HDR Proposed Downtown Office

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 1:19 pm

MadMartin8 wrote:
jessep28 wrote:
MadMartin8 wrote:They'll move it to the spot where M's pub once was, tearing down the shell to replace it with a 9 story building.

Edit: Made of aqua green glass.
Including or excluding the roof and basement?
Both, using a portal to a parallel universe.

As a caveat, there will be a 2 foot Spire at the top.

They'll also get the historic status of all the buildings in the OM removed so they can be leveled for a 2-floor parking garage. There will be enough parking spaces for every man, woman, and child east of 72nd street, and over half of the spaces will be reserved, yet somehow manage to sit empty for the majority of the day.

MadMartin8 · Post by **MadMartin8** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 1:25 pm

RNcyanide wrote:
MadMartin8 wrote:
jessep28 wrote:
MadMartin8 wrote:They'll move it to the spot where M's pub once was, tearing down the shell to replace it with a 9 story building.

Edit: Made of aqua green glass.
Including or excluding the roof and basement?
Both, using a portal to a parallel universe.

As a caveat, there will be a 2 foot Spire at the top.
They'll also get the historic status of all the buildings in the OM removed so they can be leveled for a 2-floor parking garage. There will be enough parking spaces for every man, woman, and child east of 72nd street, and over half of the spaces will be reserved, yet somehow manage to sit empty for the majority of the day.

Let's not get carried away here. The estimated parking needs will actually come from a bulldozed "Girls and Boy's Club" and the Ronald McDonald House, and the Lydia House that will be sold to HDR from the city for $10.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 11:16 am

I heard HDR is providing drive-in cubicles so workers won't have to be far from their cars. The only downside is the garage goes to 16 stories and they will no longer need the office tower, which will free up that land for an OPAS garage.

PotatoeEatsFish · Post by **PotatoeEatsFish** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 9:44 pm

This just proves we should build a 40 story garage with an observatory on top for the millions of tourists that flock to Omaha.

Prof Emmett · Post by **Prof Emmett** » Mon Feb 22, 2016 2:49 pm

NEWS: New Laser Shoots Beams of Light

Solar Lasers Not Just for James Bond

Focusing the sun's energy into a super-powered laser beam gets one step closer.
- Researchers working with the new HDR Corporate Headquarters builders in Omaha, NE want to focus the sun's energy into a laser to use as renewable energy.
- The scheme would involve using 3-foot-wide parabolic mirrors built into the buildings “Curtain Wall”.
Harnessing the sun's rays to produce a beam of pure energy has long been the goal of inventors from the ancient Greek engineer Archimedes (focused mirrors to destroy invading ships) to James Bond villains (space-based lasers of "Diamonds are Forever" and "Die Another Day").
But new research may realize the dream for a more down-to-Earth use: renewable energy.
The proposed plan by the researcher will use small parabolic mirrors about 3 feet in diameter, combined with new two-layer ceramic disks to produce laser light.
"It is possible to make solar-powered lasers with the efficiency of 30 to 40 percent," said officials involved with the project, a researcher at the Scientific and Product Association authenticated the process.
The announced proposal is a step beyond a similar project unveiled by Japanese researchers in 2007 which used a glass Fresnel lens instead of mirrors to create a laser to combust magnesium found in seawater.
This plan, would use the sun's energy to create a laser to power electric cells.
"We proposed an idea how to convert effectively the solar light into the laser," Officials said. "In principle it can be converted into electricity by using concentrating photovoltaic modules with the efficiency of about 50 percent or closer to 100 percent in the near future."
Solar-powered lasers already exist on an experimental basis. But there have always been two major issues: removing the heat generated by the mirrors and the converting one kind of power to another efficiently.
The new HDR building’s unit tackles both.
When sunlight hits the ceramic material, it excites the electrons and causes them to emit laser light of a specific wavelength. To control the heat, the ceramic disk would be mounted atop a heat sink through which water would be pumped. The laser light would then take another reflective bounce through the ceramic surface, which produces an extra amount of efficiency.
Sounds cool, but the project does have some doubters.
Among the concerns are what will happen to drones use by photographers in small helicopters, photo journalists and low flying birds, not to mention the city’s falcons that nest in a nearby building should they enter the beam. Professors of electrical engineering and computer sciences at several Universities’ and The Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science, have produced multiple paper’s about unfocused solar powered lasers back starting in 1983. The papers state that focused lasers haven't really worked out.
"They don't solve any useful problems," the reports say. Laser energy from the sun "can be directed into a solar cell, but the added complexity is not worth it."
Current theory states that advanced solar collectors are a better bang for the energy-collecting buck and has more efficiency when applied to photovoltaic solar cells.
Despite the obstacles, this proposed solar-powered laser will get off the ground as shown in the building renderings. The focused beam of light will intersect the tip of the nearby First National Tower where the energy will be converted in the buildings cooling tower. The solar furnace will be known as the BANG (Big Air Nebraska Generator). It sounds like a bad guy's lair, but HDR is certainly no Bond villain out to create a death ray.
"The solar laser is a promising way in the use of renewable energy as an ultimate energy source for Omaha businesses."

