Doesn't seem very likely IMO, but would be a great place to watch incoming thunderstorms! Putting utility and appearance aside, the safety discussion is the most interesting aspect to me given that I'm a weather nerd. OKC and the surrounding area has some of the most severe weather in the world, and we know that tornado safety advice is to get to the lowest level, smallest room. Would a building like this really withstand an EF-5? Relatedly, I've always wanted a safe, bunker, or storm shelter of some sort. Does anybody have one? I have also wondered why there aren't more concrete houses in the U.S. or at least homes with concrete shelters in them. Maybe some people here know - is concrete construction cost prohibitive for most residential homes? I thought not given that I've noticed a lot of concrete construction in Puerto Rico when I've been there. Seems like concrete would help with insurance claims for limbs hitting typical roofs here, but I'm sure I am missing something. *** https://www.wsj.com/us-news/oklahoma-skyscraper-americas-tallest-eaae69d2 Instead of capping the buildings at the Boardwalk at Bricktown at 345 feet, he’s now thinking one should top out at 1,907—more than twice the height of the tallest building in town, and the biggest in the U.S. **** “I’ll ask you the question that many people ask me every time this project comes up: ‘How are you intending to build a tower this tall in the wind and storms and tornadoes we have in Oklahoma City?’” asked Planning Commission Chairman Camal Pennington. Rob Budetti, managing partner of AO, the project’s California-based architect, said engineers plan a core of concrete walls between 4- and 6-feet thick surrounding the elevator shaft, and windows that can stand the force of a tornado without shattering or being sucked away. “It is probably one of the safer places to be,” he said. “I don’t know if you’re going to catch me at the top,” quipped Pennington.
Back in the early 2000's I lived in Dallas. I went over to Fort Worth and was surprised to see a derelict office tower that looked like it had been hit by a tornado. It had been! LOL Fort Worth tornado's devastation 10 years ago changed the face of downtown
Looks silly all by itself in an area with lots of cheap land. Would look good in a metro area like San Fran that could use high density relief.
I have Okie friends who question whether tallie is financially viable but are confident the three shorter towers will go up. I like OKC and it’s doing some impressive things downtown including a billion dollar NBA arena.
Not familiar with the OKC market in particular, but the commercial real estate market has generally been sucking. Seems a weird potential move.
BTW, OKC is not really debating whether to build this. The project is approved and has received $200 million in TIF funds.
As far as the high rise goes, the structure could be designed to deal with an F5 tornado but the tricky part is the glazing. Even the best impact glass for hurricanes will shatter the outer layer but protect the inside. Large glass panes will not withstand an object being shot into it at over 200 mph. There is glass for missile level E (which is the most extreme) but it can only be like 12"x 12", not very practical for a high rise. For houses, cast in place concrete is very expensive, but also has the capability to be the strongest. Masonry (CMU) buildings are cost effective but a little more than frame construction. The expense is the roof. Most residential is frame due to speed and cost and the roof is the most subject to wind (tornado or hurricane). My roof has a steel deck with poured concrete and designed for 150. Not exactly the cheapest way to do it when you have to build 150 houses in a subdivision.
Very interesting, thanks! Would love to see your steel deck roof if you're wiling to share a pic but also understand if you'd rather not. As to your point about objects, yeah, my layperson observation over the years has been that a lot of storm damage is not caused directly by the wind itself but by the debris (which can get very large) that is slammed into structures. If I were ever facing a legit EF-5 (which is highly unlikely of course), I'd feel much better below ground if I had that option.
If we are going to build things that tall can they at least not suck? Its been a long time since an interesting building has been built. Just a bunch of steel and glass nonsense these days, probably because architecture is too woke.
Hey now, I don't criticize your work. Ironically, I think the most interesting buildings are the ones done for government or some other institution. Developers are mostly interested in the bottom line and getting a return. On the institution side, they allow the architects to do what they want within reason, developers often want their vision no matter how shitty it is. Sometimes you can't talk clients out of a bad idea. Government clients tend to trust their architects a little more (although there are a lot of bad designers out there just like in any profession).
Jokes on you because architecture has always been woke, I mean all those old art deco & modernist buildings I like have non-Western influences. Pretty sure no artist or architect is going to just re-do a style from a century ago, but it might be time to move on from the sort of the clean, glassy, futuristic vibe that everything built now seems to have.
There's not much to see, it's a flat roof so all you see is the bottom of the composite steel deck and it's filled with 4 1/2" of concrete with a roof membrane covering it up. I'll post a pic if I can find one. EF5 are wind speeds greater than 200 mph and can get above 250. The only thing that will withstand that is a concrete bunker or be underground. No windows of any size. Solid doors will work. You can also have shutters that drop down over the windows if it's a shelter.
OK is at the top of every bad last and bottom of every good list and this is what they want to work on?
Always thought this was an interesting story. The world's smallest skyscraper is in Wichita Falls, Texas. It was part of a fraudulent investment scheme where the con man presented his plans noted in inches instead of feet, and apparently no one noticed. It was built at 480" tall instead of 480' tall. World's littlest skyscraper - Wikipedia
