The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[kw5150]

An while I love the european "walled river" look (I actually do like it) it just isnt environmentally responsible to keep designing things like that. The bow river is really a natural beauty.

[Calgarian]

The Riverwalk is much better than an old fashioned promenade, though if they did that for a stretch I think it wouldn't look so bad.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

The Riverwalk is much better than an old fashioned promenade, though if they did that for a stretch I think it wouldn't look so bad.

they should do that along the north side of the river were its a vertical drop...

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by kw5150

An while I love the european "walled river" look (I actually do like it) it just isnt environmentally responsible to keep designing things like that. The bow river is really a natural beauty.

Very true. The Thames walled river look looks great in person, very London, but you can tell how bad it is from the bank.

[dleung]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Some cities are doing that. It has its place, but not on that stretch.

Yeah, the ones that could afford to do it

[leftimage]

Originally Posted by The_Architect

Very true. The Thames walled river look looks great in person, very London, but you can tell how bad it is from the bank.

I was in London for the first time this summer. Just a gorgeous, breath-taking city that exceeded my expectations. But boy does that Thames river look wretched! Thick, brown, almost looks like raw sewage in some areas. Wasn't expecting it to be that gross. And yet, a few miles down it's blue (basing myself on wikipedia pics)

[Dylan Leblanc]

The Fraser river in Vancouver looks pretty murky sometimes.

Anyway, here are some photos of Victoria, by ViewTowersGuy on VibrantVictoria.ca - http://www.vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/city...storeys-completed-1960s-2439/index5.html

[kw5150]

You cant put walls on a river this beautiful. In the spring flooding the river is allowed to go wherever it wants. The trees rely on the spring flooding. Even in the river communities, the spring floods creep up to their back doors. The have installed a few flood berms and have integrated flood mitigation into roads and river pathways, but for the most part, they leave the river edge intact.

http://www.parksfdn.com/picts/Weir%20above.jpg

[lucci]

kpmg by ronnie.yip, on Flickr

[SignalHillHiker]

RE: The walled river discussion...

I think the walled river look (and function) is preferable in an urban setting, however, I do agree that it's clearly not best for the natural environment.

I think the best solution is walling it in portions, have your riverside promenade say, a metre or two back from the shoreline, to keep that intact, and then just have little half-circle platforms jutting out into the river every not and then. It'd look nice!

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by kw5150

You cant put walls on a river this beautiful. In the spring flooding the river is allowed to go wherever it wants. The trees rely on the spring flooding. Even in the river communities, the spring floods creep up to their back doors. The have installed a few flood berms and have integrated flood mitigation into roads and river pathways, but for the most part, they leave the river edge intact.

http://www.parksfdn.com/picts/Weir%20above.jpg

That truly is a spectacular river, especially for such a large city. I bet, compared to what most people in the world drink, you could ever drink from it.

And I LOVE that it's blue. I've lived in a few cities with brown rivers and it's just not the same.

[Dylan Leblanc]

That KPMG sign is useless, other than to annoy people in the Trump tower

[Doug]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

That truly is a spectacular river, especially for such a large city. I bet, compared to what most people in the world drink, you could ever drink from it.

And I LOVE that it's blue. I've lived in a few cities with brown rivers and it's just not the same.

That picture does not do the Bow justice. Even driving by on Deerfoot Trail (the freeway in the picture), the water is the same enticing shade of blue as a mountain stream.

I personally hate canalized rivers. In Europe the damage was done centuries ago, but most cities would likely envy an amenity like a natural river. The RiverWalk through downtown Calgary is a good compromise. The bank wasn't entirely natural as construction debris had been used for erosion control and diking way back in the 1950s-1960s. The RiverWalk covered up much of the damage with rocks, natural vegetation and stairlike public access. Most of the Bow still has natural banks.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by kw5150

You cant put walls on a river this beautiful. In the spring flooding the river is allowed to go wherever it wants. The trees rely on the spring flooding.

It makes sense all the way out there, but in the downtown I expect a city to be built up and a stone river bank built.

[kw5150]

Its a nice thought, but rivers built out of concrete kinda represent a failed ideology (ecologically speaking). The river is sacred and it is better to have native plants stablizing the banks.

In some of the newer river pathway developments they have adopted a hybrid approach for the walls vs no walls arguement. The method they used with the east village riverwalk is more of a happy medium between the built and the natural, satisfying both parties. Personally I think the riverwalk is one of the most attractive areas of the river pathway now.

Calgary will end with with pockets of built up river back, but mostly it will remain natural.

Originally Posted by isaidso

It makes sense all the way out there, but in the downtown I expect a city to be built up and a stone river bank built.

[Delirium]

Here's some nice aerial shots taken yesterday.




www.globalairphotos.com

[Rico Rommheim]

^ I love it! Downtown vancouver is rad.


A different sort of downtown:

taken from the 20th floor of the Altitude during the summer by mtlurb forumer Vdo-Mtl

[isotack]

From Polson Pier two weeks ago

[The_Architect]

Wow great picture! I took a similar one back in mid-October, but the quality isn't nearly as good.

[Coldrsx]

Edmonton


(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8176619448_60ce772c93_c.jpg

CiuDad_del_norte