[John T Roberts]

The Fort Worth Weekly has its annual "Best of" List and there are some categories for architecture. They placed those items under Best of Faces and Places.

The categories include:

Urban Redevelopment
Urban Digs
Example of Urban Sprawl
Example of New Architecture
Example of Public Architecture
Re-Use of Old Architecture
Eyesore (Other than the Bank One Tower)
Rebirth/Relocation/Re-opening

For the full list and the selections of the Best of Fort Worth:
http://www.fwweekly....bestoffaces.asp

[mosteijn]

Most of them were great picks, but I have some beef with a few choices:

Quote

Example of Urban Sprawl

Readers’ choice: Arlington

Staff choice: Wedgwood

Fort Worth used to be the big city with the small-town feel. That hasn’t been the case lately, with the proliferation of big boxes, strip centers, and two-days-to-build, overpriced housing. One of the consequences of sprawl is that everything looks the same, but for the quintessence of bland, head to the southern portion of Wedgwood, specifically Columbia Road between Old Granbury and McCart. Nothing but roofs, no lawns, and everything six inches apart. The handful of recently built strip malls doesn’t help much, either.

They obviously never venture into suburbia, because first of all, it's Columbus Trail, and second of all, it's NOT Wedgwood. Most of Wedgwood has actually aged pretty well, and looks just as cookie-cutter as all those neigborhoods filled with millions of variations of tudor cottages or craftsmans. At least in the neigborhood I live in, which is in the exact location they're talking about, which is 10 years old, it looks pretty good, with a lot of mature trees and a decent amount of variation between housing styles. I would pick North Fort Worth for best example of Urban Sprawl (exploding developments, bland/similar designs, etc.)

Quote

Urban Redevelopment

Readers’ choice: The Tower (renovation of old Bank One)

Staff choice: Redevelopment of Montgomery Ward property

Since this city loves to throw tax abatements at developers, the amount of public money is getting more and more irrelevant. That’s why we won’t mention that the Montgomery Ward building on the near West Side is getting $20 million in tax rebates over 21 years. But the rejuvenated monstrosity is going to serve a purpose. The Ward’s project will include a Target SuperStore and other retail stores: nothing hip and cool, but badly needed by residents of new housing developments nearby.

Do we need to look up the word "urban"? I agree with the readers, but the MW project SUCKS (in terms of urbanity). Give me a break, there were way better things that could have been done with that site, whether the downtown residents need a grocery store or not.

Not really beef:

Quote

Re-Use of Old Architecture

Readers’ choice: The Tower (renovation of old Bank One)

Staff choice: Alice E. Carlson Elementary School, 3320 W Cantey St, FW

Being “historically correct” isn’t as easy as it sounds. Getting hold of antiquated materials or building in an old-fashioned style — that’s easy. It’s capturing the spirit of the place that’s difficult, which is why Gideon Toal deserves the nod this year for constructing a gymnasium on the site of the 78-year-old Mission Revival school and blending everything together seamlessly.

I drove by the gym the other day and all I could say to myself was "WOW." You would have to know the gym was just built to be able to tell the difference between it and the rest of the building. I congradulate Gideon Toal for an outstanding historically accurate new gym, I mean, there is no way anyone could have done a better job.

[redhead]

Urban Digs

Readers’ choice: Cassidy Corner, E 1st and Pecan sts, FW

Staff choice: Pecan Place, E 1st and Pecan sts, FW

If local architect Ken Schaumburg’s condos were people, they’d be the cheesy guys at the end of the bar, sporting satin shirts, styling gel, and gold chains. But by erecting Pecan Place at the edge of town -- and the readers’ choice, Cassidy Corner, just opposite -- the Viceroy of Velveeta has scored. The most winning attribute of this four-story condo isn’t exactly the look -- Ottoman Empire by way of HUD by way of Queen Victoria by way of Miami Beach. It’s a combination of unique look, great location -- within walking distance of bustling Sundance Square but far enough away to create the illusion of seclusion -- and spacious interiors, airy and full of natural light. Let’s just hope that Pecan Place marks the beginning of a new era of not necessarily great but fun-loving and well-planned building design.

The heck with he architect---this project was conceived and paid for by someone else. He was just the hired gun and not worthy of mention since it was neither his vision nor his risk. Let's talk about the real mavericks in downtown redevelopment, the ones who took real risk to prove that there was indeed a market. That was not the aforementioned architect. Indeed!