Developer Dudley Webb of the Webb Companies didn’t make any friends when his company razed an entire block of Downtown Lexington, Kentucky for a massive mixed-use tower that ended up stalling in the recession. Now, though, after bringing on Chicago-based Studio Gang to help reimagine the project at the behest of Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and dean of the University of Kentucky College of Design Michael Speaks, the community is regaining excitement over new plans to revamp the CentrePointe site.

Jeanne Gang, principal at Studio Gang, took to the stage today to present her latest plans for the CentrePointe site and to announce a team of five Lexington-based architects (chosen from a pool of 25 applicants) who will collaborate on the project to offer variety and local character. The selected firms include: David Biagi, Architect; CSC Design Group; EOP Architects; OMNI Architects; and Ross Tarrant Architects with Pohl Rosa Pohl.

The focal point of the design is a 30-story tower of “bundled tubes” housing a hotel, apartments, and condos. The tower is similar to a concept massing model presented in early June, and features patterning reminiscent of traditional horse farm fencing common around Lexington. Gang told the Lexington Herald-Leader, “The benefit of the tubes is you can go inside and on top of them and have public spaces.” Renderings show landscaped voids where the vertical tubes are separated as they rise to maximize air flow and sunlight hitting the building.

Adjacent to the tower is an 8-story glass shard office building. Connecting the two larger buildings are a series of smaller scale structures to be designed by local architects. Studio Gang studied the topography of Lexington’s equine landscape including the sinuous patterns created by fences around horse farms. Initial concept studies showed a cellular network based on these farms informing the site’s layout. Gang also hopes for a pedestrian passage running through the center of the site, possibly housing a sculpture park.