Central (1618 Quebec St.) | 18 & 19 st | Completed

[officedweller]

Glad that the office building was built befoire the Lido condos went up - that avoded any Jameson-style complaints about "over-look".

[Pinion]

changingcitybook.com posted this recently


http://changingcitybook.com/2013/12/24/central/

I thought the renders for this looked pretty bad but it's really impressive in person. Good to see the columns don't look too silly.

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by Pinion

changingcitybook.com posted this recently


http://changingcitybook.com/2013/12/24/central/

I thought the renders for this looked pretty bad but it's really impressive in person. Good to see the columns don't look too silly.

i dunno. i have to say i like it. it's different from most other condo buildings that we see in downtown, or throughout the city really.

[VanCityDeveloper]

Originally Posted by Vancity

i dunno. i have to say i like it. it's different from most other condo buildings that we see in downtown, or throughout the city really.

Coming from Onni, this is great to see, something a little bit out of the box. I would have liked to have seen some different materials than the stock standard red brick. but all in its shaping up like an ok project.

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by VanCityDeveloper

Coming from Onni, this is great to see, something a little bit out of the box. I would have liked to have seen some different materials than the stock standard red brick. but all in its shaping up like an ok project.

i love the red brick. considering that vancouver's grey most of the year, it's a nice color to have

[Vin]

If one starts remembering Onni's orange fences and jumbled white spandrels at the Mark, one would truly appreciate this project.

With that said, I hope they won't install orange or red fences here when the project is almost finished.

[officedweller]

Yeah, it really is strange how the two projects (this and The Mark) can come from the same developer.
This one seems to be much higher quality - perhaps to counteract the negativity of its location?

[rsxstock]

wonder if it'll just be that wooden fence for separation from mcd

[logan5]

Originally Posted by VanCityDeveloper

Coming from Onni, this is great to see, something a little bit out of the box. I would have liked to have seen some different materials than the stock standard red brick. but all in its shaping up like an ok project.

Would it be fair to say that brick is the premium material in Vancouver? The alternatives are painted metal panels, giant sheets of glass, and now I'm seeing hardi board being tacked on to buildings. It would be nice to see, at least for the street level facade, some actual premium materials.

[rsxstock]

Originally Posted by logan5

Would it be fair to say that brick is the premium material in Vancouver? The alternatives are painted metal panels, giant sheets of glass, and now I'm seeing hardi board being tacked on to buildings. It would be nice to see, at least for the street level facade, some actual premium materials.

i would say yes since many single family homes only use it on the street facing side. it's quite rare to see rain screen in condos, making it very durable against wind and rain

[jlousa]

Guys don't feed the troll, we've been watching the posts of some of the new users and will be acting accordingly in due time.

[djmk]

I have not noticed till now that one leg is "smaller" than the other leg.

Office leg, residential leg... This building is blowing my mind

[VanCityDeveloper]

Originally Posted by logan5

Would it be fair to say that brick is the premium material in Vancouver? The alternatives are painted metal panels, giant sheets of glass, and now I'm seeing hardi board being tacked on to buildings. It would be nice to see, at least for the street level facade, some actual premium materials.

The redbrick on condos in my opinion would be a middle of the road material.

We are starting to see terracotta coming back on to buildings, (to me this is a much better look...) - A street level example of the Terracotta look is the new Office/Retail at Robson and Granville where Old Navy is.

If you go out to the suburbs the red brick is so standard that it gets a little sickening. I love the look of brick, however I think we need to switch it up, utilizing some of the endless spectrum of colors that are available.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by djmk

I have not noticed till now that one leg is "smaller" than the other leg.

Office leg, residential leg... This building is blowing my mind

The difference in the number of floors is beacuse of the taller ceiling heights in the office building.


***********

I would add painted concrete to the "budget" side of the facing materials used locally.

[VanCityDeveloper]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The difference in the number of floors is beacuse of the taller ceiling heights in the office building.


***********

I would add painted concrete to the "budget" side of the facing materials used locally.

unpainted concrete would be the cheapest you can get... next up painted concrete.

Currently one of the most expensive finishing would be Alucabond metal panelling (it is a specific brand) and can run anywhere from 70 to 120 bucks psf depending on the finish required.

Curtain Wall is by no means cheap either running from $65 to $100 psf

[logan5]

Originally Posted by VanCityDeveloper

The redbrick on condos in my opinion would be a middle of the road material.

We are starting to see terracotta coming back on to buildings, (to me this is a much better look...) - A street level example of the Terracotta look is the new Office/Retail at Robson and Granville where Old Navy is.

If you go out to the suburbs the red brick is so standard that it gets a little sickening. I love the look of brick, however I think we need to switch it up, utilizing some of the endless spectrum of colors that are available.

