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Tarrant County Law Center Designs


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#1 bsteele

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:50 PM

David Schwarz has posted design artwork for the new Tarrant County Law Center on his website.

Can someone please grab the designs and post them to the forum ? I'm not the most pc literate of people.

http://www.dmsas.com

at the main menu select -

details -
project types -
institutional -

and then scroll down to the bottom of the list to find the designs for the law center

#2 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:50 PM

OK, Bill. Here is the Front Elevation:
Posted Image

Floor Plan:
Posted Image

#3 tcole

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:51 PM

I actually like it. Never thaught I would come to that conclusion about Schwartz, but I guess an infinite number of monkeys...............

#4 Sam B Stone

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:51 PM

I like it too. The question is, will it be made of real stone/bricks/concrete or covered in that fiberglass crud he used on the library?

#5 Kevin Lehnhardt

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:51 PM

I like it also. Looks like it has a little influence almost of some buildings in Washington DC. Looks nice though I'm sure it will look good.

#6 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:52 PM

Sam, the materials are supposed to be real granite and brick.

#7 Urbndwlr FW

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:52 PM

Great news on the materials. I was concerned that we'd be stuck with some of that cheapo fake stucco.

Will the facade be whitish as the drawing suggests, or will it be pink like the courthouse? Will they tear down that courthouse annex that has the trompl'oil work on it?

But, yes, I agree. I like the design. It does look very DC. I think that's good. Those designs have withstood the test of time.

#8 Urbndwlr FW

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:53 PM

Doesn't it share many features with the old FWHS?

#9 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:53 PM

Yes, it does seem to resemble the old Fort Worth High School.

#10 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:53 PM

The groundbreaking ceremony for the building was held on October 30, 2002. I just thought I would let everyone know that this building is now Under Construction.

#11 Thurman52

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:54 PM

Originally posted 4/12/03:

On my Saturday afternoon drive, I noticed the construction appears to be moving now. I watched them as they constructed their tower crane.

#12 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:54 PM

Back in February, I posted a picture of the hole in the ground, but as time has gone by, very little work has been done since then. It is good to know that they have the crane up, so I will resume the weekly construction photos.

#13 BB

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:55 PM

Looks like this building is getting close to being topped out. Is this the building that will allow the county to demolish the annex building or are we still one new building away from that?

#14 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:55 PM

We are still one new building away from that.

#15 BB

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:55 PM

What's the timeline for that building?

#16 renamerusk

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:56 PM

I was driving through downtown today and noticed that the masonary work is underway on the west elevation. I was passing by and could only get a glimpse; but, the pink granite is going to look very good. I think we are going to really like this structure and it will compliment our grand courthouse just fine.

In the "What were they thinking" category, Arlington has just outrageously dropped the ball. What was once a postcard quality view of the Ballpark in Arlington from I-30 has been ruined by a building which is utterly uncomplimentary to the baseball stadium. Why was this allowed to happen?

#17 ghughes

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:56 PM

Um... desperation to prove that the Ballpark wasn't a total waste of taxpayer funds?

#18 Buck

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:56 PM

Arlington intended for an entire "downtown" to grow around The Ballpark.

"Postcard quality views" do not generate tax revenue.

#19 renamerusk

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:56 PM

You will have a hard time defend the indefensible. This development fits better along I-20 than along I-30.

As far as your suggestion that postcard views do not generate tax revenue, perhaps Arlington and you need only look at what has been done in Southlake to realize what could be done.

I agree with a previous thread which suggested that Arlington was in a state of desperation to keep the company from moving to FW and consequently allowed the developer free and unfettered range. Of course, now all that is needed is a string of Chick-a-fils, Whataburgers, Check Cashers and a Nail Salon.

#20 jonnyrules23

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:57 PM

The parking lot across the street from the new Family Law Center (the one directly east of the courthouse) now has fencing and many construction trailers on it. Is this all for the Family Center, or is this another building under construction? As I understand it, they still have to build a new civil courts building so they can demolish the annex. Is this the site? And have any renderings/project info been released?
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#21 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:57 PM

The construction trailers and fencing around the block to the east of the Tarrant County Courthouse are all for the Family Law Center. The remaining building on the property that is Dismuke's favorite, houses the offices of the construction manager for the project. The site for the Civil Courts Building is that block, but it will be a few years before it is constructed

#22 salvag

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:58 PM

This is the site the civil courts building as I understand it. I don't know any more information other than that.

