[Halifax] RBC Waterside Centre | 37 m | 9 fl | Completed

[SekishikiMeikaiHa]

My last weekly updates of the year. Be back in four weeks. Happy Holidays!

[fenwick16]

You take great pictures SekishikiMeikaiHa. Thanks again for posting them.

[someone123]

Yes, thanks for the updates. Have a good break!

The top view is interesting. I wonder how long the Law Courts will be around for. As time goes on, I find the older concrete buildings a bit more interesting; they might not be so bad as they become a smaller and smaller percentage of the overall building stock, and if some of their design problems are corrected. I actually like the main Scotia Square towers (Barrington and Duke -- Cogswell on the other hand is quite ugly).

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by someone123

... I wonder how long the Law Courts will be around for. As time goes on, I find the older concrete buildings a bit more interesting; they might not be so bad as they become a smaller and smaller percentage of the overall building stock, and if some of their design problems are corrected. I actually like the main Scotia Square towers (Barrington and Duke -- Cogswell on the other hand is quite ugly).

I must be one of the few who like the Law Courts building.

I agree with you regarding Scotia Square. Personally, I would like to see the Cogswell Tower and associated parking structure demolished and replaced. The Delta Hotel section and Barrington&Duke Towers look fine to me; especially if they could separated and a street built between them.

[someone123]

My only real criticism of the Law Courts is the clunky way it relates to Lower Water Street and some of the waterfront public space. Some people don't like that it blocks water views, but many other east-west downtown streets have clear views of the water. I think it is more interesting to have some views of the water and some streets terminated by buildings.

Even the Duke Street podium of Scotia Square is pretty interesting, although it does not relate to the street very well. The Barrington side unfortunately is pretty much just a blank wall and should be redone. It's been "dressed up" a couple of times with cosmetic improvements, but they have not fixed the underlying problem that the Barrington facade is basically a huge wall with nothing going on. If it had a big open entrance to the mall above plus some storefronts it would be dramatically improved. In the future I hope it will be overhauled and integrated into a subterranean multi-modal transit terminal.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by someone123

... It's been "dressed up" a couple of times with cosmetic improvements, but they have not fixed the underlying problem that the Barrington facade is basically a huge wall with nothing going on. If it had a big open entrance to the mall above plus some storefronts it would be dramatically improved.

Something like that was done with the Eaton Centre in Toronto years ago, on the side facing Yonge Street. It wasn't super-well executed, but it was better than the big concrete wall that had been there before. Opening the Barrington side up with a string of varied storefronts, some street trees, etc, is such an obvious and (relatively) simple way to re-urbanize the block, I'm surprised it's never come up before. (Unless it has and I'm not aware of it...) I'm sure there are plenty of retailers in the mall who'd like to have street frontage, too.

[someone123]

It has come up time and again. The problem is that usually it's, say, the DHBC complaining, but it really comes down to the owner, which I think is Crombie REIT. They are presumably making tons of money off of the site and the relatively poor state of that end of Barrington doesn't affect them much.

As you say the Eaton Centre reno was okay, but it is nothing spectacular. There are a lot of constraints when dealing with buildings like that. Scotia Square would probably be similar.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by someone123

As time goes on, I find the older concrete buildings a bit more interesting; they might not be so bad as they become a smaller and smaller percentage of the overall building stock, and if some of their design problems are corrected. I actually like the main Scotia Square towers (Barrington and Duke -- Cogswell on the other hand is quite ugly).

I know what you mean. I was driving down Oxford St today for the first time in a long while and I noticed the Dal LSC construction. It made me miss the traditional view of the old concrete LSC that was there. Maybe it's just an adjustment. But then as I drove up South St and saw the other new construction underway at Dal, I suddenly realized that the '80s and '90s Dal construction projects were completely awful as compared to the stuff the university built in the '60s and '70s, even if a lot of that was brutalist concrete. Those townhouse condo-ish residences across from Studley Field are just horrendous. The Dalplex is not much better, and further up the street there is a nondescript newish building that looks like it belongs in Clayton Park. One hopes that when universities build major structures, they will be more of a statement than beige clapboard.

