Today, Bing Thom unveiled the swoopy, organic designs he has come up with for the three new bridges that will span the channels and canals of the massive Trinity River Vision/Uptown Fort Worth plan:

Henderson St. Bridge

North Main St. Bridge

White Settlement Road Bridge

We’ll be trying to get better shots of the bridges, but we have to say we’re fans. The curvy designs are a really fresh look for Fort Worth, and the bridges’ focus on pedestrian quality is vital to the Uptown plan. We’ll bring you more info on the bridges, and the rest of the Uptown project, as it progresses.

Read more about the unveiling in the Star-Telegram: Read the article.

We have just received this exclusive look at a unit inside the Montgomery Plaza condo project, the renovation of the upper floors of the Montgomery Ward building on 7th into residential. Click the thumbnail for a bigger view.

We have also received new information on the design of the condos at Montgomery Plaza.

As we have previously reported, the units will feature ceiling heights of 12-16 feet, depending on floor. The windows in the units will be between 9-12 feet, again depending on floor. Newly revealed are the “themes” available for buyers to customize the appearance of their condos. One Montgomery Plaza will offer three “themes” – Morning, Noon, and Night.

Morning features a color scheme heavy on white and pale beige. This theme features hardwood floors in Maple or Moabi. Noon is a bit darker, with flooring in Brazilian Cherry or Wenge. Night, the darkest of the themes, features flooring in Black Oak or Doussie. The flooring, of course, is just an example – the themes extend to all the trim and finishes in the condos, with things such as cabinetry, counters, and tile flooring areas in their own Morning, Noon, or Night colors.

Another little bit of interior design information: kitchens will feature glass-tiled backsplashes and glass-topped breakfast bars.

Stay tuned for more info on the One Montgomery Plaza condos as we receive it!

More from John T. Roberts of Fort Worth Architecture on the Omni Hotel:

There will be signs on the lower part of the building identifying the various restaurants tenants on the ground floor. They will be internally illuminated metal channel letters. There will be two signs on top of the hotel at 16th Floor that are 5′-0″ tall and 38 feet long. These signs will also be internally illuminated metal channel letters reading “Omni Hotel”. One of these signs faces south and the other faces east on that side of the west wing of the “L” shaped tower. There won’t be any large Omni Signs on the west side of the building because that will have the entrance to the condominiums. Lighting and landscaping around the site will be similar to the Convention Center. At the time this was presented to the DDRB, there was nothing included to light the glass condominium portion of the structure. That is why I said it was nothing imaginative. The building will have standard red aircraft warning lights on top.

We’re a little disappointed that the Omni won’t be going for something akin to Pier 1 Place’s dramatic nightlighting, but the proposal doesn’t sound bad. Stay tuned for more on the Omni Hotel as construction progresses.

…sort of.

We’ve just got this information from John T. Roberts of Fort Worth Architecture:

From what I can determine, the height of the Omni Fort Worth Hotel will be 547 feet. Rounded to the nearest foot, this makes the Omni and the D.R. Horton Tower at the same height. Actual dimensions show that the D.R. Horton Tower is 546′-9″ tall. The Omni’s drawings indicate 547′-0″. In viewing the skyline from a distance, it will all be a matter of perspective as to which of the two buildings appears taller. The finish floor of the new Omni should be about 4 feet lower than D.R. Horton’s finish floor. Therefore, the top of the D.R. Horton Tower would be higher above sea level.

So, the Omni will be taller than the D. R. Horton, but because of elevations the D. R. Horton will actually be a little taller above sea level. It’s disappointing that the Omni isn’t going to knock Burnett Plaza out of the #1 spot, but 2nd tallest is nothing to sneeze at. Look for more on the Omni as construction progresses!

As I write this, I’m sitting at the counter at Zippy’s, a small diner in downtown that serves my favorite brand of diner food: the simple, classic grilled cheese with fries. Not the most sophisticated of foods, true, but some days are grilled cheese days, and this was a grilled cheese day.

