COMMENTS REGARDING THE 9/17 PROPOSED PLAN FOR RIP VAN DAM HOTEL EXTENSION Thank you for requesting comments. Broadway is the most visible location in all of Saratoga and a measured approach to change will effect the most positive permanent changes to the cityscape. For ease the historic Rip Van Dam Hotel is here referred to as the Rip; the new addition as the Rip Extension. REQUEST FOR MORE ARCHITECT 3D VIEWS: It s important to fully comprehend the visual impact of the Rip Extension on downtown Broadway. Please request the addition of a simple block version no details of the Adelphi to the architect s 3d rendering, and then make available the 3d views from ground level at: 1. Broadway and Spring St 2. The Arcade building (376 Broadway) 3. Uncommon Grounds 4. Broadway and Caroline (Image 1: Requested Views)
HISTORICAL NOTES RE SIZE The early buildings on Washington Street behind today s Saratoga Sweets were 2-3 stories high. These relatively low buildings allowed the UPH to soar above. (Image 2 - View down Washington Street from Broadway in 1931, Bolster Collection, Saratoga Springs History Museum) The left building in the above photo is the Washington Street wing of the Grand Union. HISTORICAL USE OF PAINTED/EXPOSED BRICK ON BROADWAY Saratoga was known as one of the most beautiful cities in the country in the late 1800s early 1900s. Brick was prevalent in facades along Broadway. A vast proportion of the brick facades on Broadway were painted. Exposed red brick, although common, was not the norm. All the big hotels were painted The most massive buildings on Broadway, the big hotels, were all painted - including the relatively small Adelphi (which never lost its paint).
Even the Congress Hall (replaced by the Arts Council building and Trask Memorial), which appears grey like stone in early photos, achieved its effect through paint, as described in the Saratogian in 1870, the coats of paint now being applied to the outside walls of Congress Hall will represent Nova Scotia granite, yet with somewhat of an olive tint. (Image 3 Congress Hall - Archives, SSHM) Creative ways to uplift a brick wall Brick relief patterns drew the eye and de-emphasized the commonplace nature of brick. Small molded relief elements could be easily incorporated as well.
(Image 4 the Algonquin) (Image 5 the Collamer Building)
Disguising bricks as sweeping architectural elements Large, effective patterns on facades, visible from several blocks away, could be created by skillful use of painted brick relief. For example, City Hall (originally Town Hall) is adorned with sweeping brick relief patterns that echo its tall windows. (Image 6 City Hall today) The builders of Town/City Hall never intended for it to have a façade of exposed brick. From its construction in 1871 it was painted; tests of paint fragments show that it was pale yellow.
(Image 7 Town Hall - Archives, SSHM) The paint gave the brick relief patterns purpose and meaning. Once the paint was applied, suddenly Town Hall had tall graceful columns that sprang out of the relief, replete with arches and an uplifted rosette. Town/City Hall s massive brick neighbors the Collamer and Ainsworth buildings also began their lives painted, with vertical relief columns.
(Image 8 Town Hall and a corner of the Ainsworth building - Archives, SSHM) EARLY BROADWAY S VISUAL MOTIF OF TALL COLUMNS AND ARCHES Tall graceful colonnades fronted every grand hotel and many smaller ones.