If we have to have a monotony of the same material, I'll choose brick over glass or metal panels. Colour variation would be welcomed though.

I hope you're right about terracotta making a comeback, because the street level architecture that consists of giants sheets of glass is sterilizing the street retail experience. The glass canopies that are constructed with new retail units makes them even more colourless and bland. They prevent the prospective shop owner from adding his own awning, which would add some sorely needed colour and colour variation.

Originally Posted by VanCityDeveloper

unpainted concrete would be the cheapest you can get... next up painted concrete.

Currently one of the most expensive finishing would be Alucabond metal panelling (it is a specific brand) and can run anywhere from 70 to 120 bucks psf depending on the finish required.

Curtain Wall is by no means cheap either running from $65 to $100 psf

When you include labour costs, what are the cheapest materials to clad a building with? Correct my list if it's wrong.

1. Bare concrete.
2. Painted concrete.
3. Fibre cement panels.
4. Glass spandrel.
5. Metal panels.
6. Brick.
7. Materials very seldom used in Vancouver.

[VanCityDeveloper]

Originally Posted by logan5

If we have to have a monotony of the same material, I'll choose brick over glass or metal panels. Colour variation would be welcomed though.

I hope you're right about terracotta making a comeback, because the street level architecture that consists of giants sheets of glass is sterilizing the street retail experience. The glass canopies that are constructed with new retail units makes them even more colourless and bland. They prevent the prospective shop owner from adding his own awning, which would add some sorely needed colour and colour variation.



When you include labour costs, what are the cheapest materials to clad a building with? Correct my list if it's wrong.

1. Bare concrete.
2. Painted concrete.
3. Fibre cement panels.
4. Glass spandrel.
5. Metal panels.
6. Brick.
7. Materials very seldom used in Vancouver.

Terracotta is most assuredly starting to make a play back into the market. I've spoken with 4 different major architecture firms recently, a couple with international presence and they are starting to recommend it as a way to switch things up. I have a mid-rise downtown that I'm working through design right now that more than likely will have elements of Terracotta on it.

My list would show like so

1. Bare Concrete
2. Painted Concrete
3. Brick
4. Store front Glazing (panels not exceeding approximately 15 ft) (used on smaller buildings that don't have curtain wall running up the structure)
6. Fibre Cement Panels
6/7. would be a fairly even tie between glass curtain wall and metal panelling depending on the manufacturer and whether the glazing is double pane or triple panel, depending on the type of metal panelling that is used (there are easily 5 main suppliers of metal panelling)

The biggest thing with material costs for the exterior is they vary so greatly. A lot of the items with the exception of the concrete can cost more than the next depending on the application or less.

[whatnext]

It's funny, I was driving down Main Street with a friend not into architecture. As we approached Central he said "what's that, it looks like it belongs in Toronto".

And it does, its too massive. The breezeway gap doesn't "read" from the street.

[rsxstock]

Originally Posted by VanCityDeveloper

Terracotta is most assuredly starting to make a play back into the market. I've spoken with 4 different major architecture firms recently, a couple with international presence and they are starting to recommend it as a way to switch things up. I have a mid-rise downtown that I'm working through design right now that more than likely will have elements of Terracotta on it.

My list would show like so

1. Bare Concrete
2. Painted Concrete
3. Brick
4. Store front Glazing (panels not exceeding approximately 15 ft) (used on smaller buildings that don't have curtain wall running up the structure)
6. Fibre Cement Panels
6/7. would be a fairly even tie between glass curtain wall and metal panelling depending on the manufacturer and whether the glazing is double pane or triple panel, depending on the type of metal panelling that is used (there are easily 5 main suppliers of metal panelling)

The biggest thing with material costs for the exterior is they vary so greatly. A lot of the items with the exception of the concrete can cost more than the next depending on the application or less.

i think logan5 was including labour cost as well. the brick is a 2nd layer so material cost is actually the concrete + water barrier + brick. they also had to erect a lift specifically for the brick layers to work on

[VanCityDeveloper]

Originally Posted by rsxstock

i think logan5 was including labour cost as well. the brick is a 2nd layer so material cost is actually the concrete + water barrier + brick. they also had to erect a lift specifically for the brick layers to work on

Brick is still cheaper on the base line factoring in labour and the additional work involved - I would never factor concrete in, as you don't need to place brick against concrete, there are other sub-structures that can be utilized. The concrete has to be there regardless for structure.

Those lifts aren't nearly as expensive as one might think, and in some cases aren't even used.

When it comes to metal panelling there are 2nd layers that are involved in metal panelling as well

a comparison for the cheaper metal panelling you are starting at approx. $45 psf + rainscreen and can go up above $100 psh

Brick by comparison starts at as low as $15 psf plus rainscreen etc etc