Out of all the photos from last week’s site visit at Circuit of The Americas, only a few adequately capture the magnitude of the project. In fact, it takes 17 frames compiled together to create the following high-resolution panoramic photo. This is a panoramic photo taken from atop Turn 1, the most south-eastern point of the circuit, facing west. The far left of the photo is the south side of the property, and as you pan your view to the right, you are looking north.

Compiled from 17 photos, this panoramic shows the racetrack site from atop Turn 1.

We rode down the hill and made a pit stop in the temporary job site offices. Inside, we were greeted by grandstand seating options, restroom hardware and miscellaneous fixture options. Though it might seem trivial, selection of this hardware is a critical part of the project, and when done right, each doorhandle and light fixture intgrates seemlessly with the design. Just behind us, a detailed and colorful ten foot long rendering was tacked onto a white board, but it extended well past it. This was the first full size print out availible, so I also compiled numerous frames of it to deliver this high-res panoramic rendering, which mirrors the above panoramic shot from Turn 1.

Panoramic view from the top of Turn 1. Conceptual rendering from COTA, all rights reserved.

WOW! What a view! From this position, you can see the start/finish line, the pit and paddock building, and Turns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20.  Very few tracks in the world offer this comprehensive of a view from a single location.  The seating from this vantage point will be highly coveted and possibly limited; but there will be numerous seating options throughout the circuit that provide multiple views of the track, versus a 5-second drive/fly-by.

The magnitude of this project is starting to sink in, rivaling the scale of an Olympic complex or a Walt Disney World theme park. As the Austin Commercial construction team works towards an August deadline, daily progress amounts to significant visual changes, and the reality of the project inches closer to (pardon the pun) the finish line.

In case you missed our first article of this update, Turn 1: Austin's Zenith, check out the gallery below.

Update

on 2012-01-20 23:07 by Kevin Olsen

If you're having trouble seeing the high-res photo, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the photo from the article; it will open in a new window.
  2. In the new window, right click on the image and choose "View image." This will shrink the image to fit on one page. Hover your mouse/cursor over various areas of the image and you will see a "+" magnifying glass.
  3. Click once on the "+" magnifying glass to zoom in on the desired area, and then click again on the "-" magnifying glass to zoom out.
  4. Repeat the zoom in and zoom out process on various areas of the image.