Zippy’s is located at the intersection of 3rd & Houston, and 3rd Street is buzzing with activity these days. That’s because a new building, the Carnegie, is going up right down the street between Taylor & Lamar. Now, any time something gets built, there are the usual opinions about its design, but this one is particularly offensive to the architecture snobs out there because it’s a neo-traditional building. It’s a rather ’20s-looking thing, and the complaints from those wanting something cold, glassy, and steel-hued have been numerous.

Me? I like it. It’s got great proportions, good massing, and what looks to be great street presence & pedestrian appeal. No, it’s not going to be in the running for some French architectural prize, but it feels right in its setting. It is warm and friendly to pedestrians, which I find far more important than its lack of titanium window screens.

What the Carnegie’s critics forget is that sometimes, it’s important for a building to just be a good building, not a high-minded art project. Those may win friends in architectural circles, but the people walking by on the street often suffer. A great urban space is key, and if that means warm, friendly brick and stone over chilly steel, concrete, and glass, then so be it.

Context isn’t everything, but it is a thing. (Yes, I know. Profound.) The Carnegie pays attention to context in several ways – its shaping and massing call to mind the Fort Worth Club building, while its buff brick pays homage to, well, half of downtown. That same sort of brick built the Electric Building, the Neil P. Anderson building, the Fort Worth Club, the Fair Building, the YWCA (right next door to the Carnegie site, in fact), etc. When you build something that recognizes the presence of its forerunners, rather than sticks a finger in the eye of the neighborhood, people like and identify with it. They want to be around it.

Look, I know most people think of me by this point as a hopeless traditionalist. I’m not – I just think moderation is key. A bold modernist tower is like a blast of cold water in your face when they appear sparingly, but a flood of them drowns a neighborhood. For the most part, people like brick. They like stone. They like details like columns and carvings and patterns. They certainly like them more than blank glass and bare concrete, that’s for sure. So, I’m happy to have the Carnegie join the neighborhood.

Now let’s just hurry up and get it built.

It’s just rendering day here at Fort Worthology, isn’t it? We’ve got an updated rendering of Le Bijou, Ken Schaumburg’s gorgeous luxury townhome project currently under construction on the east side of downtown. Click the thumbnail for a bigger view:

You can find more info on Le Bijou, plus a link to the project’s web site, on our Urban Living page. Le Bijou is really turning out to be a beautiful addition to downtown, and a great density-increasing project as well. Kudos to Ken Schaumburg for a lovely design.

That’s right – a color rendering of The Carnegie, the new 16-story, 236-foot office/retail tower going up on 3rd between Taylor & Lamar in downtown, has been released! Click the thumbnail for a bigger view:

Our thoughts? We like it. The color of the rendering isn’t 100% true to life – the building will be buff brick with cast stone and limestone trim, like many classic Fort Worth buildings (Electric Building, Neil P., etc.), not so much a brown like in the rendering. It will match our city very well. It also looks to have a great ground floor with high pedestrian appeal, which is vital to a great urban space.

David Schwarz has designed another lovely downtown building, and we look forward to seeing it rise from the building site. We’ll keep you up-to-date on the Carnegie as it progresses.

Spotted in front of the Star-Telegram Classifieds building in downtown on Taylor:

We reported on Villa de Leon, the new condo building going up on Samuels Avenue on the Trinity Bluffs, and showed you the first rendering of the project by local illustrator Tim Hall. Well, Tim’s been busy, and we now have an updated first rendering and two brand-new renderings of Ames Fender’s beautiful new Uptown condo building. Click the thumbnails for bigger versions:

One of Fort Worthology’s favorite eateries is Fred’s, a Cultural District institution. Fred’s just re-opened not long ago after a major fire.

Well, it seems they’ve had another fire. Fort Worthology received this from Jennifer Chandler at Fred’s:

There was another fire. However, this one was a very small fire and the re-construction should only take a couple of weeks to a month, at most.
I will keep y’all updated on the re-opening date.
See you soon, Jennifer

I’m sure that everybody out there will join us at Fort Worthology in wishing the Fred’s crew a speedy recovery from this latest conflagration.