The Ugly Canada Thread - Page 19

MichaelS · #**361** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 5:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wooster

It's neither in Airdrie or Calgary - It's in Balzac. That's the worst thing about it. Calgary was dead-set against it. They would not provide water to the project, so it had to end up being piped from Red Deer or something insane like that. Cross Iron Mills is a planning abomination in every sense.

Just to clarify, I remember Cross Iron Mills got their water by placing the local agriculture canal into an underground pipe. The water saved from evaporation could then be used in the mall. More users of the same source of water, without a net increase on the source.

The mall itself might be wrong on so many things, but I do think this was a pretty ingenious solution.

MTLskyline · #**362** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 6:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Montreal's answer to the famous "Crack Stacks" of Minneapolis, I give you Drapeau garbage, in the face of "La Cité" (only a small part is shown). It took out half of the McGill Ghetto. Was supposed to extend all the way to Rue Université, but the residents revolted against the madness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGill_Ghetto). Nearby Air Transat tower is also quite fugly.

Mark'nMarkus Flikr

Desptie knocking down a ton of beautiful heritage buildings, I don't actually find La Cité to be that offensive. It kind of gives me a New York vibe.

freeweed · #**363** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 9:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelS

Just to clarify, I remember Cross Iron Mills got their water by placing the local agriculture canal into an underground pipe. The water saved from evaporation could then be used in the mall. More users of the same source of water, without a net increase on the source.

The mall itself might be wrong on so many things, but I do think this was a pretty ingenious solution.

If that's true, that's pretty commendable. In fact I'm surprised we don't see it being mandated wherever possible.

I know it's fun to rant and rail against suburbs and malls and such as being unsustainable, but... running agricultural canals all over the place, open to the air, in a semi-arid climate that is already close to carrying capacity in terms of water - that doesn't exactly strike me as sustainable either.

When sprawling exurban shopping malls are leading the way, you know you have priorities out of whack.

Nouvellecosse · #**364** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 10:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTLskyline

Desptie knocking down a ton of beautiful heritage buildings, I don't actually find La Cité to be that offensive. It kind of gives me a New York vibe.

I actually like those building for that reason. They're cool, especially in pics taken from the mountain.

Nouvellecosse · #**365** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 10:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

No commentary needed.

http://www.imtl.org/image/big/DSCN2222.jpg

Ok, except that the "chatel" is located at a prominent intersection of a bustling part of the city. Egregious? yes.
Ever since I was a biy, I gazed at this fucker, asking myself why, why on earth someone would build this. And who? Was there an architect involved? If so, how is that possible?

I actually like the way it looks from the side. But its wide view really looks like a slum.

The two angles barely even look like the same building.

matt602 · #**366** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 4:21 AM**

A friend and I found this absurdity in Gatineau whilst browsing the list of Canada's tallest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrasses_de_la_Chaudi%C3%A8re

Wow. The tacky flags on the roof just complete the ugly.

Symz · #**367** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 4:31 AM**

Ugly Windsor, by me

The building in the background on the right in this pic with the shitty mismatched glass.

the other side

shitty hall

espalorius · #**368** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 4:32 AM**

that last one of north york is pretty bad, reminds me a bit of some stuff here in vancouver.
Overall I like a lot of the buildings in this thread, but i grew up in an ugly high rise so i have a soft spot for them.

MolsonExport · #**369** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 12:48 PM**

christ, that is a shitty city hall, windsor.

flar · #**370** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 12:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt602

A friend and I found this absurdity in Gatineau whilst browsing the list of Canada's tallest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrasses_de_la_Chaudi%C3%A8re

Wow. The tacky flags on the roof just complete the ugly.

Thankfully the flags aren't a permanent feature, but yeah, Les Terrasses is a real monstrosity. There is a new building going up right beside it that will hide some of the ugliness.

Acajack · #**371** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 1:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt602

A friend and I found this absurdity in Gatineau whilst browsing the list of Canada's tallest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrasses_de_la_Chaudi%C3%A8re

Wow. The tacky flags on the roof just complete the ugly.

The flags are just there for Canada Day. (Though they are generally put up in time for St-Jean-Baptiste as well!

)

The feds do this on many of their prominent and tall office buildings in Ottawa-Gatineau.