(Image 9 the US Hotel with the Adelphi visible farther down Bolster Collection, SSHM) Builders aimed for elegance and refinement, even grandeur. The vertical sweeps of the colonnades, graceful curved arches, soft painted colors and decorative trim, all helped with this goal. Broadway s graceful tall elms added to the effect. THE VICTORIANS FOUND WAYS TO TRANSCEND THE HEAVINESS OF THEIR EARTHY BUILDING MATERIALS Brick and stone and wood were all that they had, with the occasional cast iron railing or hidden girder. Brick and stone are of the earth. Nature made them heavy. They are wonderful natural materials that visually carry the heavy feel of their humble origin. The Victorians, like the Europeans before them, found ways to transcend the heaviness of their building materials and create uplifting facades. They purposefully lifted away brick s heavy earthy effect. Their goal was elegance, refinement, beauty, grace, grandeur. The look of red brick was not a goal. Bricks were used as a means to an end. EXPOSED BRICK IN MODERN SARATOGA DOWNTOWN BUILDING FACADES
All the new massive downtown Saratoga buildings have a lot of exposed red brick in their facades. Every single one. This extensive use of exposed red brick does not create a historical effect. This extensive use of exposed brick creates a unique modern effect. BUILDING FACADES EVOKE FEELINGS Try to look at one of these large brick buildings and ask what feel it brings to the downtown city-scape. For example: (Image 10 High Rock Condominiums) Is it graceful, light and airy? No. Is it elegant and refined? No. Is it cozy and welcoming? Not really. How does this building feel? One needs to separate from how does the money coming into local economy from the construction of this building, and from its residents making use of the local amenities and paying taxes, feel? and just ask, how does looking at it feel? What words would describe it best in terms of feel? My words would be: heavy, industrial, utilitarian; the most memorable visual effect is its size. The feel of this building is not necessarily a poor choice, but it is important to recognize that it was a choice. Many old factory warehouses nowadays have been converted into desirable living and workspaces. Perhaps the builder intended to evoke an old factory warehouse. MASSIVITY The proposed Rip Extension s massive effect results not only from its size but from several visual tricks which the architects knowingly or unknowingly employed.
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ELEMENTS THAT VISUALLY INCREASE THIS BUILDING S MASS: Just to note that I am a classically trained oil painter by profession. The visual principles discussed below transcend medium and have been consciously used by artists for hundreds of years. Size This building looks to be 5 stories high with a 2-story top floor so it is effectively 7 stories high, plus an 8 th floor single room. It is more than double the height of the Starbucks building and looms high behind the Rip and the Adelphi. It is 3 stories higher than its facing neighbor, the north end of the Ayco building. It will be visible from Lake Ave. The Rip Extension outsizes all its neighbors and all of Broadway from Washington to Van Dam, where the tallest building is 4 stories. Shape The building is a rectangular solid with a few rectangular indents in its façade. A rectangular solid feels the most visually massive shape for its volume. See beginning. Historical notes regarding size Black lines Black lines give punch and weight to a design. (Image 11) Which one of the above stands out the most? The rightmost. There s a reason for that: the black lines give extra visual mass. They add solidity and heaviness. This makes a strong, powerful effect. Black lines also strengthen shape:
(Image 12) Which one of the above looks the most rectangular? In 1 and 3, the black lines emphasize the rectangular shape. In the middle, the black lines de-emphasize the rectangular shape. Instead the eye follows an uplifting center vertical to two graceful arches. The Rip Extension has horizontal black lines as it most prominent ornamentation. These lines add to its massive visual feel. The quality of black chosen A stronger black will announce itself more than a soft grey-black. For example: (Image 13) The choice of a strong, dark black for the Rip Extension s ornamentation adds to its massive visual presence. Connection to black building décor on Railroad Avenue The choice of a dark, strong black may be the architect s attempt to visually tie the Rip Extension to the modern buildings on Railroad Ave. The Rip Extension will be on the corner of historic Washington and Broadway. Why connect it visually to modern Railroad Ave?
Black lines on the Broadway end of the Rip Extension Black lines on the Broadway end of the Rip Extension are visible to a wider stretch of Broadway than black lines on the facade. (Image 14: the Broadway end of the proposed Rip Extension will be visible (blue line) for several blocks) Absence of black lines in architecture on Broadway Between Washington and Van Dam, no building has a thick black line as part of its décor above 1 st floor level. There are several canopies, signs and columns at 1 st floor level that are black. Above 1 st floor level, the only black architectural elements are several examples of thin black ironwork and some black window trim approx. 3-4 inches wide. Intensity of façade color Visually, a strong, intense color comes forward amid colors with less intensity.