#23 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:58 PM

I think that is all anyone knows. The block to the east of the Courthouse is scheduled for a new Civil Courts Building to be constructed at a future date.

#24 jonnyrules23

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:59 PM

Well, I guess the earliest construction would start would be next year, since the Law Center is scheduled for completion this year. That means its a another good 3-4 years before the annex comes down
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#25 John T Roberts

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:59 PM

I don't think the new Civil Courts Building is even funded, so I'm willing to bet that we are a minimum of three years away before construction. I think the county will have to hold a bond election before the new Civil Courts Building can be started.

#26 dismuke

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 06:59 PM

If it is not even funded yet, then why did they tear down that nice old building on the site that somebody obviously went through the effort to restore and preserve? At the very least, they could have rented the space out and have generated some money. And if, for some reason, the funding never happens, the building would still stand and be an asset in terms of adding that much more character to downtown.

#27 JBB

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Posted 16 April 2004 - 11:51 PM

I know this building is nowhere near complete, but I'm not impressed with the brick color. Very sharp contrast with the color of the granite at the base.

#28 mosteijn

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Posted 17 April 2004 - 11:39 AM

It also doesn't reflect the courthouse very well. I was under the impression Schwartz designed it to reflect the courthouse, and the granite at the base does a pretty good job. But the brick going up on the west facade is a little out of place. We'll just have to see what it looks like when it's finished.

#29 Nick

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Posted 17 April 2004 - 11:57 AM

I wonder if it's even a good idea to make it look like the courthouse? . Too late now.

#30 renamerusk

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Posted 19 April 2004 - 08:37 PM

I like it too. I only wish that 100 E Weatherford's front elevation could be replace with something that is more in concert with the other building on Courthouse Square. Maybe something in the classical gendre.

Edited by John T Roberts, 19 April 2004 - 09:09 PM.


#31 mosteijn

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Posted 25 June 2004 - 03:30 PM

Drove by it today on my way home from the airport, and it looks like they're almost done bricking the north facade. They also have some of the stone detail in place. Overall, it's turning out nice. I like the fact that the brick doesn't match the courthouse, but doesn't clash with it either.

#32 John T Roberts

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Posted 26 June 2004 - 06:57 PM

Jonny, the Courthouse has one masonry material on the exterior and that is pink granite from the Texas Hill Country. The Family Law Center takes the granite and uses it for the base and around the windows. The rest of the facade uses a cheaper material -- red brick. The pink granite and red brick go well together and offer an economical masonry building.

#33 mosteijn

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Posted 26 June 2004 - 07:39 PM

What about those stone accents above some of the windows? They look cream colored, and when I drove by the base awhile back, the stone looked cream colored too. It didn't look like they had started the pink granite yet, or maybe I'm just color blind.

#34 John T Roberts

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Posted 26 June 2004 - 08:09 PM

It's all pink granite from the same quarry as the Courthouse. The lighter color may be from some of the plastic protecting it or it was just dirty from all of the dust created from mixing mortar and other construction.

#35 mosteijn

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Posted 01 July 2004 - 06:25 PM

I suppose you're right, John. I drove by it today and it definately looked pink. Maybe it just looks cream colored in the morning. Here's a really quick picture I took from Belknap:

Posted Image

#36 John T Roberts

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Posted 01 July 2004 - 07:08 PM

I was driving through downtown this evening and I was going to park and take a picture, but I was running short on time. I didn't take an updated one. Hopefully, I can catch a good evening shot of it over the weekend.

#37 mosteijn

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Posted 02 July 2004 - 11:41 AM

I'll be downtown today anyways to hang out with some friends, so I intend to take updated construction shots of various projects. Perhaps I can take care of this one for the website, if you would like?

#38 John T Roberts

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Posted 02 July 2004 - 01:40 PM

Yes, go ahead.




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