123 Garage

[Bullbear]

From what I recall driving by.. the green panels are of course green.. the others are a film which has been removed on most of them and its a opaque ribbed looking plastic I guess you would call it.. looks better than the film of course.. but still in person I agree it doesn't look much better. I don't really understand the Louvers and then the pattern they are on the building where its only partially covered.. its odd for sure but not the worst

[AP]

I looks like I'm in the minority here, but I really like the look. I don't know why everyone was so confused with the protective coverings though.

[cagoklahoma]

I looks like I'm in the minority here, but I really like the look. I don't know why everyone was so confused with the protective coverings though.

+1

It seems like we talk about a lack of architectural diversity, but when we get something diverse we judge it quick and act as if we never liked it to begin with. This place is cool with a serious amount of funky-ness to it. Best of all, there's not EFIS! That's something we can all agree on. (except for the one EFIS salesman on here)

[shawnw]

Also, I'll take several of these over one butt-ugly Dowell Center Garage...

[CuatrodeMayo]

Well maybe the Main Street Garage isn't so tacky after all...

There are enough awful parking garages in OKC to fill a coffee table book.

(Actually, I think that would be a fun project for someone with time, a camera, and a good eye)

[HangryHippo]

Also, I'll take several of these over one butt-ugly Dowell Center Garage...

I'm more okay with this than I am Dowell's garage, which I think is the ugliest downtown. But this one is tied with Santa Fe for second ugliest in my opinion. I don't know why we can't make them look a little more elegant as opposed to having most of our garages looking like design mistakes.

[adaniel]

+1

It seems like we talk about a lack of architectural diversity, but when we get something diverse we judge it quick and act as if we never liked it to begin with. This place is cool with a serious amount of funky-ness to it. Best of all, there's not EFIS! That's something we can all agree on. (except for the one EFIS salesman on here)

Bingo. We all decry cookie cutter design, then something unique gets built and everyone suddenly hates it. I think it looks ok, but I am also assuming it will look a lot better when done. At a minimum, it fits in nicely to the increasingly contemporary design in the core.

I can't think of any "elegant" freestanding parking garage in all my travels, although the one at Owen Field in Norman comes close. It's a giant concrete mass made to hold cars; you are going to be very limited in what you can do.

[HangryHippo]

Bingo. We all decry cookie cutter design, then something unique gets built and everyone suddenly hates it. I think it looks ok, but I am also assuming it will look a lot better when done. At a minimum, it fits in nicely to the increasingly contemporary design in the core.

I can't think of any "elegant" freestanding parking garage in all my travels, although the one at Owen Field in Norman comes close. It's a giant concrete mass made to hold cars; you are going to be very limited in what you can do.

You're limited in how you can build that garage portion, but you aren't nearly as limited in how you construct the facade.

[Rover]

Bingo. We all decry cookie cutter design, then something unique gets built and everyone suddenly hates it. I think it looks ok, but I am also assuming it will look a lot better when done. At a minimum, it fits in nicely to the increasingly contemporary design in the core.

Being different doesn't automatically make it good. Anyone can do different. But, to do different that is good is more of a challenge. It is fine to criticize unique design if the only thing it has going for it is that it is "different".

[Pete]

These were just taken by Urban Pioneer. All the coverings are off the louvers; this is pretty much the final product.

I personally like it a lot.

[AP]

So do I. It pretty much looks just like the renderings that everyone liked so much...

[Pete]

Would be cool if they added a neon sign or some sort of graphic to the upper west corner that is now quite bare.

[Urban Pioneer]

So Pete, is the top left corner not going to be covered?

[Pete]

So Pete, is the top left corner not going to be covered?

Correct, the design always called for that upper left corner to stay relatively blank.

As I mentioned above, their may be future plans for signage.

[Urban Pioneer]

I hope so.... Consider me a relatively big fan of his architecture. However, if that exposure isn't being taken up by something, consider me disappointed. It's like taking a concept 2/3rd's to completion. The whole front ought to be a tapestry without any of the garage exposed.

[Pete]

None of the plans or renderings have shown that section anything other than bare, so there is a good chance it just stays that way.

[Anonymous.]

Better with it all green and grey, but still not a fan, as I never was from the beginning.

[shawnw]

Doesn't seem like it be that hard to just have some panels with painted murals, like the garage next to DEQ, and it seems cheaper. Doing something like that for the dowell garages would make them infinitely better than they are now...

[HangryHippo]

The rendering in the Wiki article never illustrated that these coverings would be such a light green, which doesn't seem to fit in with anything else around there. I'm also baffled by the bare corner. Really the entire facade just leaves me thinking WTF.

[catch22]

I wonder what the architectural significance is in leaving the top left corner exposed and untouched? Someone should ask him, I'm sure there's a reason.

[Urbanized]

I was wondering the same, and it occurred to me that the bare corner is about the only element that makes it quickly recognizable as a parking garage.

[jccouger]

Its also probably hard to get a nice view with those panels? Maybe they left a portion unblocked for that reason.

[Pete]

Night shot from https://twitter.com/TylerBHolmes:

[mcca7596]

Nice

[CuatrodeMayo]

Really?