(Image 15) Rounding the Washington and Broadway corner as the eye will from the Adelphi (cream), to the Rip (grey), to the Starbucks building (soft maroon), to the Parish House (grey), to the UPH (old soft cool brick red), we see that all the Rip Extension s historic neighbors are dressed in soft colors. The architectural drawing of the Rip Extension indicates a strong brick red color, which will emphasize the building s visual presence. Temperature of façade color: Warm color also comes forward. Note the strong, warm effect of the red next to the cool pink. (Image 16) A warm brick red will draw the eye as compared to the cooler painted maroon of Starbucks, the cool grey of the Rip and the soft cooler red of the traditional UPH brick. COMMENTS REGARDING THE BROADWAY END OF THE RIP EXTENSION Buildings of different heights in the same visual line act similarly to flowers in a tiered flower bed: every level counts. For example, in the below flower bed at the Racino, the tall bright red spikes of salvia visually balance the red petunias in the front row and are accented by the red zinnias in the middle level. And so on.
(Image 17 a flowerbed at the Racino) The exposed brick wall at the Broadway end of the Rip Extension will be visually as much a part of the Broadway view as the Starbucks building and the Rip that sit below it.
(Image 18) This circled flat red brick wall is nearly 40 feet wide (the width of Starbucks) and approximately 4 stories high. No expanse of flat brick anywhere near this size exists on Broadway. And it is only part of the Broadway end of the Rip Extension. Perhaps the theory is that the Starbucks building will eventually be 6 stories high. For ideas on how to decorate this flat expanse of brick for now, the architects might study the many ways to decorate brick walls demonstrated up and down Broadway. HOW MIGHT ONE CREATE A NEW RIP EXTENSION EXTERIOR SENSITIVE TO ITS LOCATION? First let the eye wander from the UPH to the Adelphi. Note the existing buildings sizes, the soft, cooler colors, the tall columns and occasional arches. Shrink to 4 stories
This would minimize the looming effect above the Broadway buildings (the Broadway end would still rise up a floor above Starbucks). It would bring the Rip Extension into height alignment with Washington Street s history (see beginning). Change the façade color to grey A nice option would be the grey stone in the Division Street condos. (Image 19 Division Street Condominiums) Remove the black horizontal lines and emphasize the vertical Add some curves
Curves bring gentleness and grace. One modern option to introduce curves and deemphasize massivity might be something like the terrace and mini-colonnade in the Washington façade of the Ayco building. (Image 20 the terrace colonnade on the Washington Street side of the Ayco building) Another option is curved windows. Create design unity with the Rip s Broadway facade Use white accents and black metal trim to bring a sense of unity with the Rip s Broadway façade.
Now put it all together and have fun! (Image 21) This sketch features: - a narrow fourth floor balcony, and the option for a rooftop terrace; - a ball-room with two-story windows opening onto a narrow 2 nd floor terrace - an open air car drop-off on ground floor under the building left - a glass walled colonnade on ground floor right - curved windows and a curved roof ornament - grey stone walls with white trim HOW DOES THE OFFICIAL PROPOSED DESIGN FOR THE RIP EXTENSION FEEL? Massive, strong and heavy. HOW MIGHT A CHANGED DESIGN FOR THE RIP EXTENSION FEEL? Massive, elegant, friendly; welcoming like an old friend, hey that looks like the Rip! WHAT EFFECT IS DESIRED? The goal of new Saratoga architecture may not be to honor the architectural triumphs of this city s past. The goal may be to create new buildings that look modern. It s important to have in mind the desired feel. What flavor is intended? Industrial, utilitarian? Heavy? Why not try for uplifting? Inspiring, elegant or how about, beautiful?
A PERSONAL PLEA Please allow the visual tone of the buildings between the UPH and the Adelphi to be defined by the UPH, the Rip and the Adelphi. The UPH has a very special future that celebrates its unique historical appearance. The Adelphi is the only Saratoga grand hotel that remains and its renovation has uplifted the façade to its original beauty. Nowhere else in the world has this particular string of historic buildings, bookended by the UPH and the Adelphi. Please help to create a Rip Extension in keeping with this special historic corner. Thank you DRC, and good luck with your process! Rumara Jewett