| someone123 |
Jan 6, 2021 6:25 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drybrain
(Post 9151035)
I was impressed by those little Inglis Street infill buildings, and ZZAP's website has a bunch more interesting stuff. Good to see a major local architectural firm that's unabashedly contemporary and concerned with context and heritage.
I think their designs are maybe a notch or two below truly excellent, but they're a positive addition to the development mix, for sure.
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Part of what stands out to me is that these are the kind of smaller infill projects that in the past would have been very hit or miss in Halifax. The South End is littered with much worse versions of that Inglis project.
The Waverley Inn and Dartmouth projects are interesting visions of what those areas could be like with a bit more growth and investment. The Thompson and Waverley Inn are both decent but there is a gap between them that ruins the rhythm of the street and they don't relate well to each other. There is a similar problem one block north with O'Brien Hall and the brick houses. O'Brien Hall isn't necessarily that bad but its setback interacts poorly with the strange surface parking and garbage area fronting onto Barrington and the blank wall of the Victorian next door. It looks like somebody did some kind of architectural hatchet job on what was perhaps a duplex? The completely generic picnic tables are icing on the cake. It would look way better with outdoor seating/tables designed in the style of the building.
The 50's gymnasium building on the other hand is quite good. Interesting modern architecture, nice landscaping, elegant interface with the Victorian next door. Nothing wrong with that.
This whole stretch needs underground utilities too. Even St. Matthew's has a line running to it across Barrington. This has practical implications for accessibility and pedestrian friendliness. Look at Barrington and Bishop where there's about 1 m between the stoops of the houses and some of those utility poles. |
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