Canada's 50 Tallest Proposals

[Ramako]

Calgary's future skyline would look fantastic with a spire or two.

[Nouvellecosse]

It may sound like heresy, but from an aesthetics perspective, Calgary's skyline is actually getting too dense. It would actually look better if the footprint of downtown increased and there were more lowrise buildings mixed into the highrise cluster to allow more of the buildings to show up. This tends to make the skyline more dramatic by looking taller and more jagged.

I suppose it's kind of a Melbourne vs Singapore scenario. The CBD's are about the same size in terms of number and size of buildings, but I strongly prefer the former over the latter. .Although I suppose it's all subject to personal taste.

And I agree about the spires.

[TallBob]

Mel;bourne has high-rises scattrered all over their Core. Calgary is in one area! I also would like to see more high-rise developement outside of the Core/Beltline.

[Chadillaccc]

There's already lots UC in the beltline with a lot more proposed. Even lots of office towers. Pretty good stuff

[Bigtime]

Calgary: We're denser than you.

[Coldrsx]

Calgary - We have known that for 4 decades or so.

[patm]

The lack of anything of significant height south of the tracks is a common complaint amongst us Calgarians. If we saw some high rises past 9th ave, it would really help "spread the wealth" and make the skyline look pretty impressive.

[craner]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

It may sound like heresy, but from an aesthetics perspective, Calgary's skyline is actually getting too dense. It would actually look better if the footprint of downtown increased and there were more lowrise buildings mixed into the highrise cluster to allow more of the buildings to show up. This tends to make the skyline more dramatic by looking taller and more jagged.

And I agree about the spires.

I know what you're saying and I've thought this myself.
I think the cure is to add a crop of taller buildings (800'+), spaced out a bit to create that "jagged" look that I prefer as well. These taller towers would be sprouting out of the dense base we've created.
I hope that's what happens anyway. Oh, and expansion to the Beltline as well.

[caltrane74]

Sales Office for Noir Condos



Just when you thought the condo bubble in the Entertainment District had already burst.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

It may sound like heresy, but from an aesthetics perspective, Calgary's skyline is actually getting too dense. It would actually look better if the footprint of downtown increased and there were more lowrise buildings mixed into the highrise cluster to allow more of the buildings to show up. This tends to make the skyline more dramatic by looking taller and more jagged.

I suppose it's kind of a Melbourne vs Singapore scenario. The CBD's are about the same size in terms of number and size of buildings, but I strongly prefer the former over the latter. .Although I suppose it's all subject to personal taste.

And I agree about the spires.

As long as it doesn’t all look the same I greatly prefer the dense downtown, especially in Calgary where most of the buildings are connected by +15s.

That’s an interesting point about the spires. The Calgary Tower can be extended another 90m, I believe, including another observation deck, and that would make it the tallest structure in Calgary again. I don’t know what the business case for doing that would be, but it is possible. Maybe it could be part of another Olympic bid? An extended Calgary Tower, and maybe a new arena for the Flames, might be good infrastructure projects for such a bid. Calgary already has most of everything else it needs.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

There's already lots UC in the beltline with a lot more proposed. Even lots of office towers. Pretty good stuff

Is there any interest in reserving the beltline for a future public park? It seems like a no-brainer, but I've never heard any discussion about it from Calgarians. It would be an opportunity lost if gets developed with buildings.

Having a big urban park surrounded by the downtown core is something only a few cities have managed to accomplish: New York City, London, etc. Even Toronto is without that, although decking over the tracks at that Oxford casino proposal would get Toronto closer to realizing that. The time for Calgary to act is now.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Allan83

That’s an interesting point about the spires. The Calgary Tower can be extended another 90m, I believe, including another observation deck, and that would make it the tallest structure in Calgary again. I don’t know what the business case for doing that would be, but it is possible. Maybe it could be part of another Olympic bid? An extended Calgary Tower, and maybe a new arena for the Flames, might be good infrastructure projects for such a bid. Calgary already has most of everything else it needs.

Every now and then this "extend the Calgary tower" thing comes up. I suppose it is possible, but there is probably little to no return on the investment of actually doing it.

I quite like the tower now, it clearly shows a part of Calgary's history when it was the tallest and we can see how we have now eclipsed those "big dreams" days with our new buildings. Plus when you are up there the view is still spectacular, and actually being "in" the skyline looking to the north and west is a pretty cool vantage point.

Originally Posted by isaidso

Is there any interest in reserving the beltline for a future public park? It seems like a no-brainer, but I've never heard any discussion about it from Calgarians. It would be an opportunity lost if gets developed with buildings.

Having a big urban park surrounded by the downtown core is something only a few cities have managed to accomplish: New York City, London, etc. Even Toronto is without that, although decking over the tracks at that Oxford casino proposal would get Toronto closer to realizing that. The time for Calgary to act is now.

