A new 500-foot observation tower from Bjarke Ingels Group could grace San Diego’s waterfront Central Embarcadero in the near future… if it passes an environmental review and is approved by the California Coastal Commission.
If built, the observation tower would be like nothing else that currently exists along California’s coast, thanks to the 1976 Coastal Act that puts a 30-foot height restriction on most of the state’s coastal zones. But, as The San Diego Union-Trubune reports, Downtown San Diego is exempt from that restriction.
The tower is designed as a stack of spinning discs that appear differently at varying vantage points and elevations. At the base, the tower will include retail, food options, and a hotel.
See Also: Bjarke Ingels Group creates 66 homes for low-income citizens in Copenhagen
At the tower’s peak, exhibits will be spread across several floors to encourage the public to explore all the space has to offer. Possibilities include a butterfly exhibit, a suspended net for climbing, a wind garden with sustainable technology exhibits, an outdoor auditorium, and a 170,000-sf vertical aquarium that would span the length of the tower and resemble the varying depths of the ocean. The developer, 1HWY1, describes the concept as a “learning laboratory in the sky.”
But unless this radical design gains the approval it needs, the tower may never be more than a 500-foot-tall quixotic dream.
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Modern office design accentuates skyline views
Intercontinental|Exchange, a Chicago-based financial firm, hired design/engineering firm Epstein to create a modern, new 31st-floor headquarters.
| Oct 13, 2010
HQ renovations aim for modern look
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects’ renovations to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s New York City headquarters will feature a reworked reception lobby with back-painted glass, silk-screened logos, and a video wall.
| Oct 12, 2010
Guardian Building, Detroit, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. The relocation and consolidation of hundreds of employees from seven departments of Wayne County, Mich., into the historic Guardian Building in downtown Detroit is a refreshing tale of smart government planning and clever financial management that will benefit taxpayers in the economically distressed region for years to come.
| Oct 8, 2010
Union Bank’S San Diego HQ awarded LEED Gold
Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building located at 530 B Street has been awarded LEED Gold certification from the Green Building Certification Institute under the standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold status was awarded to six buildings across the United States in the most recent certification and Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building is one of only two in California.
| Sep 21, 2010
New BOMA-Kingsley Report Shows Compression in Utilities and Total Operating Expenses
A new report from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and Kingsley Associates shows that property professionals are trimming building operating expenses to stay competitive in today’s challenging marketplace. The report, which analyzes data from BOMA International’s 2010 Experience Exchange Report® (EER), revealed a $0.09 (1.1 percent) decrease in total operating expenses for U.S. private-sector buildings during 2009.
| Aug 11, 2010
New data shows low construction prices may soon be coming to an end
New federal data released recently shows sharp increases in the prices of key construction materials like diesel, copper and brass mill shapes likely foreshadow future increases in construction costs, the Associated General Contractors of America said. The new November producer price index (PPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provide the strongest indication yet that construction prices are heading up, the association noted.
