side with its skyscrapers and, I imagine, no height limit, while modern and fancy, just doesn't feel as city-like as the rest of Paris. It feels like a dead place where people only come to work. I've only spent a good week in Paris, so it m…
Height restrictions or not the new development in DC is mostly garbage. Planners do not seem to understand the formula for making pleasant urban neighborhoods with multistory residential buildings is that the ground floor must be retail. The building facade and retail must be flush with the sidewalk.
I don't understand why this formula is so hard for urban planners to accept. You see it in every thriving city. It simply should not be allowed to make a 5+ story building that is purely housing and is recessed from the sidewalk. When it is allowed you get the alienating Corbusier style housing project vibe. This crap has been thrown up all over the DC area in recent years.
Re: How D.C. could look if the height restriction changes
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is never about housing. It's about corporations wanting to be pack in more and more lobbyists as close as they can.
It's about both of those things. Luckily, I don't think corporations and lobbyists are boogeymen. Why shouldn't they be allowed to work in convenient locations? The most successful, established firms already do work in those convenient locations, but since supply is so restricted, smaller firms can't afford it. When you restrict supply, the folks with money win.
I don't think they're boogeymen either, but this will not lead to affordable or convenient housing and anyone who believes otherwise is a just a fool. This is from the experience of living in the city for 5 years.
If there was actual demand for denser housing or office space you'd see it sprouting up across the river in Virginia or outside the southeast of the city where land is dirt cheap. Remember the city itself is tiny and the areas outside the city do not have these restrictions.