Canadian City Proposals II

[someone123]

Here's a new one for Halifax. This has been a known development site for a long time, but this is from the construction management plan. The taller tower is 36 floors, on the other side of Robie from Richmond Yards.


Source

It's going in just to the right of the crane in this previously-posted photo:

Originally Posted by someone123

Here are a few select reposts from the excellent Developments Halifax. These are from inner city areas outside downtown from the past few weeks. I thought they all showed something interesting about how the city is developing.

The basically brand new Almon/Robie skyline visible from the Citadel across the Commons

[LeftCoaster]

Holy hodgepodge.

Someone needs to tell that architect less is more. Mies Van der something could really help tighten up that design.

[someone123]

There has been a not so great trend in Halifax toward putting 4-6 different cladding materials on buildings. I would say it peaked a number of years ago, but it's still going with some developers. It's possible this should be interpreted more like a site plan diagram.

This seems like a basic proposal for what was originally a publicly-owned municipal site that at one point was supposed to have all sorts of planning and consultation. In the end, they cut it up into 4 and one quarter of it is a park, which is nice, but it doesn't seem exceptional. It is taller because so much up-zoning has happened and the apartment market is very tight. It was a bit suspicious because there were some historic schools on the site but they burned down after years of neglect and of course were demolished in the end, leaving a blank slate for more towers.

[TorontoDrew]

Agreed, Halifax has such a nice skyline; they need better, more thoughtful designs. You should send your mayor to Victoria or QC and have them follow their leads with design standards.

[Nouvellecosse]

^ Perhaps on low and midrises. But on highrises I'm not seeing it.

[davidivivid]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

^ Perhaps on low and midrises. But on highrises I'm not seeing it.

I must agree.

[someone123]

I wonder how much that kind of thing would make sense. The mayor doesn't really control or approve projects, the desired styles are different in different cities, the markets are different, and the developers are different. In Halifax it depends a lot on the developer. I don't think I'd trade the overall mix of projects in Halifax for Victoria or QC, and as far as I know they are not building a lot of 30-40 storey towers.

One thing I do see in Quebec City is that there's more willingness to enhance and reinforce traditional architectural styles while in Halifax everything at the high end has to be sleek and modern looking, and there's a push to add setbacks between historic and modern buildings. Occasionally it's better to build something that looks old and fits in, instead of a postmodern reinterpretation of a stone facade. I'd guess Quebec City steps in more to enforce minimum standards as well, while in Halifax ridiculous stuff happens to heritage buildings and there are no consequences.

[jc_yyc_ca]

A few new renderings for Calgary's proposed two tower Stampede Station development. Also a new Fairmont hotel was announced for Calgary. Hopefully we'll soon have some new renderings for that as well.

[trueviking]

I’m not a tower guy but those are beauties.

Who is the architect?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by trueviking

I’m not a tower guy but those are beauties.

Who is the architect?

NORR.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

A few new renderings for Calgary's proposed two tower Stampede Station development. Also a new Fairmont hotel was announced for Calgary. Hopefully we'll soon have some new renderings for that as well.

WOW. These are beautiful. One of the best proposals I've seen in the last 10 years.

[shappy]

Hmm I’m not seeing it. I like the slightly undulating facade. Nice silhouette on the night render but the way the towers meet at the bottom is awkward. At grade is not great either.

[someone123]

There is a culture of modern architecture that prizes goals like simplicity and manipulations in form of the overall buildings but then doesn't care as much about whether or not the pedestrian experience is 100 m of glass wall. These sculptural buildings are okay but they work better as landmarks rather than the bulk of buildings in a city. Which is sort of what this is. I would like a trend toward more variety as judged by a person walking by, and a trend away from ornamentation-phobia.

I also think the reception to these depends a lot on rendering vibes, which often in turn depend on how a project is marketed.

[zoomer]

I love the silhouette and the design solution to avoid a blocky behemoth. These renderings however indicate there's room for improvement as the street level and podium is underwhelming for a building of this significance. The finer design details could also use some refinement as the image looking up the tower indicates it's too repetitive and a bit boring. A balancing act to be sure to maintain sleekness without being boring, to look good from afar yet also good underneath and beside. That being said still a great start and one of the better Canadian residential tower proposals of the past several years.

[Glow Fun City]

Originally Posted by someone123

There is a culture of modern architecture that prizes goals like simplicity and manipulations in form of the overall buildings but then doesn't care as much about whether or not the pedestrian experience is 100 m of glass wall. These sculptural buildings are okay but they work better as landmarks rather than the bulk of buildings in a city. Which is sort of what this is. I would like a trend toward more variety as judged by a person walking by, and a trend away from ornamentation-phobia.

I also think the reception to these depends a lot on rendering vibes, which often in turn depend on how a project is marketed.

Amen! A building's interaction with the street will have more impact on most people than anything else about its design.

[Nouvellecosse]

For me, the main issue is that there's too much blue glass. Especially window wall rather than high quality curtain wall. For me, a building covered entirely in blue glass is the equivalent of consumer products made entirely of synthetic materials like plastic. Adding some wood, concrete, etc. would make a big difference. But the design is otherwise very cool.

[someone123]

Not sure if this has been posted before. Stanfield's factory redevelopment for Truro NS:


Source

This one is nice to see. 20 years ago I think this factory building would simply have been demolished. Truro seems to be developing into a nice town with lots of infill.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

WOW. These are beautiful. One of the best proposals I've seen in the last 10 years.

The towers look like flathead screwdrivers.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by someone123

Not sure if this has been posted before. Stanfield's factory redevelopment for Truro NS:


Source

This one is nice to see. 20 years ago I think this factory building would simply have been demolished. Truro seems to be developing into a nice town with lots of infill.

If that's actually built I believe it will make Truro the 2nd tallest municipality in mainland NS. Kentville has a 6 story midrise, but otherwise everything outside the HRM and CBRM is strictly midrise iirc.

[Surrealplaces]

Originally Posted by Glow Fun City

Amen! A building's interaction with the street will have more impact on most people than anything else about its design.

Originally Posted by someone123

There is a culture of modern architecture that prizes goals like simplicity and manipulations in form of the overall buildings but then doesn't care as much about whether or not the pedestrian experience is 100 m of glass wall. These sculptural buildings are okay but they work better as landmarks rather than the bulk of buildings in a city. Which is sort of what this is. I would like a trend toward more variety as judged by a person walking by, and a trend away from ornamentation-phobia.

I also think the reception to these depends a lot on rendering vibes, which often in turn depend on how a project is marketed.

I generally agree with these opinions. The base and streetscape of these is much the same as you might find for other large sculptural towers such as The Shard, Chrysler Tower, Willis tower, Taipei 101, Transamerica Pyramid etc.. These buildings stand out in a skyline and are memorable to look at or in photos.

That said, not every city block needs to be a building with good street interaction. 90% of Calgary's smaller new builds have good streetscape interactions (which is very important) and there have been tens of dozens of these built in the past 10 years. A couple of tall sculptural towers replacing a gravel lot is cause for celebration no matter how you look at it.