Last minute changes like this aren't uncommon, but they are frustrating. What I do find strange is the removal of the crystal motif which has been the entire image of the marketing campaign for the past year. Like this version is less marketable for sure, but I wouldn't say it's monumentally worse by any means. It's
not as if this version seems cheaper than the previous iteration as people seem to be suggesting. After all, taking a look at the material documents would show you
the overall structure is the same (the balconies are not larger, its the perspective, balcony frit and lighting), there is only minor changes to the first 10 floors in addition to the retooling of the shell feature.
Here's a render comparison:
Many here need to remember that 3D visualizations are generally not accurate to how the final product will look anyways. The champagne on the pervious iteration would never appear that vibrant in real life as much as that'd be pretty. This updated design is being seen through renders that don't seem to be what Pinnacle would market with (they are for city staff to look at), meaning the materials aren't really shown true to life, they are shown in a way to highlight the products being used (notice the lack of quality reflections on the newer render to show the striping of the spandrel). Also the perspectives are so distorted it's hard to imagine how the crown would actually look in the instances shown.
But aside from that, using the render, let me list the changes and the possible motives for them:
- keep in mind the structure is the same shape as previous iterations.
- thin metal diagrid removed in favor of much thicker 'column like' aesthetic
The thicker metal being used on the new version is by no means cheaper, especially the shaping around the additional balconies above the hotel seen in material documents, and was either done because buyers were concerned about views, or there was some other logistical issue. If I was to guess, this iteration is also supposed to play along better with Phase 1, especially the ground floor changes. It's still a rather HPA looking tower
- balcony additions just above the hotel podium
I can see the justification of melting the podium into the tower. This new solution feels very HPA, as the two other recent Pinnacle projects with HPA also play with tower podium integration in different ways. This unfortunately does hide the tapering in of the main tower volume, but the sweeping of the podium into the tower is actually rather unique.
- changing the accent colour of the metal to white from champagne.
The loss of warmth is unfortunate, but I do wonder if there was a worry the shape would have been lost from both how thin the metal is and the softness of the colour. Should be noted the material sample board still shows a warm brownish frit. The new version is much punchier in comparison to the old one in terms of immediate contrast, but the old one does have a better 'shaping' quality that is best appreciated after staring at it for a little while.
- The tower balcony's on the new version now use fritting, meaning the glass on those portions is more expensive then previous versions.
The striped frit pattern is the same as previous versions (and is the same color based on material samples)
I feel the new version is strong in it's own right, with same pretty nice curves, that will look much bolder from a distance. While very unlikely, the much thicker columns would look great with uplighting. I will miss the diagrid though like many here, it was a neat concept.
The material palette from this submission is neat too for those wanting a more realistic idea of what is going to be used here. Again, notice the frit and white materials here appear to lean warm, unlike the very cold renders.
