Update on The Carnegie

Sundance Square’s newest addition, the new office/retail tower known as The Carnegie, just keeps growing and growing as it approaches its final 16-story, 236-foot height. If you haven’t been around 3rd & Taylor lately, you ought to check it out - it’s really added a ton of bulk to area. It’s also become rather noticeable on the skyline, since it’s going to wind up being about as tall as the nearby One City Place (aka The Building Formerly Known As The South Tower Of The Tandy Center. And no, I’m not going to come up with an androgynous symbol to identify it. Sorry, Prince).

The Carnegie was designed by Bass family favorite David Schwarz, who also designed the Bass Performance Hall, the Sanguinet (aka Chase) Building, the Sundance West apartments, the Sundance Theater, the Palace Theater, the Barnes & Noble Building, the Maddox Muse Center, the National Cowgirl Museum, the loft conversion of the Sanger Building, the Tarrant County Family Law Center, the 3rd Street Garage, the downtown Fort Worth Public Library, and the Sundance Square Master Plan (not to mention the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Southlake Town Square in, well, Southlake, the gorgeous Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, and an array of other mixed-use developments across the country). Schwarz specializes in traditional architecture, and all the modernists around the area basically consider him to be evil incarnate, but I think he’s one of the best things to happen to Fort Worth. His buildings look fantastic (to these traditionalist eyes, anyway), have great pedestrian appeal, great street interaction, and respect their context, which is vitally important as far as I’m concerned. He understands that when you’re building in an urban setting that’s steeped in rich history, you ought not go poking you finger in tradition’s eye for the sake of being “modern.” It’s important to note that for all the carping modernists do about Schwarz’s buildings, they all work. They’re all popular and loved. Schwarz’s buildings and spaces are comforting and attractive, and all wonderfully urban. I say “bring us more Schwarz, please.”

Now that I’ve driven off all the modernists, let’s see some construction photos:

Finally, here’s another rendering of the building, which shows off a few close-up details: