Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project | Completed

[Locked In]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

Global Convention Centre Size Comparisons

Milan Italy - Fiero Milan (345,000 m2)
Las Vegas, USA - Las Vegas Convention Center (297,000 m2)
Tokyo, Japan - Makuhari Messe (210,000 m2)
Los Angeles, USA - Los Angeles Convention Center (80,700 m2)
Geneva, Switzerland - Geneva Palexpo (70,000 m2)
New York, USA - Jacob K Javits Convention Centre (67,700 m2)
London, United Kingdom - Earles Court Convention Centre (58,811 m2)
Vancouver, Canada - Vancouver Convention Centre (43,991 m2)

I can't help but think that the convention centre expansion should have been larger.

Sorry if this was already pointed out, but the figure you quoted for Vancouver is for the original Convention Centre at Canada Place, without the expansion, is it not? Check out the press release amor de cosmos posted for the updated stats: "The additional 111,500 sq m (1.2 million sq ft) triples the centre’s capacity,".
That puts Vancouver ahead of NY, London, and LA. You think we need to go bigger?

Thanks for all the pictures SFUVancouver, Mr.X2 and everyone else. The expansion looks incredible! The interior finishes seem sharp, I love the massive scale along the street, and the plaza should be a fantastic addition to the public realm. I'm really looking forward to seeing it in person.

[osirisboy]

That does sound right lockedIn. although on the vancouver convention centers website it lists the total area of "function" space being 43,800m2. all the space including retail etc would be the 111,500m2

[vansky]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

That does sound right lockedIn. although on the vancouver convention centers website it lists the total area of "function" space being 43,800m2. all the space including retail etc would be the 111,500m2

the thing cannot be bigger than those cities', it is functional exhibition area that is calculated in other cities'. why dont we include half the ocean as part of the overall conventional space, we r limitless in terms of all the features of this convention center, since view counts as one too.

Toronto is going to get a bigger one i think by expansion. Afterall, it's the locally claimed "center of the world". Their scale cannot be beaten by van can they?

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

That does sound right lockedIn. although on the vancouver convention centers website it lists the total area of "function" space being 43,800m2. all the space including retail etc would be the 111,500m2

Nearly 70 000 square meters dedicated to retail? No way. Thats the size of 14 walmarts.

[en2]

Does anyone know if there is going to be an internal connection to the existing convention center at Canada Place so that people who move between the 2 don't have to go outside?

Also I think if there was integration with SkyTrain, the new Fairmount Pacific Rim hotel and maybe some retail/food outlets, it would take the design to another level.

I think what is missing from a lot of buildings in Vancouver is internal integration with transit, retail etc. It really makes a big difference if you see it in action in many Asian cities.

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by en2

Does anyone know if there is going to be an internal connection to the existing convention center at Canada Place so that people who move between the 2 don't have to go outside?

Also I think if there was integration with SkyTrain, the new Fairmount Pacific Rim hotel and maybe some retail/food outlets, it would take the design to another level.

I think what is missing from a lot of buildings in Vancouver is internal integration with transit, retail etc. It really makes a big difference if you see it in action in many Asian cities.

If you look closely at the pictures of the sidealk between the Convetion Centre, and Canada Place, you'll see glass below the sidewalk. I believe behind that is what is eventually going to be the inter-connection.


vancouver desires too much street life to be willing to have inter-connected buildings. If Downtown were to add another 50 000 - 100 000 to the population and the region another million, I'd say start sticking in some underground, otherwise you'll lose the vibrant street life to the underground.

[dreambrother808]

looking forward to 3 harbour green blocking out the view of that black box building (can't remember it's name).

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

Nearly 70 000 square meters dedicated to retail? No fucking way. Thats the size of 14 walmarts.

no the retail is 55,000 sqft! read my post more carefully (or maybe my posts could be better written but I am drunk right now). I was just pointing out that just the fucntion space totals 43,000 m2 while everything else (including the retail) makes up the 111,500m2

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

looking forward to 3 harbour green blocking out the view of that black box building (can't remember it's name).

I was thinking the same thing!!!! It will really finish everything off nicely.

Does anyone know when they are to start on the restaurant thing where the floatplane terminals currently are?

[Hed Kandi]

..

[Locked In]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

That does sound right lockedIn. although on the vancouver convention centers website it lists the total area of "function" space being 43,800m2. all the space including retail etc would be the 111,500m2

You're right, thanks for clarifying. Found this on their website: "With our expansion complete, we’ve tripled our size to cover 1.1 million square feet (or four city blocks) for a combined total of 473,523 square feet of pre-function, meeting, exhibition, and ballroom space."

As far as underground connections go - they're not my top priority. Maybe I've spent too much time stuck underground in PATH in Toronto, but I love walking around at street level in Vancouver.

