In reaching yet another milestone in the redevelopment of the Richardson-Olmsted Complex, the City of Buffalo Planning Board approved the remainder of work left in the first phase, including the construction of the new rear (North) entry for the iconic Towers Building.
This new entry (Figure 1) will complement the existing architecture of the Towers Building by highlighting the Medina Sandstone exterior through the extensive use of tall vertical panes of anti-reflective glass. The design also intentionally highlights the three large wooden arches inside, one of which will serve as an entrance to the first floor and which will be accessed by a dual-staircase (Figure 2). The extended flat top portion of the staircase is designed to serve as a small-terrace overlooking the street entrance doors.
In designing this new entrance, care was taken to ensure it was no larger than the 1918 brick utilitarian addition (Figure 3) it is replacing. This was important not only in terms of maintaining the footprint, but was also a requirement for approval by the National Park Service. This new North entryway will also serve as the primary entrance for the recently-announced Hotel Henry, scheduled to be completed in August 2016. Due to the nature of the Towers Building construction, specifically the several-feet-thick masonry load-bearing walls, it was not feasible to engineer an entrance at ground level, necessitating the use of the stairway.
Knowing the redesign of any main entrance would have material visual impact, the design evolved incorporating extensive public consultation, where – not surprisingly – some opposition was encountered from preservationists reluctant to introduce a competing style. Some wanted the existing entrance left as is (not practical for a new luxury hotel), while others suggested building a new replica structure out of matching Medina sandstone (cost-prohibitive). As anyone who has participated in the serial debate on what to do with the Outer Harbor knows, on issues as sensitive as this, there is never a shortage of diverse opinions irrespective of physical and fiscal constraints.
The first iteration of the entrance design (Figure 4) was introduced at a public hearing prompting a number of suggestions from those in attendance. Overall, attendees voiced a desire for a ‘lighter’ structure that was ‘more transparent’, and which did a better job of blending in with the surrounding structure. The architects, Deborah Berke & Partners Architects LLP, went back and made a number of modifications in response, arriving at the final design which was ultimately accepted. The number of vertical panels were reduced from twelve to nine, the color of the vertical supports was changed from grey to dark brown, the thickness of the mullions on the vertical supports were made thinner, and the glass composition was changed to one with less reflective properties.
In presenting the new re-engineered design at a later public meeting, 2/3 of respondents were found to be supportive of the change. That level of acceptance, along with gaining approvals from all three levels of government, cleared the way for the construction.
The reality is that a new luxury hotel and conference center will require a new entrance; one that is contemporary yet blends in with and complements the existing Towers building. It can’t have been easy to balance the needs and wants of so many stakeholders, including multiple levels of government bureaucracy. We can look forward to many other changes coming forth over the next two years, as the redevelopment plan continues to unfold on one of Buffalo’s most iconic architectural assets.