choke · Post by **choke** » Mon Feb 22, 2016 9:08 pm

Good job of manipulating the original article from 2011 to make it fit the HDR project.

OmahaShomaha · Post by **OmahaShomaha** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:11 am

HDR is backing out of moving downtown. Them backing out is why OPA pulled the plug on the Spect deal as well.

The rumor is that they'll end up in the Boy's town area.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 10:19 am

What is this claim based on?

I feel like they've come too far to back out now. They're not going to put this exact building in the First National Park Area, they've got too much press on their move now, and it would take another several months before they'd design a new building to fit a different lot. They're up against their lease expiring, they don't exactly have time to waffle about their location anymore. Unless they had a backup lot and a backup building for their alternate location, I don't think they're going to back out.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 10:53 am

It would be hilarious if they do end up by Boy's Town and get their area blighted and get TIF.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 12:54 pm

RNcyanide wrote:What is this claim based on?

I feel like they've come too far to back out now. They're not going to put this exact building in the First National Park Area, they've got too much press on their move now, and it would take another several months before they'd design a new building to fit a different lot. They're up against their lease expiring, they don't exactly have time to waffle about their location anymore. Unless they had a backup lot and a backup building for their alternate location, I don't think they're going to back out.

It's a "bad" rumor and HDR pulling out of downtown isn't going to happen.. It simply isn't logical and mainly for the time reasoning you've stated in your post..

If it were to happen it, would be one of the biggest (insert expletive here) moves a company has made in recent Onaha history...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

GRANDPASMUCKER · Post by **GRANDPASMUCKER** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 3:14 pm

Omaha Cowboy wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:What is this claim based on?

I feel like they've come too far to back out now. They're not going to put this exact building in the First National Park Area, they've got too much press on their move now, and it would take another several months before they'd design a new building to fit a different lot. They're up against their lease expiring, they don't exactly have time to waffle about their location anymore. Unless they had a backup lot and a backup building for their alternate location, I don't think they're going to back out.
It's a "bad" rumor and HDR pulling out of downtown isn't going to happen.. It simply isn't logical and mainly for the time reasoning you've stated in your post..

If it were to happen it, would be one of the biggest (insert expletive here) moves a company has made in recent Onaha history...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

I read a rumor on a popular reliable internet forum that HDR was not going to move downtown. They would not let it be on the internet if it was not true.

PotatoeEatsFish · Post by **PotatoeEatsFish** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 4:45 pm

Someone help me I'm actually starting to like the rendering.

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 6:52 pm

Come on guys, you're killing me. The people spreading this rumor have one post or guest accounts.

One reason given was a lack of parking. You honestly think a national architecture and planning firm didn't plan for enough parking at their own headquarters in their own city? Really?

PotatoeEatsFish · Post by **PotatoeEatsFish** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 8:10 pm

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Come on guys, you're killing me. The people spreading this rumor have one post or guest accounts.

One reason given was a lack of parking. You honestly think a national architecture and planning firm didn't plan for enough parking at their own headquarters in their own city? Really?

