CF Pacific Centre Developments

[officedweller]

They want a more "human" scale.

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by officedweller

They want a more "human" scale.

<Sigh> That's what keeps Vancouver looking so... quaint (not the best word, but you know what I mean). Alas, since Mies van der Rohe is my favourite architect, I doubt I'll ever be happy with the architecture in this city.

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by EdinVan

What's the reason for the city's aversion to large-volume buildings?

Because they're no good ninnies who impose their personal tastes on the rest of the population (sometimes even at the expense of functionality, which is a crime that gets celebrated in Vancouver)

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by eastvanmark

because they're no good ninnies who impose their personal tastes on the rest of the population (sometimes even at the expense of functionality, which is a crime that gets celebrated in vancouver)

seconded !!

[EdinVan]

I think Cadillac Fairview is definitely to blame, too. Across the country they seem bent on making their properties more "human-scale" and "inviting." They've destroyed the simple, clean aesthetic of their malls (e.g., Pacific Centre, TD Centre in Toronto) and office tower lobbies (TD Tower, 200 Granville). Breaking up large-volume buildings is consistent with this.

EDIT: My issue isn't with trying to make buildings look inviting; it's with the way it's done.

[nickbeaulieu]

I guess I'm the only one who likes to have buildings that are inviting...

[osirisboy]

I think large volume buildings can be inviting. Am I missing something?

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by nickbeaulieu

I guess I'm the only one who likes to have buildings that are inviting...

I don't think you are!

Originally Posted by osirisboy

I think large volume buildings can be inviting. Am I missing something?

There are any number of large buildings that are inviting: Royal Bank Plaza, Toronto, The Bank of America in SF, the Chinese cultural center, also in SF .... to name but dozens

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

I think large volume buildings can be inviting. Am I missing something?

I agree. Maybe it's just Robertson and his government. lol.

[officedweller]

It goes back farther - even as far back as the 1970s proposed 50 storey skyscraper law courts tower versus Robson Square.
Where's the front door (ie the courthouse steps) to the Robson Square Law Courts? It's really at Nelson & Hornby. Only once you get inside is there a sense of the grand space, and the lower levels are just underground concrete bunkers.

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

I think large volume buildings can be inviting. Am I missing something?

Van der Rohe certainly thought so. It doesn't really take much to make large volume buildings welcoming. A plaza with water features and nice benches. Landscaping. Attractive entrances. Simple, spacious lobbies with luxurious materials. Soft lighting around the building. Oh, and how could I forget -- artwork. You don't need to carve up a building into different pieces to make it human-scale and inviting. The Seagram building in NYC is large yet quite inviting with its plaza, water features, marble benches, travertine walls, bronze-tinted windows, soft glow from the lobby, luxurious materials in the elevators, etc. Same with TD Tower in Toronto. 1075 West Georgia is pretty bulky and, well, brutal, but this is softened by the sunken plaza and water features. Park Place (666 Burrard) is another example, and that's one of the bulkiest office buildings in Vancouver. And then there's The Bay building; it's one big huge box, but still quite inviting, especially post-reno.

[nickbeaulieu]

I didn't take any photos, but it looks like they're starting to fill in the area where they had the old balcony on the Howe st. side. New steel is being erected today.

[vansky]

i think u can design well with a smaller scale building, and make it look very...confident and outgoing.

however,some buildings in vancouver lack a general sense of "qi", the energy that emits from the style of the building, including its scale, to your internal psyche...this invisible thing is basically just a visual reaction to the design. look at some japanese designs, they are small but very consistent and orderly.
its' the way they lined up all those buildings so orderly that gave that feel of energy...

