I am all about, "If you're going to do something, do it right." I think this is a perfect opportunitty for the athletic department to make nice enough to have outdoor press conferences, lighting, and a nice gathering area. Another cool aspect of the design could include a nice little fountain or something that would contain water and have the rocket and rocket fuel hand and hand together. I think shrubery around it would be essential along with lighting. You could pick a relatively simple design but it's always good to have a nice balance of landscaping and I have done landscaping for years... Replacing the base would be a definate plus, or we could just brick it or put limestone around it which would look nice, that would match the rest of the university building. I also always thought two huge blue and yellow lights shining all the way up Parks tower would look cool on tv. It would be an awesome backdrop and something people could see all around UT. If you lit that buiding up at night it would look 100% better!

toledophisher Wrote:I also always thought two huge blue and yellow lights shining all the way up Parks tower would look cool on tv. It would be an awesome backdrop and something people could see all around UT. If you lit that buiding up at night it would look 100% better!

I so love this idea!!!!

toledophisher Wrote:I am all about, "If you're going to do something, do it right." I think this is a perfect opportunitty for the athletic department to make nice enough to have outdoor press conferences, lighting, and a nice gathering area. Another cool aspect of the design could include a nice little fountain or something that would contain water and have the rocket and rocket fuel hand and hand together. I think shrubery around it would be essential along with lighting. You could pick a relatively simple design but it's always good to have a nice balance of landscaping and I have done landscaping for years... Replacing the base would be a definate plus, or we could just brick it or put limestone around it which would look nice, that would match the rest of the university building. I also always thought two huge blue and yellow lights shining all the way up Parks tower would look cool on tv. It would be an awesome backdrop and something people could see all around UT. If you lit that buiding up at night it would look 100% better!

Good ideas. I like having the idea of having a limestone facade that matches the stone used throughout campus applied to the current base (or build a new base). Would just add more to the costs.

Not as crazy about a fountain, alot of additional money (plumbing) and it detracts attention from the rocket (which IMO is the whole reason for doing this). I'm more inclined to explore how we can use lighting at night to really make the rocket stand out. Maybe a flagpole or two (one flying the US flag, another the Athletic logo flag)? A couple of bench's to sit on?

Using the site for press conference is an excellent idea. I know that the athletic teams would also likely use it for team photos, etc.

Anyway, I'm thinking this is an endeavor that will likely take a couple of years to bring to fruition, particularly if it is an all-volunteer effort.

Anyone know of a local firm that does these type of conceptual drawings?

[/url]http://www.conceptvisualization.com/[url]

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Just throwing this out incase anyone else hasn't:

What about creating levels in the base structure, like steps? I think it would give a more renounced appearance.

If I'm way off track here, . This thread is exploding!

pDoGG Wrote:Just throwing this out incase anyone else hasn't:

What about creating levels in the base structure, like steps? I think it would give a more renounced appearance.

If I'm way off track here, . This thread is exploding!

I wish I could draw.

Taking on a project like this gets me excited.

It's much less exciting to write checks out to the Athletic Department and not actually knowing what "improvements" I've helped make happen.

I'll still write the checks to help fund the larger projects, but I like the idea of getting the fan base involved in a smaller, grass roots effort.

I agree. Projects like these are truly special. I actually agree about the fountain, even though it was my own idea. I think that would be too much and cost too much for what it would add to the area. So I therefore take back my fountain idea. Was just rembling ideas that were in my head i guess. The tiered approach to the Rocket I think would be kinda cool. Definately something to look into. As for the press conference/photo op area, I think that is a good selling point because instead of just beautifying it would also serve functionality. Does anyone else agree that a colored LED board announcing upcoming games/ events etc would be cool on the outside of the stadium as well?

I will talk to a few of my engineering friends and see if they can either do some drawing or scrounge up someone who could. I'll keep everyone posted.

I'm hoping to get by Grabke's in the morning to see if they are willing to repair/repaint the fins that have developed the bubbles, i.e, are they willing to do it -- if so, gratis or at what cost. I will add any costs to the project budget.

Some things about the Nike-Ajax. Athough the U.S. Army Nike-Ajax missile program dates from 1954 (53 years ago), the missile itself still retains (and always will in my opinion) a very modern and sleek look. It would still not look old or dated 100 or more years from now. The successor to the Nike-Ajax was the Nike-Hercules. While newer and more lethal, it is ugly.

When I coordinated getting it refurbished a couple of years ago I was afraid that it had deteriorated to the point that it would not be salvagable. I was even in contact with the curator of the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum to see if any replacements would be possible. As things turned out the missile was in excellent shape except for one fin which the Grabke's replaced with one they had fabricated to match the others. The Grabke's took the missile to the Andersons in Maumee where they have a facility to rehab rail cars. There it was sandblasted down to bare metal (in some places the missile had close to an inch of paint on it). Once sandblasted the detail was that was exposed was unbelievable.

Back to the Ordnance Museum. While the Army maintains "boneyards" of old equipment and will donate things (tanks, howitzers, etc.) to qualifying orgainzations like the VFW, American Legion, etc. it would appear that our missile is the only Nike-Ajax that may still be in existence (outside of any that may be in museums). There are no "replacements".

For that reason alone I feel that maintaining this icon is a worthwhile endeavor. Two years ago it was in very sad shape. That should never be allowed to happen again. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.

I think something that they could do pretty easily would be to spruce up the walkway outside of the stadium on the pressbox side. They also need to make some improvements to the visiting side soncessions.

I'd love to see the area under the visitor's side closed in. With the road going right next to it, it could be a great place for some mural sized graphics.

-Dan

I love how accessible the rocket is the only problem I have is I wanted to get my picture taken next to it when I returned to the area a few years back. It was hard to get a picture because it was so big. If there were a platform placed nearby that would make the rocket part of the background it could be used for press conferences, fans, and visiting families of visiting students.

But I won't hold my breath on that happening. I think there's probably a better chance of the Glass bowl adding 30k stands and a dome to host the Bass Pro Shops Bowl.

I stopped by and spoke to Steve Grabke this morning. Steve is going to stop by and take a look at the Nike-Ajax so that we can figure out what needs to be done. I'll keep everyone in the loop.

Well i have the rocket modeled.

Added the base. Have you decided on the size of the circle for the bricks?

Cool, RM. RR, this is a great idea-I see the rocket all the time and think "that looks good" but never would hAave had the vision for this kind of thing.

Ok last one of these i'm going to post until i get ahold of reference photos of the area.

Standard Brick Circle, concrete sidewalk around that, with bolsters. More bolsters would be needed if chain was to be used.

Sorry,RM, but I'm having trouble seeing this in a void-could you add models of the GB and maybe Parks Tower behind it for some perspective? ;-)

Sure, get me perspective shots of those items and i'll be happy to add them.

:D

Theres only 5 hours of work into this model so far.

Isn't 3d great.

rovingmind Wrote:Sure, get me perspective shots of those items and i'll be happy to add them.

:D

Theres only 5 hours of work into this model so far.

Isn't 3d great.

looks good. what program do you use? I dabbled with 3dsmax before but had to delete it for room before I could get too into it. Still want to learn how to use it sometime though.