[cormiermax]

Personally I love concrete brutalist architecture for the most part, Dal has some really great examples, like the Library and the LSC. I even like the Dalplex, iv always found the interior had a really good atmosphere, although that may just be nostalgia as I used to go there all the time as a kid.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I know what you mean. I was driving down Oxford St today for the first time in a long while and I noticed the Dal LSC construction. It made me miss the traditional view of the old concrete LSC that was there. Maybe it's just an adjustment. But then as I drove up South St and saw the other new construction underway at Dal, I suddenly realized that the '80s and '90s Dal construction projects were completely awful as compared to the stuff the university built in the '60s and '70s, even if a lot of that was brutalist concrete. Those townhouse condo-ish residences across from Studley Field are just horrendous. The Dalplex is not much better, and further up the street there is a nondescript newish building that looks like it belongs in Clayton Park. One hopes that when universities build major structures, they will be more of a statement than beige clapboard.

This is what I have been saying about architecture in HRM in the last 15 years being very sub-standard and no one seems to notice. Buildings like the Windsbys proposal need to ramp up their game because there is a lot of damage to rectify.

[SekishikiMeikaiHa]

My pleasure!

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by SekishikiMeikaiHa

My pleasure!

Thank-you for the shot from the view I suggested!

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by someone123

... I wonder how long the Law Courts will be around for. As time goes on, I find the older concrete buildings a bit more interesting; they might not be so bad as they become a smaller and smaller percentage of the overall building stock, and if some of their design problems are corrected. ...

I think the old concrete beasts deserve a little love. But, only a little. Unfortunately, many of them work better as objects than buildings that support the multiplicity of messy human lives. In some cases they are actually quite beautiful (Dal Arts - Rebecca Cohen) or surprising (Dal Library courtyard - oh, to see that opened up again). Their relationships to the city around them, however, tend to be stunted (and even that may be generous). I think that with a few great buildings added to the city (and not necessarily architectural wonders), the damage inflicted by the concrete monsters will be mitigated and they will function as interesting illustrations of a particular period of building.

I'm loving the transparency of the Waterside Centre tower, in its current state, as a foil to the solid Law Courts.

Originally Posted by Keith P.

... I suddenly realized that the '80s and '90s Dal construction projects were completely awful as compared to the stuff the university built in the '60s and '70s, even if a lot of that was brutalist concrete. Those townhouse condo-ish residences across from Studley Field are just horrendous. The Dalplex is not much better, and further up the street there is a nondescript newish building that looks like it belongs in Clayton Park. One hopes that when universities build major structures, they will be more of a statement than beige clapboard.

Completely agree - as terrible as some of the concrete buildings are at relating to the street, at least there's a strong vision there that can be admired at a certain level. Plenty of the examples from the intervening years are just uninspired and feel uncared about (uncared about by the designer, builder, owner, and occupants).

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by SekishikiMeikaiHa

My last weekly updates of the year. Be back in four weeks. Happy Holidays!

This could have been a mini-Canyon if this thing was 4-5 stories taller... the step up should be more dramatic.

[JET]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

This could have been a mini-Canyon if this thing was 4-5 stories taller... the step up should be more dramatic.

oh oh, where's Dartmouth?

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by JET

oh oh, where's Dartmouth?

[someone123]

It would be interesting to see Waterside from this sort of angle, but maybe with the perspective shifted slightly to the left and some of the facades along the west side of Hollis visible. It was a fairly impressive streetscape. With a 30-40 storey building on the Cogswell lands it would be great.


(my photo)

[Jstaleness]

^^^ I miss that Subway. One of the last ones to offer the BBQ Pork. Nice picture.

[visualman57]

error in picture posting

[HalifaxRetales]

So once this is done what is happening with the current RBC building on George?