Les Terrasses is not just aesthetically problematic. It is also very poorly designed and constructed: problems with too narrow fire escape stairways, problems with ventilation, problems with the water supply, problems with the electrical systems...

MTLskyline · #**372** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 2:17 PM**

The Hotel de la Montagne is the ugliest high-rise in downtown Montreal:

http://www.imtl.org/montreal/building/Hotel-de-la-Montagne.php

Although the rooftop view is apparently excellent:

http://www.gringaespanola.com/2009/08/hotel-de-la-montagne-best-view-of-montreal/

There is also a rooftop pool:

http://zoomandgo.com/destinations/image_viewer.asp?ak=100818606

And the lobby is pretty cool:

http://www.ebookers.com/hotels/Canada--QC/Montreal/Hotel_de_la_Montagne.h55817/

The hotel is going to close in September, and will be demolished to make way for a new hotel/condo/retail complex. I'm going to make a point of going to the top of the current hotel while I still can.

http://www.montreal2025.com/projet.php?lang=en&id=348

Rico Rommheim · #**373** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 2:23 PM**

Please do MTLskyline. Although I cannot argue with your comment about it being Montreal's ugliest downtown highrise, having drank on the rooftop terasse and dined in the lobby restaurant and stayed in the rooms multiple times, I maintain that the hotel should of had a major reclad.

Montreal is going to lose one of its most underrated hotels, and its ONLY downtown rooftop terasse accessible to the public.

And what are we gaining? Some bizarre contraption, lost somewhere in between the banality of a griffintown project and the ugliness of a brutalist highrise. Great.

O-tacular · #**374** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 2:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Symz

Ugly Windsor, by me

The building in the background on the right in this pic with the shitty mismatched glass.

the other side

shitty hall

Wow. Windsor sure has a lot of depressing and ugly going on! Though I kinda find the building in the first pic interesting. I'd go as far as to say I like it even. But the pic for the other side of the apartment building with the mismatched glass gets my vote for most depressing overall. That G & G jewelry store looks like it should be a bar in some depression era ghost town.

NBNYer · #**375** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 2:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTLskyline

The Hotel de la Montagne is the ugliest high-rise in downtown Montreal:

http://www.imtl.org/montreal/building/Hotel-de-la-Montagne.php

Although the rooftop view is apparently excellent:

Partly because you cannot see Hotel de la Montagne from that vantage point

I remember that building well, mostly because of it's ugliness. Had no idea that the interior was so nice, or that there was a rooftop terrace. Too bad, I would have gone when I was still living in the area.

O-tacular · #**376** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 2:52 PM**

That photo looks like the hotel squashed the building next to it and still has what's left of it stuck to its ass.

MolsonExport · #**377** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 4:44 PM**

Hotel de la Montagne does have a great rooftop terrace, as best as my foggy recollections from numerous evenings spent there. There was also an SSP "Smoked Meet" there back in 2002/03 (?), consisting of very active SSP Quebec forumers (e.g., Serge, Habsfan, Bilo, PScantland, Harls maybe).

Good times. Ugly building.

Symz · #**378** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 4:52 PM**

More ugly Windsor by me.

It seems that when Hilton decided to grace Windsor with it's presence they thought very little of how the Windsor side actually saw the building.

The front (facing Detroit) side

The back (Windsor) side

Nouvellecosse · #**379** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 5:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Hotel de la Montagne does have a great rooftop terrace, as best as my foggy recollections from numerous evenings spent there. There was also an SSP "Smoked Meet" there back in 2002/03 (?), consisting of very active SSP Quebec forumers (e.g., Serge, Habsfan, Bilo, PScantland, Harls maybe).

Good times. Ugly building.

There was a meet on May 26, 2006 which was documented by Gatt that was initially at the rooftop terrace, but then migrated to the Mckibbins irish pub because of the rain. Its attendees included Habsfan,Serge and his friend Martine, Tv-man, BL, Althegreat, as well as the administrator of Emporis.

BL andTv-man

althegreat and the guy in the red t-shirt is from Poland and he's the administrator of Emporis.

Rico Rommheim · #**380** Posted **Jun 26, 2012, 6:26 PM**

Holy shite, I look really different. Younger I guess.