Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
So as it waits patiently for an anchor tenant for its awesome Helmut Jahn-designed parallelogram at Reston Station, Comstock has announced it's moving forward with plans to build the second office tower at the Metro station/perpetual waiting zone for Founding Farmers. Good on them, if somewhat brave given the current climate! Give us some PR-approved blockquote about the $95 million, 180,000 square foot project, BFFs at Reston Patch:
Washington Business Journal reports that construction on the building will begin in April and the plan is to complete the project by January 2020. It will be known as 1906 Reston Metro Plaza, and will be the second of three office towers that will be perched directly above the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station parking garage.Only Metro station? Either they forgot to mention "for now," or they have less confidence in the timing of phase 2 of the Silver Line than we do."The second of three iconic office towers to rise above the Reston Metro Plaza, this 150,000 square foot, LEED Silver, Trophy-Class building shapes the gateway between Reston's only Metro Station and the urban heart of the Dulles Corridor," states the Reston Station website.
"With world-class amenities, unmatched services, unrivaled accessibility, sustainability, and convenience, 1906 Reston Metro Plaza provides a unique opportunity to secure a highly visible corporate presence in the heart of the most important corporate address in the burgeoning urban landscape of the Dulles Corridor."All good words. But that's not what the building originally was planned to look like. When the massive Sleestak-infested parking garage was just a gleam in Comstock's eye, the original plans envisioned a field of glowing parallelograms atop it. Check it, as the kids haven't said in decades:
Not everyone loves the existing building (or its rad neon), but we applaud Comstock for hiring a real architect and building something that doesn't look like every other off-the-shelf office tower lining the Toll Road. It's a little said to see them think a little more inside the box by building... well, a box.
But all hope isn't lost! Look closely at that square at the end of the habitrail that lets all the wage slaves cross over the Toll Road on their way out of the Metro station:
Could our rad '80s art finally be making an appearance? If so, all is forgiven, the end.
These are definitely in a class with the Willis Tower and Transamerica Building..."Trophy Buildings
ReplyDeleteThere is one more unofficial class known as "trophy buildings." These are cream of the crop buildings that are industry leaders in every respect--technology, architectural design, posh finishes, and environmental sustainability. These buildings are in the best locations and are the most exclusive.
Few buildings fall into this category, but the ones that do are widely known. 1 Bryant Park in New York City, with its one-of-a-kind architecture, urban garden room, highest quality finishes, and state-of-the art systems is an excellent example of a trophy building. The Transamerica Building in San Francisco and Sears Tower (Willis Tower) may also be considered trophy buildings despite their age, due to striking architecture, prestigious business location, state-of-the art amenities, and iconic stature."
More empty concrete and glass monoliths coming our way. God awful ugly!
ReplyDeleteJust wish I was the concrete or glass contractor!
It's a trapezoid.
ReplyDeleteEven a glassy box looks better than most of the crap going up around Reston these days, prime example of this being the McShittyville townhouses on the site of the old API building on Sunrise Valley. For $850,000, I could think of a lot better places to call home.
ReplyDeleteJust up the road from McShittyville, and even worse, are the townhouse clusters at the Reston International Center directly opposite the golf course. When the Good Lord created the word "eyesore", He had this development in mind as its definition.