30 September 2019

East Valley Tribune Staff Writer Jim Walsh's SNEAK PREVIEW: Details Revealed

Do these look like 3-D Virtual Reality ASU  students
OR technicians in white lab coats?????????????? 
Read this second-hand, but watch the actual streaming video on YouTube for yourself
ASU in downtown Mesa: A sneak preview

"A 30x50-foot Jumbotron facing toward a pedestrian-friendly plaza and Main Street.  Three complete movie production studios large enough to fit a car. An “enhanced immersion studio’’ allowing visitors to interact with 3D artwork. . . "
Are you excited and thrilled by the first words to open the story? and the only image in this "Sneak Preview"? 
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"With such a unique list of features and components, it’s not hard to understand the ASU@ Mesa City Center project is not just another office building – and designing it would be a challenge.
The long-sought Arizona State University campus will be devoted exclusively to students pursuing careers in “transdisciplinary digital expertise” such as virtual reality.
And it seems like a safe bet . . .
(Huh? A 'safe bet' using $64M of taxpayer debt to finance a new building for ASU??)

. . . the controversial, yet much anticipated facility likely will wake up historically sleepy downtown Mesa and inject life into the area – a goal set by Mayor John Giles and several city council members.
(2 Mesa City Council members opposed it)
But other issues remain unsettled as the three-story, 65-foot tall, 110,000 square foot building heads toward the first steps of construction early next year – including
> what it ultimately will look like,
> the final price tag and
> what will happen to some wavy concrete canopies that have jutted off the back of a city building for decades.
< Despite some concerns that the future landmark doesn’t look like one so far, the project’s site plan won a 4-1 vote for approval last week from Mesa’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The vote serves as a recommendation for approval by Mesa City Council, which has final authority. 

 
But the next step is scheduled for Oct. 8, when more detailed renderings are expected to be presented before Mesa’s Design Review Board, another advisory panel that focuses on issues such as architecture and landscaping.
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"There’s not only nothing like this around here.
There’s almost nothing like this anywhere,’’
said Steven Chaitow, principal architect at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson BCJ in San Francisco, who is working on the design with Diane Jacobs of Holly Street Studios in Phoenix.
(Ooooopies! Not true .....) >>>>
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BLOGGER NOTE: It's remarkably similar to another BCJ design for another campus
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“This is putting Mesa on the map,’’ he said.
“It will be like a studio back lot. It will engage the community,’’ Chaitow said.
“We want to make it playful and interesting.’’
Jacobs said the architects have been working mainly on accommodating the unique studios. She said it’s important for studios to be on the ground floor, so that large props, such as cars, can be easily installed and removed. Acoustics and vibration also are important considerations.
In theory, “we can have three movie premieres at once,’’ Jacobs said, with the movies shown on the Jumbotron – similar to those in professional sports arenas – while people hang out in the plaza. There also will be two theaters, one seating 250, as well as a cafe and, of course, classrooms.
“We have spent a lot of time on the inside so far,’’ Jacobs said, when
Planning & Zoning Board member Tim Boyle criticized the exterior appearance as lacking a “wow factor’’ that is necessary for a landmark project.
“It’s uncooked so far,’’ Jacobs said, referring to the exterior. 
BLOGGER NOTE: 'un-cooked so far' ????
Diane Jacobs actually said at the September 25th Site Review that this project is now
A 360-DEGREE DILEMMA

“We feel good about making the pieces click and fit.’’

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> City council member Jen Duff, who represents downtown, said she is confident the design team will produce a building that will make Mesa proud.
“I think we will be very impressed,’’ Duff said.
 “I’m very excited about it. I think it will set the tone.’’
She said that many people are curious about the building and what it will look like, but eventually,
“I think the other cities will have this Mesa-envy thing.’’
Say what????
Like that 'Penis-envy' thing since Duff chose to use that metaphor?
 
> Jeff McVay, Mesa’s downtown transformation manager, said five stories originally were planned, but it became clear early in the design stage that tall studios were required and there was no need for the upper floors.
He said the building will be slightly shorter at 65 feet tall and slightly smaller at 110,000 square feet, but that it still will be very large. He said that some of the studios have 45 feet of clear space. 
“It’s driven by the programming’’ instead of cost, McVay said about the alterations in the building.
“It’s a high-rise laying on its side."
The five-acre site is the parking lot behind the council’s chambers, south of First Street, east of Center Street, west of Centennial and north of City Hall. The project will straddle both sides of Pepper Place.
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