Where exactly in the Beltline would you do this? With the exception of some lots on the east end most of it is already quite developed. What we are seeing now are the prime vacant pieces and older (50's/60's) type buildings coming down for new development.

One potential idea is of course the CPR tracks, cutting the CBD off from the Beltline. Would be pretty neat to get an elevated parkway like the high line there. However CPR is pretty much dead set against anything being built over or directly adjacent to the tracks, so it would be a battle.

The newly renovated Central Memorial Park may not be huge, but it has proven to be an excellent park space in the heart of the Beltline.

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Having a big urban park surrounded by the downtown core is something only a few cities have managed to accomplish: New York City, London, etc. Even Toronto is without that, although decking over the tracks at that Oxford casino proposal would get Toronto closer to realizing that. The time for Calgary to act is now.

What about Queen's Park?

[LeftCoaster]

Queens park is probably 1/20th the size of Central park, the convention centre park would be even smaller. A park like central or Hyde Park, to put it in perspective, is roughly the size of spadina to jarvis and Bloor to Lakeshore.

Clearly there is no chance for Toronto to ever have a grand urban park, short of demolishing half of downtown.

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Queens park is probably 1/20th the size of Central park, the convention centre park would be even smaller. A park like central or Hyde Park, to put it in perspective, is roughly the size of spadina to jarvis and Bloor to Lakeshore.

Clearly there is no chance for Toronto to ever have a grand urban park, short of demolishing half of downtown.

Would it be fair to consider the Toronto Islands and the Leslie Street Spit (aka Tommy Thompson Park) an urban park? They could be more easily accessible than they already are, but they're pretty much adjacent to the downtown core.

High Park is also relatively close to the core of the city.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Having a big urban park surrounded by the downtown core is something only a few cities have managed to accomplish: New York City, London, etc. Even Toronto is without that, although decking over the tracks at that Oxford casino proposal would get Toronto closer to realizing that. The time for Calgary to act is now.

Regina is one of the best examples of this with Wascana Centre. Calgary has great parks on one side of downtown, with Prince’s Island, Fort Calgary, and St. Patrick’s Island, but I’m liking the idea of a highline style park over the CP tracks. I wonder if there would be a way to harvest energy from the tracks and/or trains, or maybe something geothermal or solar, to operate an in-deck heating system to raise the ground temperature of the park, even just a few degrees. That could maybe extend the green seasons on the deck by several weeks on either end. Or you could glass in the deck, perhaps several stories high, and create a sort of greenhouse. If you had high rise condos on either side some units could have balconies that opened into the greenhouse. These are units that would otherwise have faced the tracks, so there could be some significant added value there. Maybe you could even use part of it as a working greenhouse to help pay for it. But I digress. I agree that downtown parks are generally a good thing.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Is there any interest in reserving the beltline for a future public park? It seems like a no-brainer, but I've never heard any discussion about it from Calgarians. It would be an opportunity lost if gets developed with buildings.

Having a big urban park surrounded by the downtown core is something only a few cities have managed to accomplish: New York City, London, etc. Even Toronto is without that, although decking over the tracks at that Oxford casino proposal would get Toronto closer to realizing that. The time for Calgary to act is now.

New York, London... or Montreal ? Mount Royal park is certainly a spectacular exemple of a large downtown park.






Source and other pics: http://ideasinspiringinnovation.wordpres...st-urban-parks-mont-royal-park-montreal/

[mike474]

The vibe with Parc Mont Royal is different though since it doesn't interact as well with the city being up the hill and all. It's a bit better on the east side in the plateau with Parc Jeanne Mance, but it just doesn't feel the same. That said it's a great asset to the city. I love climbing up and having a drink on one of the natural outlooks over the plateau in the summers.

[Deepstar]

I don't consider Mount Royal Park in the same category as Central Park or Hyde Park. It's a nice park, but IMO falls in the same category as say Edmonton's river valley. It's a nice piece of parkland in an urban area, but doesn't interact with the urban area the way Central Park or Hyde Park does.
It's kind of Apples to Oranges. I would put something like a Boston Common, or VondelPark in the same category as a Central or Hyde Park

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

New York, London... or Montreal ? Mount Royal park is certainly a spectacular exemple of a large downtown park.

[osmo]

Originally Posted by Allan83

As long as it doesn’t all look the same I greatly prefer the dense downtown, especially in Calgary where most of the buildings are connected by +15s.

That’s an interesting point about the spires. The Calgary Tower can be extended another 90m, I believe, including another observation deck, and that would make it the tallest structure in Calgary again. I don’t know what the business case for doing that would be, but it is possible. Maybe it could be part of another Olympic bid? An extended Calgary Tower, and maybe a new arena for the Flames, might be good infrastructure projects for such a bid. Calgary already has most of everything else it needs.

Is this seriously being mulled about in Calgary right now?