John Portman and Associates have revealed a more engaging design for their newest Atlanta development.
An open-air sidewalk-facing plaza entrance. Outdoor seating. A focus on collaborative space. Storefronts and restaurants.
To most people, this does not sound like John Portman & Associates’ work in Atlanta. AmericasMart and the Hyatt Regency are visionary, futuristic buildings which have both also been known for enclosing a section of the city’s Downtown neighborhood with their glassed-in skywalks, food courts and mazes of escalators.
However, the group last night presented new renderings of the planned Georgia Tech High Performance Computing Center at the Midtown Development Review Committee meeting, which can be viewed on the Atlanta Business Chronicle website here.
The 21-story, 750,000 square foot building towering over Tech Square will feature an arched plaza and storefronts and restaurants at 4th and West Peachtree streets, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle (ABC).
According to the Midtown Alliance website, the development will include 45,000 square feet of retail, 620,000 square feet of office space and a 100,000 square foot data center.
The center is part of the $300 million second phase of Tech Square. The new plaza of the building would form a central, outdoor gathering space. Architects told Midtown development officials that plans even include features such as a “wall of public art” and outdoor seating.
The project also features a spiral staircase through the center of the tower. According to the ABC, the point of the spiral staircase in the proposed High Tech Computing Center is to encourage collaboration between groups of workers on different floors. Many may consider this a starkly different use of space than the atrium, which is a signature characteristic of several of the architect’s buildings – such as the one in the Downtown Hyatt Regency, pictured below.
The development’s design is still evolving.
Georgia Tech launched Tech Square over ten years ago. It features the school’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), academic spaces, and retailers such as Barnes and Noble and Waffle House.
It is one of the country’s most rapidly-growing innovation districts which has attracted companies such as The Home Depot and GE Energy, both which have launched research and/or development centers at the hub.
What do you think of the development’s design? Tell us below…
One Response
ugly and completely insensitive to the urban fabric of the area. Once again, a Portman strikeout.