If you look at the rendering the crown is a smooth tapered triangle. As the pictures on the previous page indicate there are significant V shaped notches where it is supposed to be smooth.

If you look at the rendering the crown is a smooth tapered triangle. As the pictures on the previous page indicate there are significant V shaped notches where it is supposed to be smooth.

I'm expecting it to look like it does in the original renderings. How they get to that point between now and then is beyond me because the angles I see (like you) don't justify what I see in the renderings. Once the windows are put in place and the actual building is topped out, I'm hopeful we'll see the actual renderings come to fruition.

Everything else to date has looked exactly like the renderings so I have no reason to believe the top has changed.

These are world class architects, engineers and contractors and they've all put out drawings and models showing the crown looking the same way. I doubt very, very seriously it has been changed.

http://goo.gl/dwE4h

I was just having a little fun with Google Earth and Sketch up and came up with this.

The Bluish building in the middle of the tower is the Devon.
I slightly offset the Burj Khalifa for a better comparison.

Bigger and fuller Images as well as few more angles can bee viewed at my Picasa page..
http://goo.gl/SU6Z0

^^I like this one,thaks for posting!https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vngbQKQfwk8/TjoWKloFN7I/AAAAAAAADsQ/_hEv2wvnSDE/s512/Devon%252520vs%252520Burj%252520Khalifa%2525201.jp g

Hard to imagine the Burj Kahlifa is more than 3 times as tall as Devon!

I think the top will look like the renderings once the cladding is installed. You can't tell from pictures, but the steel they have going up in the V notches is angled inward. Also, the floor their on was pretty much the last one. They will close off the three V notches with steel and overhead glass. There will be a mesh work of steel up there to support the one or two floors of mirrored cladding used to hide all the HVAC equipment they have up there. Its all open air I believe.

So you are saying they are going to attach a steel mesh to those yellow beams, and then have glass attached to the concrete behind it, making an open air atrium that no one can access?

I guess we will know soon but right now I don't think the crown is going to be built like any rendering we have seen so far. The Chrysler Building wasn't supposed to have a spire either.

Dude just freaking wait until construction is finished. You're confused for a reason. You're not an engineer or architect.

The crown will look like the rendering. They're not just all of a sudden unveiling a mystery ending. Lol. This is ridiculous.

I guess we will know soon but right now I don't think the crown is going to be built like any rendering we have seen so far. The Chrysler Building wasn't supposed to have a spire either.

Those three "atrium" areas aren't open air. They are designed so that light shines down to the three floors directly below. I was talking about the very center of the tower being open air. So if I'm standing on the roof in the very center of the building I would see three structures about two floors high and false walls about 1 floor high along the outside edges of the roof(the indented areas). I also imagine a series of catwalks and mechanical equipment up there.

Yesir KilgoreTrout, I'm with ya, it will be just like the renderings, cause that was the plan. It is silly to believe otherwise. And by the way, I heard on "newsline 9" this afternoon that currently the Devon Tower is at 784ft and has 66 feet to go for the crown and mechanical floors.

Dude just freaking wait until construction is finished. You're confused for a reason. You're not an engineer or architect.

Exactly what I've been saying. Earlier, after the pics that Will posted, someone was thinking that each crown was going to be different. They're not going to be different...they're just working on one, then the next, and then the last. They'll all have that semi circle edge in the indentation and the yellow steel beams as time passes. The angles confuse me too but I'm pretty sure they've Got it under control to produce the results that are shown in the renderings.

Every rendering I have seen has shown the crown to be like this, not pointy.

http://0.tqn.com/d/okc/1/0/E/E/DevonRendering4.jpg

When I first looked at the image ZYX2 posted above I saw that triangle at the top and just assumed the grid work were windows and the light areas 'inside' the building were florescent lights. I think now that the grid work in the triangle are going to be yellow beams and the glass is going to follow the contour of the concrete floors and what I thought were florescent lights is actually the reflection on the windows behind the yellow beams.

dude just freaking wait until construction is finished. You're confused for a reason. You're not an engineer or architect.

Best.

Found this on the Pickard Chilton site -- had not seen this perspective of the auditorium.

