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Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont » Richmond Metropolitan Area » East Main Street » NationsBank Center

NationsBank Center

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1973, Welton Becket Associates. 1996, Odell Associates. Southwest corner of 12th and Main sts.
  • NationsBank Center (Michelle Krone)

This crisply detailed precast-concrete-clad office and retail complex was constructed following the controversial demolition of a handsome block of iron-front buildings that stood here. In response, the roofline and setback of the pavilion wing along Main were designed to maintain continuity with the remaining adjacent nineteenth-century iron fronts. Following a 1990s renovation, the twenty-three-story tower is now set back from Main Street beyond a paved and grass-planted plaza that includes a fountain and a mosaic mural. James Rosati's large red metal sculpture Richmond Tripodal (1974) has been placed on the grassy knoll to humanize the space. It begs the question, Why can't architects design more buildings that don't need humanizing?

Writing Credits

Author: 
Richard Guy Wilson et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Virginia Retirement System Building
Donnan Block
1203–1205 East Main St.
Plantation House (Travelers' Building)
Courthouse Annex (Parcel Post Building)

Citation

Richard Guy Wilson et al., "NationsBank Center", [Richmond, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-RI125.

Print Source

Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, Richard Guy Wilson and contributors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 212-212.

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