[St. John's] The Official Project Thread

[Architype]

Buildings with that shape are now common in condo high rises, Vancouver ad suburbs has some of those. I like them as opposed to the square look, but in this case I don't like the red brick going all the way up.

Maybe people are missing my point, that it's not that it's hard to design a great modern looking building, but in St. John's it's different, because the city has a unique look and geography, I think it needs something quite different in design, and I don't think anyone has done that yet.

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by Architype

Buildings with that shape are now common in condo high rises, Vancouver ad suburbs has some of those. I like them as opposed to the square look, but in this case I don't like the red brick going all the way up.

i also like them for condos ... not so much for office buildings..too bad the height restricions are in place in ALL of the city to be no higher then 10 stories .. i hope that changes... cuz some highrise condos like that will have some cool veiws in parts of the city because of the geography

[MalcolmTucker]

If the city didn't have its own height limits, would the airport overlay come into play over downtown at all?

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby

If the city didn't have its own height limits, would the airport overlay come into play over downtown at all?

No, the airport is at an elevation around 461 ft / 141 m (source: wikipedia), downtown is to the southeast at sea level 3.5 miles away and surrounded by high hills (from 250 up to 800 ft). However, I think you could build higher right at the actual airport than you are allowed to by regulations downtown. Vancouver airport even has a 14 storey hotel attached right to the terminal. Perhaps only in the flight paths there would be restrictions. The landing paths are from the East over the ocean or from the West (rural areas). There is a north south runway but I've never landed where it flies over the city.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=...,0.219383&z=12

Vancouver Fairmont airport Hotel (at right):

http://www.hotels.com/13/hotels/1000...32651_10_b.jpg

[MalcolmTucker]

500 ft? It doesn't seem like that making the trip that is for sure! (I guess it might on a bike).

Do you know if the city has considered view cones instead of blanket height restrictions? Basically protecting views from The Rooms, the Basilica to parts of the harbor & maybe Signal Hill and vice versa.

[PoscStudent]

Hopefully we will see soon what Fortis has planned for their revised proposal.

I haven't heard anything else on the proposal that Dennis O'Keefe mentioned over a month ago about a Water Front development.

[PoscStudent]

Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby

Do you know if the city has considered view cones instead of blanket height restrictions? Basically protecting views from The Rooms, the Basilica to parts of the harbor & maybe Signal Hill and vice versa.

The city has implemented view cones for certain areas I believe the Rooms view is one.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by PoscStudent

The city has implemented view cones for certain areas I believe the Rooms view is one.

That would be a sensible idea.

Regarding views, they should put a road up on the top of the southside hills, make it a park and lookout point. It has great views, and is a lost tourism resource. The trail is just too rough and steep and inaccesible for most people.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby

500 ft? It doesn't seem like that making the trip that is for sure! (I guess it might on a bike).

The airport is roughly almost as high an elevation as Signal Hill.
People living in Airport Heights can see the ocean and Signal Hill.

[PoscStudent]

I think a road going up to the Southside Hills is a great idea, I saw somewhere though I found it unlikely that the oil tanks are supposedly going to be removed from there.

I think the council needs to really work at doing little things to beautify the city. One thing that always bugs me is the traffic lights downtown, some are painted black, which look great, but they don't have all of them done. I'm sure theres tons of relativly inexpensive things that could be done to make the city look nicer.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by PoscStudent

I think a road going up to the Southside Hills is a great idea, I saw somewhere though I found it unlikely that the oil tanks are supposedly going to be removed from there.

I think the council needs to really work at doing little things to beautify the city. One thing that always bugs me is the traffic lights downtown, some are painted black, which look great, but they don't have all of them done. I'm sure theres tons of relativly inexpensive things that could be done to make the city look nicer.

If they removed the oil tanks it might open it up to development.

To make the city look better, it needs more landscaping IMO, like on Prince Phillip Drive/MUN area.

[PoscStudent]

^ I agree.

I was in Ottawa May and although they didn't have all the flowers planted yet it was really nice to see around the city, it brightened it up so much. It doesn't seem like St. John's bothers much with flowers during the summer.

Last year though colour concrete was used on some new sidewalks down by Stavanger Drive and although it seems strange it really looked good and it stood out to me again today when I drove by.

[Architype]

Why couldn't they plant some trees around the waterfront area? I like to see some cobblestone look and different sidewalk surfaces for downtown too. (I know this has already been done in some areas).

[HomeInMyShoes]

Isn't it illegal to plant trees in the heritage zone? They might block the view during the short summer in about twenty-five years.



butTheView is my newest photo extravaganza . I was working on my numbers photothread (I still have 23 to go) and had a lot of other stuff including a lot around the Fortis site for reference.

[nl_eng]

Originally Posted by PoscStudent

The city has implemented view cones for certain areas I believe the Rooms view is one.

View cones have their uses, but it really boils down to a question of whether you're more interested in seeing nature or architecture from a certain vantage point, or a combination thereof. As such, view cones need to be open to modification to reflect current cultural desires, I think.

BTW, back on the Confederation Building topic, the scaffolding is starting to be torn down today from what I saw. Within the week, the full effect of the new windows should be clearly visible.

[nl_eng]

Originally Posted by PoscStudent

Last year though colour concrete was used on some new sidewalks down by Stavanger Drive and although it seems strange it really looked good and it stood out to me again today when I drove by.

Agreed, it does look good, as did the addition of the planters. Unfortunately the practice isn't more widespread in St. John's, unlike Mount Pearl. Maybe because St. John's hasn't bothered to have a City Plan for the last 30 years to encourage such beautification!

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Isn't it illegal to plant trees in the heritage zone? They might block the view during the short summer in about twenty-five years.



butTheView is my newest photo extravaganza . I was working on my numbers photothread (I still have 23 to go) and had a lot of other stuff including a lot around the Fortis site for reference.

hey where is this pic taken?

[HomeInMyShoes]

^On Water Street, near the corner with Temperance. The graffiti is on the base of the new condos going up there.

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

^On Water Street, near the corner with Temperance. The graffiti is on the base of the new condos going up there.

well thats pretty hilarious! lol even the grafiti artists recognize the situation lol

[PoscStudent]

HomeInMyShoes seeing you were just done there, by the look of your pictures, what is going on with the Temperance Street Condo, or does anyone else know?