The lobby area will be really open and cool:

http://www.pickardchilton.com/mobile/img/PORTFOLIO/DevonAuditorium_FinalAssets/DevonAuditorium-3.jpg

Exactly what I've been saying. Earlier, after the pics that Will posted, someone was thinking that each crown was going to be different. They're not going to be different...they're just working on one, then the next, and then the last. They'll all have that semi circle edge in the indentation and the yellow steel beams as time passes. The angles confuse me too but I'm pretty sure they've Got it under control to produce the results that are shown in the renderings.

I didn't say each one will be different. I was saying that the floor plan on floor 50 is different from 49, and that it looks like floor doesn't go all the way to the edge, therefore, it has a atrium or balcony where the restaurant will be. I said nothing about the outside of the building being different. We stated also that from the pics from Will, you can see that the concrete slabs on one floor doesn't go to the edge between the V beams, and the other side does.

Yes there is an opening on floor 50 that views 49 below. I agree with that.

a friend of mine from california drove through okc today on his way to the east coast, he told me the new devon tower looks gawdy and doesn't match any of the other architecture in the downtown area. I kind of agree with him, but hopefully if we get some more modern buildings built around it soon, then it will fit in and look good...just to clear the air he is all for the devon tower and saying its great okc getting a huge tower like this but it doesnt fit in since most of the downtown buildings where built 30 plus years ago

My Devon Tower source told me about the The last crane jump height(1,080'ft) over Two Months ago and low and behold He/She was right,He/She even told me about The Resturant before it was Public and that turned out correct!Hopefully His or Her's "Monster Tower" rumors come true!
so more info on this monster tower!!! i dont remember rumors about another huge project in okc?

a friend of mine from california drove through okc today on his way to the east coast, he told me the new devon tower looks gawdy and doesn't match any of the other architecture in the downtown area. I kind of agree with him, but hopefully if we get some more modern buildings built around it soon, then it will fit in and look good...just to clear the air he is all for the devon tower and saying its great okc getting a huge tower like this but it doesnt fit in since most of the downtown buildings where built 30 plus years ago

Debatable. I think Devon looks good next to OK Tower and Leadership Square. The rest? Oh well, people said the same about Charlotte. I have to laugh though...imagine what people said about the skyscraper race between FNC and Ramsey Tower. Feels like 1931 all over again, right?

Debatable. I think Devon looks good next to OK Tower and Leadership Square. The rest? Oh well, people said the same about Charlotte. I have to laugh though...imagine what people said about the skyscraper race between FNC and Ramsey Tower. Feels like 1931 all over again, right?

And with the World Trade Center, it hardly fit in with or matched NYC landmarks like the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building. Downtown isn't meant to be a completely matching homogenized area. It is what it is and will define OKC for years to come.

Someone from California should hardly be the one to criticize. I see no such 'matching' in L.A. or elsewhere, unless its the old Spanish motif in the older areas. L.A. is a hodgepodge at best.

Someone from California should hardly be the one to criticize. I see no such 'matching' in L.A. or elsewhere, unless its the old Spanish motif in the older areas. L.A. is a hodgepodge at best.

It could be that he was from San Francisco which is a great urban area and has a great connected feel but that doesn't change anything with the validity of the criticism.

Thanks..

^^I like this one,thaks for posting!https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vngbQKQfwk8/TjoWKloFN7I/AAAAAAAADsQ/_hEv2wvnSDE/s512/Devon%252520vs%252520Burj%252520Khalifa%2525201.jp g

It's a great urban area (S.Francisco), no doubt, but it's for sure not "matched" in any sense. Look at downtown Chicago, you have classic buildings from all eras, all different sizes up and down Michigan avenue, no problem... ;)

I can see how it could be "mismatched". The size plus modern style of the building does create a mismatch. It dwarfs downtown in modern style and dwarfs it in size. As more buildings are added to the skyline over the years, this won't be a problem. In fact, it's not even a problem.