I think its hilarious people think the renderings are suddenly going to change just a month after they were released. HDR obviously has enough parking, they made half their lot into parking.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:43 am

Prof Emmett wrote:NEWS: New Laser Shoots Beams of Light

Solar Lasers Not Just for James Bond

Focusing the sun's energy into a super-powered laser beam gets one step closer.
- Researchers working with the new HDR Corporate Headquarters builders in Omaha, NE want to focus the sun's energy into a laser to use as renewable energy.
- The scheme would involve using 3-foot-wide parabolic mirrors built into the buildings “Curtain Wall”.
Harnessing the sun's rays to produce a beam of pure energy has long been the goal of inventors from the ancient Greek engineer Archimedes (focused mirrors to destroy invading ships) to James Bond villains (space-based lasers of "Diamonds are Forever" and "Die Another Day").
But new research may realize the dream for a more down-to-Earth use: renewable energy.
The proposed plan by the researcher will use small parabolic mirrors about 3 feet in diameter, combined with new two-layer ceramic disks to produce laser light.
"It is possible to make solar-powered lasers with the efficiency of 30 to 40 percent," said officials involved with the project, a researcher at the Scientific and Product Association authenticated the process.
The announced proposal is a step beyond a similar project unveiled by Japanese researchers in 2007 which used a glass Fresnel lens instead of mirrors to create a laser to combust magnesium found in seawater.
This plan, would use the sun's energy to create a laser to power electric cells.
"We proposed an idea how to convert effectively the solar light into the laser," Officials said. "In principle it can be converted into electricity by using concentrating photovoltaic modules with the efficiency of about 50 percent or closer to 100 percent in the near future."
Solar-powered lasers already exist on an experimental basis. But there have always been two major issues: removing the heat generated by the mirrors and the converting one kind of power to another efficiently.
The new HDR building’s unit tackles both.
When sunlight hits the ceramic material, it excites the electrons and causes them to emit laser light of a specific wavelength. To control the heat, the ceramic disk would be mounted atop a heat sink through which water would be pumped. The laser light would then take another reflective bounce through the ceramic surface, which produces an extra amount of efficiency.
Sounds cool, but the project does have some doubters.
Among the concerns are what will happen to drones use by photographers in small helicopters, photo journalists and low flying birds, not to mention the city’s falcons that nest in a nearby building should they enter the beam. Professors of electrical engineering and computer sciences at several Universities’ and The Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science, have produced multiple paper’s about unfocused solar powered lasers back starting in 1983. The papers state that focused lasers haven't really worked out.
"They don't solve any useful problems," the reports say. Laser energy from the sun "can be directed into a solar cell, but the added complexity is not worth it."
Current theory states that advanced solar collectors are a better bang for the energy-collecting buck and has more efficiency when applied to photovoltaic solar cells.
Despite the obstacles, this proposed solar-powered laser will get off the ground as shown in the building renderings. The focused beam of light will intersect the tip of the nearby First National Tower where the energy will be converted in the buildings cooling tower. The solar furnace will be known as the BANG (Big Air Nebraska Generator). It sounds like a bad guy's lair, but HDR is certainly no Bond villain out to create a death ray.
"The solar laser is a promising way in the use of renewable energy as an ultimate energy source for Omaha businesses."

[youtube][/youtube]

mcarch · Post by **mcarch** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 11:30 pm

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Come on guys, you're killing me. The people spreading this rumor have one post or guest accounts.

One reason given was a lack of parking. You honestly think a national architecture and planning firm didn't plan for enough parking at their own headquarters in their own city? Really?

They didn't plan that at their current location!!!! That is FACT. They also didn't plan for needed space, including their leased floors in buildings by Westroads. As soon as the building was done, they were rudely awakened there wasn't enough space and re-leased.

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Sat Mar 05, 2016 6:16 pm

Where do you get this info? Do you work for them?

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:16 am

This sounds really dumb, but if they're short a hundred or so parking stalls, so what? They can rent out space at another garage nearby. When I worked at Gavilon when it was in CAG 11, I walked to and from the garage to the west of the 10th Street Bridge. Big deal.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:30 am

For what it's worth, HDR run's its own shuttle vans right now for employees that have to park in lots away from their current buildings.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:35 am

GetUrban wrote:For what it's worth, HDR run's its own shuttle vans right now for employees that have to park in lots away from their current buildings.

