There has been recent news that Raleigh’s Wachovia Capitol Center wants to join the rooftop signage and logo war. This past December, with the threat of RBC Plaza stealing the focal point of the skyline, Two Hannover Square upgraded the highwall BB&T logo to something much larger and brighter. Now that RBC Plaza has irrevocably eclipsed Raleigh’s two former champs in null and soon to add its own logo to the mix, Wachovia feels that it must hoist their letters to the sky. I don’t blame them, however. As many people have voiced on this site, particularly in the evening, shamefully Wachovia fades into the night as almost an afterthought. I welcome anything that can be done to add some glitter to the Raleigh cityscape- with some limitations, of course. I wouldn’t propose bright green lasers constantly scattering into the atmosphere or anything like that.
So what might Wachovia Capitol Center’s new signage look like? How many faces will it be on? Will it contain the Wachovia’s wavy graphic identity logo? How big or small? That’s anyone’s guess. I’m sure someone knows these answers. I’m left to speculate and offer a preview of what we might see when we look to the top of Raleigh’s third tallest building.
Wachovia sign facing the east.
Wachovia sign facing the south.
My guess on the placement is primarily due to the fact that the Cardinal Club would not want to have its views blocked by the sign. Ok, so that may of been anticlimactic to some. I’m just waiting for the RBC Spire to go up!
March 27th, 2008 at 7:10 am (#)
It doesn’t look bad, but I would have loved to see an added crown with a spire, with that sign as part of it 🙂
March 27th, 2008 at 10:09 am (#)
i agree ernest… to me its gonna take much more than a new sign to get some attention drawn back on the wachovia building
March 27th, 2008 at 11:25 am (#)
They need to have it illuminated like BB&T.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:49 pm (#)
I like the building without the sign. Sure it may seem invisible at night but I enjoy the dark, moody appearance when you’re close enough to notice it. Kind of looks like it belongs in Gotham City.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:16 pm (#)
As I’ve posted before the original model and photos of the building before it was built had a spire on top. It seems like they said the building would look more modern without the spire. I was dissapointed when they changed the design. I can’t find any pics of the original model with the spire. I had an old issue of I believe Spectator magazine that had the original design on the front cover when they first approved the building. The top would have looked good lit up at night.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:26 pm (#)
I have never seen the original model. I can’t imagine this building with a spire on top considering each of its faces already comes to a point. If someone has a copy of it somewhere, please post it.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:50 am (#)
this isn’t anything to do with the spire, but heres a cool photo of wachovia being finished up back in ’91
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=395107
March 28th, 2008 at 3:57 am (#)
wachovia, bb&t and rbc all appear to be the same height. i know the specs say different but none appear taller from just casual observation. the wachovia building is the nicest building downtown and it stands out from the other 2 by not appearing cluttered with those old buildings down the street.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:12 am (#)
i agree with lorenzo on the height thing, really if you look there is not a big difference in the height of either three of the buildings which is kinda dissapointing…. i know the rbc isnt finished but they are already putting the spire on and unless it really goes much higher in the air than there really wont be much of a noticeable difference. DAMN! well i guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
March 29th, 2008 at 2:41 am (#)
JR, The spire was on the square area behind the four points. If you look down on the top of the building from straight above there is a square area. I don’t know if it would really be called a spire. It was sort of like a three dimentional box, or upside down letter L’s on top with a spike in the middle.
March 31st, 2008 at 2:24 pm (#)
I wish they would do something to the Wachovia building’s top. The square area housing elevator and mechanical systems used to be painted to match the rest of the building (it is just synthetic stucco where the real building is granite) but has long since faded and it looks horrible.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:30 pm (#)
The Wachovia building in downtown Raleigh is a great looking building (this is our signature building, it would be very signature if it were 50-70 stories – if fits in all the major downtowns I have visited across the country – and that has been every Tier one and Tier two downtown – this is a great design/piece of architecture).
The BBT building is another story – does anyone know who the architect was for this UGLY building (I do not recall, but remember them completing the top in 1991 and saying “what the heck is that?”) The top of this building needs to be re-structured (or at a minimum, disguise the ugly antennas)
March 31st, 2008 at 9:59 pm (#)
Okay, so if Wachovia adds its name to the top of the building i will probably kill them, because that is HIDEOUS…
if they add their little curvy lined logo, I could be convinced to forgive them, becasue that is a nice logo…
April 1st, 2008 at 7:29 am (#)
TC, you are right on the money concerning Wachovia Capital Center. That building should have been 50+ stories, but alas, back then the market would not allow such great visions to materialize:( If you recall, right after this tower and Two Hannover Square were finished, the office vacancy rate skyrocketed, and stayed high for a while. Which is probably why Highwoods Properties opted for a much shorter RBC Plaza… In fear of boosting vacancy rates. Not much of risk-takers.
Two Hannover Square, IMHO, is not the biggest eyesore, but it leaves much to be desired. I do not know who the architect was, but most times it is the developer who interferes and ruins everything. Perfect examples: Soleil Center is a very nice design; developer let the architect design a building appropriate for that site plan. The Hillsborough went from a superb design to a mediocre one; the hotel developer requested some non-sense changes in the design. The architects can do their best, but it is the developer who decides at the end. When the Marriott Hotel is almost finished, Two Hannover Square will appear more like a masterpiece in the middle of mediocre designs – although I like One Progress Plaza.
April 8th, 2008 at 3:15 pm (#)
Working in commercial construction and in the past for a developer, I can tell you that unfortunately, sometimes the changes that have to be made that take a building from great to ho-hum are the only way to get the project built. even for smaller structures. It sucks though, because often changes made to make the deal work end up costing you month after month and year after year, but you have to do it.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:42 pm (#)
I was in Roanoke this week and caught a good look at the Wachovia Building they have downtown there. Immediately my thoughts came back to this discussion, there’s a mild resemblance between their building and Hannover One in Raleigh. Except – theirs has a spire! I found a couple of photos on Emporis…
emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=wachoviatower-roanoke-va-usa
I could have Googled for better ones, but it’s sunny and gorgeous day to be in Raleigh today and if I have to choose between the computer and my bike…. 🙂
Anyway, just an idea of what our Wachovia Building might be. Or could have been!