The person is from san diego, like i said he wasnt knocking downtown okc and the devon tower, he just mainly said it doest match in with downtown okc thats all.. dang some people get edgy on this board lol

Devon Tower kind of does to OKC what The Renassiance Center did to Detroit. It is up to the individual if that is good or bad. One of the nice things about Devon Tower is that they didn't make it four or five blocks away on an island by iteself.



http://legofishphotos.com/archives/riverside.jpg

In case anyone missed this...

http://gizmodo.com/5826867/

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=525819

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2011/08/building-comparison-gizmodo.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqP5DjCx2r0

I recall reading the architects looked at other downtown structures to get ideas how to make the tower fit. The crown, for instance, is meant to echo FNC's crown. Let's wait 'til it's completed before making judgments.

Almost every building in downtown OKC has a flat root. The architect decided that the best way to make the building fit in is to give it a crown that evokes the only other building that doesn't have a flat roof. That makes sense.

Almost every building in downtown OKC has a flat roof.

I hate all those flat roofs. No since of style at all. That probably explains why FNC is almost everyones favorite downtown building.

Before the Devon tower, my favorite builind in downtown was the Leadership Square building, always stood out to me

Before the Devon tower, my favorite builind in downtown was the Leadership Square building, always stood out to me

Still not a typical flat roof.

There are a number of places where the architects of the Devon Tower seem to have gone out of their way to play nice with the surroundings. Off the top of my head:

The aforementioned detail at the top, an obvious homage to FNC
Inviting an extension of MBG onto their property, not to mention the MBG and Project 180 TIFF
The garage/wellness center continues window lines south down Hudson from the pre-existing downtown library, making it seem as if they were developed together
If you drive west on Sheridan it becomes obvious that the setback of the tower is EXACTLY the same as the Colcord. No reason to do that other than to be respectful of the beautiful and iconic historic building next door to the new tower. I mean, this one in particular is a little mind-blowing if you think about it, and especially if you see it in person. I think few builders of office towers of this scale would pay much attention to the dinky little building next door. In fact, many would do everything in their power to demolish it for more visual impact.

Seriously, it is totally impressive how much the architects and Devon itself have tried to work within the pre-existing framework of downtown, and to improve and honor the feel and history of the neighborhood, rather than just imposing themselves on it. At least as far as this can be done while building an 850' building that towers over everything around it.

I think it exhibits confidence and humility at the same time, which seems to be a spot-on cultural match for the company itself.

1. The aforementioned detail at the top, an obvious homage to FNC


What are you talking about?

uh Jesseda its called "raising the bar." Gotta start somewhere. And it looks great with the other buildings, we're just not used to a "badass" skyscraper being over 500 feet here.

Right on Urbanized!!!!

Before the Devon tower, my favorite builind in downtown was the Leadership Square building, always stood out to me

My favorite is definitely City Place, or it would be if they got that god-awful UMB covering off of it. I love the old pictures of that building. That said, I can't believe we're so close to the completion of the exterior of this building.

Aren't they topping out this week?

Aren't they topping out this week?

Impossible. Drove by today and took two pictures. Not best quality cuz I zoomed in all the way. It will be quite a while for the top to be completed and covered.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc92/thunderokc/Devon/2011-08-08_131917.jpg

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc92/thunderokc/Devon/2011-08-08_131911.jpg

I will go out there in September and this time, I will do pictures near sunset for different variety. I will do some with interesting colors with an Android (#1 defeating iCrap as always) app.

No, they have the equivalent of two more levels after they finish the present one.

The last parts of the structure seem to be taking more time than their typical one-per-week pace.

What are you talking about?

The upside-down triangle taking shape at the peak is basically a reverse-image of the top of the historic and iconic First National Bank building. If I'm not mistaken, Steve reported somewhere along the way that the architect volunteered this item to him in conversation or an interview.

No, they have the equivalent of two more levels after they finish the present one.

The last parts of the structure seem to be taking more time than their typical one-per-week pace.

No question. I'm guessing mechanicals are WAY more complex on this level. Possibly this is where the bulk of the elevators are topping out, for instance. It also seems to be where the facade elements start to separate from one another, if you look at a closeup of the conceptual.

But I also think there MUST be mechanical dampers in this building, especially when you consider the winds here. The dampers could be concrete or metal, but what might make the most sense is water tanks. If they're building/installing something like this it would surely account for much more time spent than on standard floors.