And assuming the Civic ever comes to fruition, they'll have additional office space there if they run out of room in their new '16' story office.

mr. omaha · Post by **mr. omaha** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 9:11 am

I was just told this morning by someone involved with the project that HDR is looking at the Lanoha property. His quote was "HDR is looking at the site, I don't know if they're going to build here, but they're looking at it as one of their options."

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 2:51 pm

mr. omaha wrote:I was just told this morning by someone involved with the project that HDR is looking at the Lanoha property. His quote was "HDR is looking at the site, I don't know if they're going to build here, but they're looking at it as one of their options."

Well, there were people out there measuring things. Also, someone on here mentioned towers instead of tower in the city council agenda.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Wed Mar 16, 2016 2:18 pm

"Towers" in Omaha could mean 75'.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 18, 2016 6:47 pm

MTO wrote:"Towers" in Omaha could mean 75'.

You be quiet.

shhhh · Post by **shhhh** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:17 pm

Brace yourselves

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:32 pm

Guest wrote:Rumor circulating that OPA withdrew their plans for Spechtsite because HDR is about to pull the plug on their HQ over insufficient parking. Heard from 2 sources I will not name. I am a regular poster but do not want to be associated with this, which is why I'm going this route.

HDR scraps plans for downtown Omaha headquarters

Cindy Gonzalez - World-Herald staff writer wrote: HDR Chairman and CEO George A. Little said: "Regrettably, since the project did not develop as originally proposed, it is no longer in the best interests of our employee-owners and company to move downtown. We are actively pursuing other site options to stay within the city of Omaha, which has always been our priority."

OmahaShomaha · Post by **OmahaShomaha** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:38 pm

Is it too early to say "I told you so"?

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:47 pm

MadMartin8 wrote:The reaction on here would be priceless if true.

isn't that the truth

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:54 pm

Minarded!

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:58 pm

OmahaShomaha wrote:HDR is backing out of moving downtown. Them backing out is why OPA pulled the plug on the Spect deal as well.

The rumor is that they'll end up in the Boy's town area.

Well, maybe this rumor is also true then... HDR to the West Dodge corridor....

HaDR · Post by **HaDR** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:09 pm

I don't buy the parking excuse. There is plenty of existing parking downtown on top of anything they were going to add. OPA didn't get the sweetheart deal they wanted for the buildings the city was going to buy and threw a fit and would not come to an agreement with HDR. Seems pretty clear to me.

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:12 pm

Maybe the employees finally said they didn't want an Urban setting, but preferred a suburban campus...

HaDR · Post by **HaDR** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:13 pm

Coyote wrote:Maybe the employees finally said they didn't want an Urban setting, but preferred a suburban campus...

I know this was the case with TD Ameritrade. They did a bunch of surveys before they built and folks preferred the central suburban location.

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:16 pm

144th & Pacific?

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:21 pm

I don't think parking is as plentiful as everyone is making it out to be. I know with National Indemnity moving more employees from their mid town offices into the OWH building, it's great a bit of a crunch in that area.

Greg

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:31 pm

I know it is always a really bad thing to lose a proposal for a downtown headquarters to a suburban campus.. However, something about their timeline and ordering of events make me say blah to this...

Sorry if you disagree. But I am not really bothered by this as much I should be. HDR didn't get to destroy three historic buildings for parking and they have a 'woe is me' press release..

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:36 pm

Coyote wrote:144th & Pacific?

Is that "blighted" yet?

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:38 pm

I am sure people in the know are right and it will be west o. Just east of MTC would still be my dream fall back spot.

MadMartin8 · Post by **MadMartin8** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:42 pm

Awesome, those old buildings that no one really cared about prior to all of this are safe.

GRANDPASMUCKER · Post by **GRANDPASMUCKER** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:42 pm

MadMartin8 wrote:Awesome, those old buildings that no one really cared about prior to all of this are safe.

99.9% of us still don't care about those 3 old buildings.