{news} Shapiro calls for green building in Stamford

Tue Feb 21 14:50:14 EST 2006

>From the Stamford Advocate:

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-rbs3feb20,0,1960274.story
In addition to jobs, what will RBS tower mean to the city?

By Doug Dalena
Staff Writer

February 20, 2006

STAMFORD -- The glass-enclosed financial tower proposed by Royal Bank of 
Scotland for a parcel just north of Interstate 95 will join another banking 
giant across the street to frame the entrance to downtown.

Details of the design by Westport architect Roger Ferris are just emerging, 
so observers said it's too early to tell whether the building will 
contribute architecturally or economically to Stamford.

The 500,000-square-foot building is expected to bring at least 1,850 jobs to 
the city, many paying six figures, and add millions of dollars in property 
tax revenue.

The Advocate last week published an architect's rendering of what the 
12-story building will look like from the highway, but the key to whether it 
enhances downtown will be what it looks like from the street, said

Renee Kahn, a historian and preservationist. How much of the sky the 
building blocks is important, too, Kahn said.

"The problem is, by the time we do see what we've got, it's too late to do 
anything about it," she said.

Because it will not have stores or create activity other than its own 
comings and goings, the building may discourage pedestrians from using the 
street between downtown and the train station, which is what planners want, 
Kahn said.

Past urban renewal projects turned Tresser Boulevard into a lifeless canyon 
of office buildings that planners have used as an example of how not to 
design a downtown.

The rendering provided by RBS shows a glass facade along the highway, 
curving to the north as it approaches Washington Boulevard. In combination 
with the 13-story UBS building across the street, the RBS complex would 
serve as the southern gateway to downtown.

Along with the classical revival Metro Center just south of the highway, the 
building would be the first major landmark drivers and rail commuters see 
coming into New England.

Plans filed with the Zoning Board include site details and landscaping 
specifications for sidewalks, the Mill River green belt and other sides of 
the building.

The transparent building will accentuate the skyline, said architect Darek 
Shapiro, a former Green Party mayoral candidate and specialist in 
environmentally friendly design. Still, the building has a utilitarian look 
common to corporate office buildings, he said.

"I was hoping it would be more of a landmark for a city that had more unique 
buildings," Shapiro said.

The building as depicted in the rendering is attractive, if not exciting, he 
said.

"I think that it looks like a crystalline palace," he said.

Shapiro hopes the plans will include the latest energy efficiency measures, 
including photovoltaic windows to turn sunlight into electricity, green 
roofs that reduce the "heat island" effect of increased temperatures in 
dense downtowns, and environmental controls that promote health.

All new structures, especially in areas like Stamford where the demand for 
energy is high, should be built with advanced conservation measures, Shapiro 
said.

Ferris said that besides architectural sophistication, buildings for 
financial firms must pay close attention to environmental considerations 
such as air circulation, cooling for equipment and people, and high-quality 
dining facilities and other amenities.

It wasn't clear from the plans what energy conservation measures are 
included.

John Atkin, Connecticut director of the Regional Plan Association, a 
smart-growth advocacy group, said it's good the building will be close to 
the Stamford train station, which will keep some cars off the streets, and 
that the plan emphasizes green space along Mill River.

The western facade would be separated from the river by a 55-foot-wide 
landscaped, lighted walkway that would begin at a pocket park on Richmond 
Hill Avenue.

"I think that's a very positive aspect of the development," Atkin said.

Shapiro worries that the western facade, windowless for the first three 
stories, will ignore the river.

Mayor Dannel Malloy has said the building from the highway looks 
"spectacular." RBS agreed to make some changes along Mill River and a 
soon-to-be relocated Richmond Hill Avenue so the building will be less 
imposing to pedestrians.

The first five stories of the building will contain parking for employees 
but it will displace hundreds of spaces in a public commuter lot, and no one 
has said what the city will do about that, Kahn said.

"What's going to happen to the cars that are in that lot?" Kahn asked. "All 
of this has ripples. We're so happy to see this big business come into town 
that we don't look at all the ripples."

It's important to consider such issues before the final plan is approved, 
Kahn said.

"Economically it's a real boon, but visually we won't find out until it's 
too late," she said. "What attempts are made to humanize the street-level 
spaces? You can't build these buildings in an urban setting without some 
concern for the street-level concepts."

Much will depend on the quality of building materials, Kahn said.

"In these kinds of modernist buildings, materials are really everything, and 
proportions," she said.

With the best materials and careful attention to how pedestrians will relate 
to the building, it could enhance downtown, Kahn said.

"I'm perfectly willing to concede that the mayor is 100 percent correct and 
it will be a spectacular building," she said.