Yokelhoma

I posted a status update about having drinks on the top floor of the highest building in Oklahoma and a few friends chimed in with witticisms about how they didn't know they had six-story buildings in Oklahoma, and how I must have been tired after climbing two flights of stairs.

Its a piquant reminder of a few things, the larger being the widespread conception of Oklahoma city as the "rootin, tootin", horseback riding, clapboard capital of the state of Podunk, in the middle of fly-over region. Its not an accurate conception, but that's besides the point. For reasons that elude me, people also think Dubai is a great vacation destination, with observable results.

The other is that the Devon tower, at a soaring 260m, does more than double the height of the surrounding high-rise towers. Given the flatness of the prairie, and the relatively low heights of the skyscrapers downtown in comparison, the Devon tower is visible from dozens of miles outside the city, a quarter size Burj Khalifa. Like the Devon corporation itself, a massive energy conglomerate I've never heard of before this building, there's something massive and surprising here.

The Devon center is the 36th tallest tower in the US, actually, well within the top 150 tallest buildings in the world. The view from the top is lovely, I do have to say, especially the clear view to the distant horizon, especially lovely at sunset. It is tastefully appointed with expensive finishes and minimal furnishings. Wood panels, marble everywhere, massive walls covered with slabs of local sandstone. The overall feel is that this building is dressed for Manhattan or Miracle Mile, but feels comfortable with its own understated opulence. It's designed to impress, but within the bounds of conservative corporate taste.

The design seems sensible- maximize floorplates for the height, a slight stepping back becoming more pronounced at the top. It is, regrettably, a symmetrical design, triple blade, like the Burj, with elevator core at the center. This symmetry is regrettable because there is no consideration for solar orientation or any attempt to shade the glass walls. And did I mention the building is entirely glass? For a building that size, my understanding is that the heat loads would require air conditioning even in the dead of midwestern winters. I'm not sure it gains anything aesthetically from its symmetry. Maybe structurally.