#068 l Renaissance Tower l DALLAS l 270m l 56fl

[D-Mac]

Renaissance Tower
Dallas, USA

HEIGHT: 270m/886 feet
FLOORS: 56 floors
COMPLETION: 1974
ARCHITECT: Helmuth, Obata & Kassabaum

Designed by HOK of Dallas and completed in 1974, this skyscraper originally was the simplest of forms, a 56 story gold glass box that was 710 feet high. The building features cross bracing in the form of two large "X" patterns on behind each facade. When the building was originally constructed, these structural elements were not expressed on the exterior. At night, however, lights were placed behind the glass that expressed the structural system of the building. In 1986, the building underwent a major renovation that remodeled all of the buildings public areas and made significant exterior changes to the building. In the public plaza on the west side of the building and over the underground shopping areas, a large glass triangular pyramid entry was constructed. All of the silver glazing was removed and was replaced by a glass design that featured different colors of glass. This introduced a post modern design to the facades and expressed the "X" cross bracing on the exterior of the building. The base of the building was reconstructed out of granite. The most significant change was made at the top of the building. A three level stepped back top was added to the building. In front of the penthouse addition a decorative steel framework was added to house additional communications equipment. At each corner of the decorative framework four steel towers were added. On top of the penthouse a taller steel tower was constructed. Each of the five towers are topped by a white diamond. The height of the tallest tower is 176 feet above the roof. At night the building is illuminated with a double "X" pattern on each facade and lights inside each of the five diamonds at the tops of the towers. The five towers also have lights within their bases that highlight their steel framework. If the penthouse and the decorative towers are included, the skyscraper is 886 feet tall and is the 2nd tallest building in Dallas.











http://www.dallassky.com/bldg02.htm

Nothing special...it's a box, but decent for a 1970's building.

[Westin Peachtree]

There is absolutely no architecture behind this one at all. Only thing it has are some poles on top. Which are by the way ugly and add so much height. How tall is this building without those poles? I have never seen a box building with a spire, how tacky.

4/10
It gets a 4 because it is in Dallas and it is kinda tall.

[D-Mac]

I really dislike this tower. It's so boxy but it tries not to be with all that junk on top, and fails. I don't like the pixelated look of the tower, especially the diagonal lines. It looks like it was designed in MS Paint. Even the reflective glass can't save this one. 3.5/10

[SteelCity32]

I agree. Too boxy. 4/10

[RafflesCity]

7.5/10

I would have given it less if not for the criss-cross patterns on the facade.

[AG]

The weird X-bracing on this building is quite unique, though it is too plain and boxy.

5/10

[Bobdreamz]

not a very good building even for the 70's!
the diagonal patterns in the window facade are too much and the top is horrid....6/10.

[Westin Peachtree]

I think anything above a 5 is waaaaay too nice.

[DamienK]

It's kind of strange looking. 6.5/10

[Jasonhouse]

Bletch! A cheap, boxy corporate storage unit. The el cheapo spire and lighting scheme don't help, but further reinforce the cheap feel of this building. There's absolutely no texture to its facade (cheap feeling again) and the windows which highlight the crossbracing look like mismatched replacements after the origionals came crashing down on a windy day.

Total garbage and entirely insignificant. 4.0/10

[TYW]

4.5/10

don't really like it

If you think it is boring now you should have seen it before. This was originally a plain 1970s black glass box. In the 1990s it was totally reglazed, adding the cross-hatch pattern, and the structures on the roof were added to give it a little bit of character. I would give it a 6. It's not great, but they at least made an effort to improve it.
I may be mistaken, but I think this is where Ewing Oil was located in the old TV show "Dallas."

[Liz L]

5/10 because it has some height, and I'm a sucker for shiny glass curtain walls.
Other than that - guys, if you're gonna try to liven up your facade with cross bracing like the Hancock Tower in Chicago, go all the way and use real steel; trying to do it with different colored windows just looks SOOO cheap - Jasonhouse, you hit the nail right on the head - they look like mismatched replacements!
And those antennas on top look like they were just stuck on as an afterthought, though they look better at night....
They needed more of a buildup between flat roof and antennas, I think...

Subdude - If that's the case, do you suppose they changed the facade because they didn't want their tower to be associated for ever (or at least until the last re-run) with the evv-ill Ewing clan?

[Caledon1981]

the diagonal patterns remind me of a pong match . . thats what these architects thought of back in '72-73. . . 4/10 for being blue glass .. .

[SUNNI]

tall, boxy with a nice crown. its colours are dull black and at night it doent look at impressive either. 5..

Okay, everyone has bashed it so i will defend. First of all it is fairly unique because how many cities have a 710 foot (pre spires) glass box. I can't think of many taller glass boxes. Secondly it looks very nice at night with the X-lighting and the spires illuminated. I give it a 6.5.

[renell]

its a box

6 for having some height...

[1+2=3]

Pretty nice design. 7/10

[DrumCorpsAlum]

While it's a box, the cross pattern makes it somewhat interesting. This building looks great in the skyline, especially at night and in person. 7.5/10.