Again, thanks for the fantastic pictures from the open house and around the expansion. I really like this building.

Edit: Hed Kandi, I mentioned in my original post where I was pulling my facts from. It was pointed out that the news release was referencing the total amount of space covered, not usable space. My mistake. As far as building larger - I don't have any specific knowledge about the convention industry, but I'd speculate that that the type of big shows that go to Vegas, NY, Tokyo etc. aren't going to end up here just because we build a bigger space. I'd imagine those shows are choosing locations based on more factors than just square footage. And like some others have pointed out, if Vancouver outgrows this expansion decades from now, we can build a new one - and we will no doubt have gotten our money's worth from this beauty by then!

[fever]

GaWC is pretty much useless for ranking cities, as anyone who's been to Ljubljana can tell you.


I think I see SFUVancouver in one of your photos, x.

[mr.x]

^ oh lol...small world.


Lets say that the facility is in need of another expansion in 30 years, how would we go about with that?

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by fever

I think I see SFUVancouver in one of your photos, x.

Yep. I did a double take when I saw that one.

[Locked In]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

I was thinking the same thing!!!! It will really finish everything off nicely.

Does anyone know when they are to start on the restaurant thing where the floatplane terminals currently are?

The skyline looking south from the plaza is going to look fantastic, especially with HG3 there.

Jlousa posted some information about the Harbour Green restaurant in the
Downtown Updates Thread a while back. Construction will begin in September 2010, and it's set to open in 2012.

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

I'm not sure where you're pulling your facts from but I'm sorry to say they're incorrect.

http://www.vancouverconventioncentre.com/thefacilities/expansion/

Total 338,000 ft²
31,400 m² 133,000 ft²
12,400 m² 471,000 ft²
43,800 m²

Just looking at those numbers, whoever was putting them down on the website screwed up. There is no way 31,400 m² equates to 133,000 ft² Especially when 12,400 m² (less than 31,400) equates to 471,000 ft² (more than 133, 000).

[djun]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

Just looking at those numbers, whoever was putting them down on the website screwed up. There is no way 31,400 m² equates to 133,000 ft² Especially when 12,400 m² (less than 31,400) equates to 471,000 ft² (more than 133, 000).

I think the rows and columns are misaligned...

Total :
31,400 m² (338,000 ft²) expansion
12,400 m² (133,000 ft²) existing
----------------------------------
43,800 m² (471,000 ft²) combined

These numbers combine exhibit space, meeting space, and signature ballroom space.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Locked In

The skyline looking south from the plaza is going to look fantastic, especially with HG3 there.

Jlousa posted some information about the Harbour Green restaurant in the
Downtown Updates Thread a while back. Construction will begin in September 2010, and it's set to open in 2012.

thanks I dont know why or how i missed reading that before. So we're going to be stuck with that weird looking opening for a few years, that sucks.

[johnjimbc]

For whoever had asked above, there is already an underground connection between the old and new convention centers. I left through it today, discovering it by accident. If basically follows underneath the exterior sidewalk between the two centers. Windows looking out onto the water between the two centers (where the cruise ships dock) and some first nations art and references on the interior wall on the opposite side of the corridor.

I was surprised to find it, but it was open as part of the open house today, with a few other souls wandering through with us, and a few hosts there as well.

I'm heading to bed for now, but I'll try to post a couple of photos of it in the morning. I took a few shots that I haven't seen in all the photos put up today so I'll try to post a few that aren't duplicates or show something different (like the connecting concourse).

[nova9]

Originally Posted by johnjimbc

Ok, This is totally geeky but I noticed the same thing Jacques did about the soap dispenser sensor being too close to the water sensor ; ).

My other little laughing moment was the labels over each individual urinal (at perfect eye level and quite prominent) to caution that the water used in the toilets and urinals was not potable and therefore should not be drunk. "Um, ok, thanks for pointing that out." I think they should reprint them with a final line that says, "Oh, and people piss here too" .

The real kicker was in the bathroom I used there was NOT a sticker in front of the handicap accessible urinal (the one with huge handles on either side). It was obviously absent the sticker since it was in line with all the others. I chuckled, wondering if the implication was that the water used for it was different.
________________

Kidding aside, though, I was really quite impressed with the overall quality and scale and warmth of the structure. Between the expansive windows in the public spaces, the warmth of the extensive wood, the cool extras like little unexpected balcony areas, glimpses of the green roof, nice public furnishings, etc, I felt it all came together quite well. Kudos.

Haha, I thought that at first but after a second reading, the sticker actually says that the water used to flush the toilets and urinal is from a source where the water is not meant for consumption. So no drinking water was wasted on flushing the toilets.