The upside-down triangle taking shape at the peak is basically a reverse-image of the top of the historic and iconic First National Bank building. If I'm not mistaken, Steve reported somewhere along the way that the architect volunteered this item to him in conversation or an interview.

Hmm I don't see the connection. Steve can you elaborate on this alleged conversation you had with the architect?

Hmm I don't see the connection. Steve can you elaborate on this alleged conversation you had with the architect?
Seeing the finished top might help you with the visual connection:

http://0.tqn.com/d/okc/1/0/E/E/DevonRendering4.jpg

Here's First National (the Devon roofline is obviously not a copy, just evocative of):

http://ih0.redbubble.net/work.5677525.2.flat,550x550,075,f.first-national-bank-building-oklahoma-city.jpg

I have always thought that the First national look like an attempt to build a taller building, only to be stopped part way up and then someone stuck an old house roof on it.
Liberty (Chase) was built back in the 70's and spawned new life into downtown, with more modern looking buildings being built afterwards. I hope the Devon will do the same for OKC.
As far as the Chase goes, it needs a face-lift like the “Founder’s tower” did a few years back. Its mismatched windows make it look horrific like an old tenement, and it has always looked like an attempt to imitate one of the twin towers.
Do not get me wrong! I love our downtown. It has always been "my downtown" I am just glad to see new things happening and that finely OKC may be on its way to being a world-class city.

Coincidentally, I was just at the Skirvin this weekend and had a room facing the Chase Tower. They really need to do something with that balcony/courtyard near the base. It looks terrible from above.

Hmm I don't see the connection. Steve can you elaborate on this alleged conversation you had with the architect?

Urbanized is correct. The architects took much of their inspiration from the surrounding skyline and the crown reflects (not strictly, of course) an inverted First National crown.

Cool beans

No, they have the equivalent of two more levels after they finish the present one.

The last parts of the structure seem to be taking more time than their typical one-per-week pace.

I think it was the concrete that was topping out this week. That would mean the steel crown should begin soon, possibly by next week.

Here's First National (the Devon roofline is obviously not a copy, just evocative of):

http://ih0.redbubble.net/work.5677525.2.flat,550x550,075,f.first-national-bank-building-oklahoma-city.jpg

OMG :( Why cant Oklahoma City kep up with the condition of that buildng? I mean hardly no one works in that building so if you ask me I would demolish it, that picture is a turn off to the downtown area.. Im just saying

^^Demolish the FNC?Here comes a Firestorm 3.....2......1......

OMG :( Why cant Oklahoma City kep up with the condition of that buildng? I mean hardly no one works in that building so if you ask me I would demolish it, that picture is a turn off to the downtown area.. Im just saying

http://media.247sports.com/Uploads/Boards/949/70949/171521.jpg

OMG :( Why cant Oklahoma City kep up with the condition of that buildng? I mean hardly no one works in that building so if you ask me I would demolish it, that picture is a turn off to the downtown area.. Im just saying

WOW! You must be 18, huh? It may be empty but its a classic. Minus the fire escape stairs on the side of it, its like the Empire State Building's Mini Me.

FNC was one of the tallest buildings west of the Mississippi when it was built. I did a quick search of various cities and found only 4 structures taller at that time: LA City Hall, Smith Tower in Seattle, and 2 buildings in Kansas City. That's it.

As far as FNC being a great example of the set-back style, the best compliment is to copy it. Here is an '80s version of FNC in San Francisco, 100 First Plaza. The similarities are obvious and it's exactly the same height. http://www.emporis.com/building/1001plaza-sanfrancisco-ca-usa?lng=3

But back to topic. I think the way Devon tapers towards the top echos the top of the Ramsey Tower.

As far as FNC being a great example of the set-back style, the best compliment is to copy it. Here is an '80s version of FNC in San Francisco, 100 First Plaza. The similarities are obvious and it's exactly the same height. http://www.emporis.com/building/1001plaza-sanfrancisco-ca-usa?lng=3

But back to topic. I think the way Devon tapers towards the top echos the top of the Ramsey Tower.

Here is the Chicago Board of Trade - it was built just before FNC.

http://metroscenes.com/chicago/images/2009/chicago_02_2009_metroscenes.com_08.jpg