WSTB

Brief presentation by James Kunstler:

http://www.ted.com/talks/james_howard_k ... urbia.html

Well, I reckon that explains why nothing over 6 or 7 stories is built in W-S - not for a while anyway.

Possum, appreciate you for posting that very well written article. The author really distilled the issues with this cookie cutter fartchitecture down to the core truth of what has caused this "design phenomena" and what the consequences will be. I really enjoyed it.

I often empathize with forum posters over the slower pace of development in Winston-Salem and the Triad in general, but believe me, this article sums up what has happened already to Charlotte. Living here, all you have to do is drive thru multiple neighborhoods such as South End, West Morehead, SouthPark, Central Avenue, North Tryon... to see endless examples of “farted architecture!” Ugly, redundant and unimaginative don’t even describe. Builders and developers run the show in Charlotte’s explosive growth. And it may sound and seem envious and exciting to outsiders, but it’s not pretty. Developers are ruining whole neighborhoods, such as Myers Park (where I happen to live) by buying convenient tear downs and building boring boxy multiple-storey things between single family dwellings.

Winston-Salem is so lucky at this point to have so many less of the cookie cutter things going up, such as the Links, The Edges, and the West End Villages!

Yes, Possum, thank you for posting this. For a while now, I've had this feeling that while Winston has generally been spared by these 5-over-1s, it is reaching the point of no return on its way to matching the Charlotte neighborhoods or Downtown Durham.

It's a shame that all six 5-over-1's either built or in development in Winston are developed by the same two firms from Charlotte, with the architects from either Charlotte or the Triangle.

The Link Brookstown
Grubb Properties (Charlotte)
Cline Design (Raleigh)

The Link Innovation Quarter
Grubb Properties (Charlotte)
BB+M Architecture (Charlotte)

The Link 4th Street - Under Construction
Grubb Properties (Charlotte)
BB+M Architecture (Charlotte)

West End Station
DPJ Residential LLC (Charlotte)
Axiom Architecture (Charlotte)

The Easley - Under Construction
DPJ Residential LLC (Charlotte)
Cline Design (Raleigh)

Artreaux Apartments - Proposed
DPJ Residential LLC (Charlotte)
Axiom Architecture (Charlotte)

So far, it seems like the Link developments are the only ones to address their high-profile sites. As cheesy and uninspiring as they are, at least they contribute (for the most part) to the street experience. The West End Station also fronts Green St in a decent manner. Like an architectural mullet, however, the backside gives all the mess to West End. Easley is doing the same, creating a superblock in the process. The Artreaucious remains to be seen.

Between these apartments and the self-storage facility overlooking the ball park, I'm getting nervous about the state of architecture in this city (turning a blind eye to the fact that lots of other cities are also having this issue). But I do feel good that these developments are increasing the residential unit count in DTWS at a rate that we haven't seen in our lifetimes. With so many new people living downtown, I dream that the city will become more cosmopolitan, demanding a higher standard.

That was a great article and so true! These buildings are becoming the urban versions of the suburban “McMansions”. Not to mention, if I was renting an apartment in one of these buildings, I would be concerned about an accidental fire since they’re built with wood framing. I know they have sprinkler systems and fire alarms, but an accidental fire caused by negligence could spread so quickly it would become a disaster in just a few minutes. https://www.concreteconstruction.net/pr ... ent-fire_o

As you can guess, I have asked about the six-storey height limit. The answer centers on firefighting. WSFD can reach the top floor of a building with a height at or less than 75 feet / 22.9 metres. Anything above this has additional fire-related requirements that drive-up the cost, even on a steel or concrete frame building. And now you know why downtown seems to have a six-storey height limit. I'm sure some of these apartment buildings could add a seventh floor, but that likely requires the added expense of another concrete floor, since wood-frame appears limited to just five floors. As developers propose taller wood-frame buildings, they are often finding there are local and/or state height limits on how tall you can build with wood. Some cities are seeing developers propose/build structures over 12-storeys with wood-frame construction and these structures require changes to those limits.

The attempts to make a long wall appear as multiple buildings is often due to requirements from the city or neighborhood the building is in. They think if it appears as multiple buildings, similar to a 110 year-old block of buildings, it is more attractive to pedestrians. It appears more organic, or whatever trendy word you want to use, than having the entire block filled with one massive building. So, the architects are trying to find ways to meet this requirement. Winston-Salem actually required a Wal-mart on the south end of the city to do this several years ago.

There are bad examples of these apartments in Winston-Salem, but the core of downtown Winston-Salem is fortunate to have some of the better wood-frame apartment buildings. In downtown Winston-Salem, there is at least some effort to make them look nice, which is something you usually don't see in cities like Winston-Salem. These are apartment buildings you would expect to see in upper-income cities or noteworthy resort cities and maybe it is due to Wake Forest University and the Innovation Quarter, since they often speak of the Innovation Quarter and Wake Forest with their investors/lenders? The Innovation Quarter actually has a design review process and quality material requirements. Many of the architects working on these projects will often select the Winston-Salem projects they worked on as their favorite designs. A design idea that works for vibrant streets in Vancouver (steps from the sidewalk) was recently added to the Winston Overlay, if I'm not mistaken? You will see the steps to the doors along the sides of Link Apartments 4th Street, when it opens. Again, the apartments in downtown Winston-Salem are much better than you would see in other small and mid-sized cities. Design reviews and the Overlay are likely the best way to make the improvements you want to see. Minneapolis often credits 4-6 storey wood-frame apartment buildings with creating their dense and vibrant downtown, with grocery stores and retail and they do have a large number of them! I'm most concerned with areas like the ballpark neighborhood that don't have any design reviews or overlays. This is what we need to address. I don't think Industry Hill is covered by an overlay or any design reviews? As that area develops, we may see apartment buildings with cheap materials, surface parking, and exposed parking decks if we don't address that.

Excellent discussion

"Across the country, new developments are starting to look the same, raising fears that cities are losing their unique charm. But in the current housing crisis, does that matter?"

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/real ... cture.html

This dreadful rag just noticed !?!!