Earlier this week, Oklahoma City Council approved plans for the 1,907-foot-tall Legends Tower. If built according to these plans, it would become the 5th tallest building in the world and the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
Currently, the tallest building in the US is One World Trade Center at 1,776 feet (581 meters). This is a symbolic height meant to reference the date of the Declaration of Independence.
To be even more specific, though, the Legends Tower wasn't approved at 1,907 feet. As I understand it, it was approved with with an unlimited height. Meaning, if the developers wanted to go even taller in the future, they could.
This is sort of unique. Usually when a new by-law/ordinance is passed, it includes a maximum height in feet/meters. In this case, I guess they'll just use an infinity symbol and call it a day.
Here are some quotes from Dezeen:
"AO is delighted that the Oklahoma City Council has approved the development team's request for unlimited height for the Boardwalk at Bricktown," said AO.
"We are grateful that the City Council has embraced the vision of Matteson Capital and the entire design team to transform the city into a global destination."
The obvious question is "will this get built?" And I don't know the answer to that. But I do think that infinity is just as symbolic as 1,776 feet.
One of my favorite YouTube channels is the B1M. Apparently it is the most subscribed-to channel focused on construction. If you don't already subscribe, you can do that over here.
Below is a recent video about Australia 108 in Melbourne. It's still under construction, but it is topped out and it is now the tallest building in the country at over 300m. That makes it a "supertall."
When you're building this tall, it can make a lot of sense to segment and occupy portions of the building before construction is fully complete. Among other things, it helps to manage risk. And that's exactly what they've done here.
The contractor building Australia 108 is Multiplex. They also happen to be our construction management partner on Junction House. Except our project is a bit more boutique than Australia 108.
The submission documents for 1200 Bay Street -- the supertall being designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Quadrangle Architects