The developer of the Di Rimini apartment project at
the southeast corner of Capitol Avenue and St. Clair Street has proposed a series of fixes in hopes of 
winning approval from the city's planning staff.
Among the additions: Masonry work on the entire first floor along Capitol and St. Clair, pillars made of synthetic stucco
to give the building a more vertical look, black fencing to resemble the balconies, new residential doors, two new windows
on the retail tower and awnings that had been ordered before the stop-work order. The city's planning staff is preparing
a response to the proposal but already has suggested the changes will not be adequate to address 35 violations found with
the building. To catch up on the controversy to date, read an earlier post here. What do you think of the proposed fixes?
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Welcome to Property Lines, Indy's source for neighborhood real estate news. Your host is Scott Olson, IBJ's real estate beat
reporter. Edited by Cory Schouten.
Update: Check out proposed fixes for Di Rimini project
October 6, 2010
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Can IBJ please stop referring to this property as "Kessler Mansion"? What a ridiculous title for the biggest, bloated, blight in our city. It's not a mansion. At best, it's an ideal site to shoot low-budget porn. Ahhh! Another business use!
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Its stories like these that prove that a Ball State diploma is worth less than the paper that its printed on. A real institution of higher learning would have taken care of this long ago. No way should this crap be taught in a SCIENCE class.
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It is such a shame that King Ballard has made Indianapolis into Chicago south with all of the rampant corruption.
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How many of these 1,259 bills were actually heard and voted on on the floor vs how many were shot down in committee?
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When a an arrogant young guy with essentially no experience and no qualifications for the job, was dropped into an Administrator position out of nowhere by his "mentor" in the Mayor's office things seemed fishy. Sometimes things are what they seem.
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31 Comments
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Do not approve!
1. Longevity. Imagine how this building will look in 100 years and then plan accordingly.
2. Design experience. Hire an architect who has a long list of similar projects in her portfolio.
3. Streetscape. Build the façade even with the existing â??fabricâ?? of the buildings on adjacent blocks to maintain a physical boundary for continuity.
4. Materials. Use brick, stone, concrete, glass, metals, etc. for the building skin. These require little maintenance and are extremely durable.
5. Structural integrity. Columns should sit on something; they do not normally float in the air, nor should they appear to be glued onto another material. Heavier elements should not sit on other elements that appear too weak to support them. The same idea goes for quoins, buttresses, pilasters, etc. Ancient architects used a winning 3-part formula for columns: base, body/shaft and capital. Unless youâ??re dead-set on something ultramodern, this concept works for buildings as well.
6. Basements. Always plan for below grade parking, storage and/or mechanicals. This is an up-front expense, but it pays itself off very quickly in urban markets.
Here are some things to avoid when redesigning this building (or designing any buildings in downtown Indianapolis):
1. Random-cut stone masonry. This looks fine in the suburbs or in rural areas, but downtown is a much more formal area. Donâ??t pick up your prom date on your riding mower.
2. Fabric awnings on upper levels. Awnings over storefronts look great, but they need to be cleaned and maintained regularly. When you have them hanging off the façade at the 4th floor, you just know theyâ??re going to end up battered, ripped and filthy because you will need to rent a â??cherry-pickerâ?? to access them.
3. Fake stucco. â??EIFSâ?? is another exterior finish best suited for one-story buildings like strip malls, homes and elementary schools. Although some types are more durable than before, none compare to masonry, glass, metals or concrete.
4. Fake architectural elements. Avoid using off-the-shelf items and decorations. Real balconettes are installed in front of doors, not windows (hint: we can see through them). Real shutters open and close, and are mounted inside, not outside, the window trim.
5. Individually controlled lighting. In urban settings, rely on public streetlamps and well-designed lighting maintained by the building owner. Individually controlled lighting should be avoided, as it inevitably becomes uncoordinated between residents. Non-uniform lighting (some on/some off, bulbs of differing colors and wattage, etc.) gives the appearance of disrepair and neglect.
6. HVAC grills and dryer vents on the façade. If youâ??re building downtown, congratulations, youâ??re in the big leagues now. But know that there will be some value-engineering items you shouldnâ??t expect to get away with here, one being residential-grade heating and air conditioning. Be prepared to buy a real HVAC system and have your structural engineer brace the roof for air handlers.
7. Above grade parking. Unless youâ??re designing a proper parking garage, donâ??t waste prime leasable space on cars. Indy cannot yet sustain the market that allowed Chicagoâ??s Marina Towers.
The fake classical columns are just wrong, but the vertical lines do break up the mess. (Plain straight white columns with minimal capitals would probably work.)
The redesign keeps the brown horizontal lines, which need to go.
The doors and windows need some detailing.
Even if the faux-Euro theme is completely applied, the best look it can achieve is an interstate-interchange hotel.
Alternately, the whole exterior could be redone as something completely modern and funky.
Throw it out. I'd rather have a gas station or car wash.
Just like a stop and go penalty in racing, you need to take away the "advantange" of cheating/not following the rules.
And tacking on a bunch of decorative exterior knick-knackery is just making it worse.
I've said it before, but this thing looks like it was designed using "Be Your Own Architect!" software at Home Depot with leftover pieces from a bargain bin.
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Based on the renderings, the landscaping is the only part that has any potential to improve the project. But it's wrong too.
Put the lawn/buffer between the street and sidewalk, not between the building and sidewalk.
Any "lawn" in an this setting should function as a barrier between cars and people, not buildings and people.
make 'em tear it down. their problem, not ours.
Who would live there? Maybe Shelbyville will haul it away for us?
This design as currently red flagged and now proposed to be changed, reinforces the stigma and commercial, that there isn't more than "corn" or standard fair in Indiana. I believe, as a practicing Architect, and one who started out his career restoring buildings and later thinking of new Challenges in Design at schools in Cincinnati and London, UK, and after living here raising our kids since 1987 ... know that the potential is there for better ideas in Architecture, let alone that we are due as a State and A City to grow toward bettering other things we were once regarded as simply the Best ... our ability to Adapt, Adopt, and Innovate.
Indiana, and Indianapolis our time is now, to ask for and demand from ourselves the best, and no less from developers or OWners of Buildings who want to remain "good citizens" within our fabric. To create Well Built Architecture that has Meaningful Design Intention, which is currently lacking at this Site, it takes hard work by the Architect of Record, not necessarily more funds, but money that is spent for enduring effects. It does not mean that we have to resort to a modern cheap "decorated shed" mentality or monumentalism per the classical models of the past. What I suggest is bacl to the drawing board drafting of a building that inspires first the inhabitants who plan to use the facility, along with a gesture tot he urban fabric it is a member of ... a balance must be struck between these. Do this gesturing well, and the public and the critic will take notice, and applaud the attempt ... because in this economy, few projects have the budget to do so, unless they are subsidized like the New Airport and the New Stadium. Do we know what we want to see and are we willing to pay the price for both expecting it and setting standards to safe guard its production?
The reason this project hasd 35 violations and is in "design-violation" has NOTHING to do with the City's code enforcement folks. Neither the City, nor the State have ever, nor should they ever, have a say on "design," unless the project sits within a district requiring approval from someone like IHPC, or is beyond the scope of zoned use, for which the project must obtain a variance, through which the project must adhere to certain conditions based on the approval.
The idea of design-police is limiting to our liberties and designers, and has no place in the government's realm, as long as the project fits within the already established criteria. If the development's plan exceeds the criteria, all bets are off and we already have to fight the zoning board for approval (as well as give into bad designs ideas on occasion under the guise of "compromise").
Plus, he could keep his liberty as a designer... give me a break.