Vancouver got some really nice medium size buildings, I dont think it matters with size. you can increase visual impact iwth height too. If you like the chicago styles, you cannot find them here, simply because the streets are not wide enough to deliver a holistic feel of scale. the closest thing van comes to in terms of styles is probably being a more modest version of new york city. It's a 2.5 million city, and what do you expect in terms of scale. 8million?hahaha. i'd say when it hits 3 million, it'd look pretty big and impactful overall regardless of architectural size, because it can create that big city feel with numbers of buildings. the main concern is no longer scale, and it's not going into that direction anways. it's more about a dynamic mix of styles.

i think sooner or later this debate about lack of styles would be over with the new projects, that'd be a mjor step of this city, to get out of that depression. and maybe surrey woudl be the new hope for bigger buildings...but they killed one project the berezan years ago...

at least, give us one big corporate building, so to end the era..damn, reminds you of the canucks.

94, 2011~~ what's wrong with van, in so many areas. it's always standing up for something, but not reaching deep enough so to hit the paramount.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by vansky

i think u can design well with a smaller scale building, and make it look very...confident and outgoing.

however,some buildings in vancouver lack a general sense of "qi", the energy that emits from the style of the building, including its scale, to your internal psyche...this invisible thing is basically just a visual reaction to the design. look at some japanese designs, they are small but very consistent and orderly.
its' the way they lined up all those buildings so orderly that gave that feel of energy...

Pls excuse my truncating the rest of your post, but referring specifically to the bolded words which describe buildings being so orderly ... are you referring to Howe Street? If yes, I'd very much agree. That stretch of it from the "Nordstrom" building on south for several blocks is very nicely aligned, and gives a calming, pleasing, somwhat elegant effect IMO.

[officedweller]

Views from the construction site from the 725granville website:

6th Floor - south-east view:


http://www.725granville.com/Pages/default.aspx#!prettyPhoto

7th Floor - west view:


http://www.725granville.com/Pages/default.aspx#!prettyPhoto

7th Floor - north-west view:


http://www.725granville.com/Pages/default.aspx#!prettyPhoto

7th Floor - south-east view:


http://www.725granville.com/Pages/default.aspx#!prettyPhoto

7th Floor atrium:


http://www.725granville.com/Pages/default.aspx#!prettyPhoto

[Tetsuo]

Thanks for sharing OD, any building that borders the law courts and robson square is pretty much guaranteed magnificent views.

And no surprise here, Nordstrom going into former Sears space in Eatons Centre.

Off topic, but what happened to user Yume Sama? It seems like he could have provided excellent shots of this development from his place in the Capitol.

[officedweller]

Good question - don't know.
Haven't seen him post in ages.

[Delirium]

there's a Flickr member that takes great (and frequent) shots from the Capitol of the project

François Péladeau http://www.flickr.com/photos/blazinred/


photo by François Péladeau www.flickr.com/photos/blazinred/11962404474/sizes/l/

[Tetsuo]

First Office tenant announced, as predicted law firm.

Miller Thomson LLP plans to move into the redeveloped Pacific Centre at 725 Granville Street above the future Nordstrom department store.

The 65-lawyer firm, currently in 58,000 square feet on several floors of a Howe Street tower, plans to lease 48,000 square feet at space that formerly was Sears.

That's more than half of one of the four 70,000-square-foot floors of office space that will be above the 230,000-square-foot department store. An additional 48,000 square feet of retail space in the structure's basement, below Nordstrom, remains available.

"Moving in is about three years out but we're excited about it," Miller Thomson's Vancouver managing partner Owen Pawson told Business in Vancouver January 15.

"We all get to be on one floor so we will be much easier to collaborate."

Pawson said the exact floorplan has not been finalized but the early vision is to have enough individual offices for 70 lawyers and space for 80 staff.

None of those offices would face the windows and instead would use glass and other materials to capitalize on lots of internal light. Staff lounges or meeting areas for collaborative groups would instead face the windows.

"If we have some offices on the windows, we have the situation where there are some desirable offices and some offices that are not so desirable," Pawson said.

That's because the large floorplates have less window perimeter than smaller ones.

The site's office space is on floors that have 17-foot-high ceilings and windows that stretch 12 feet from base to top, allowing in lots of light.

Because the firm will be in 10,000 fewer square feet, its goal is to eliminate as many filing cabinets as possible.

"Space downtown is very expensive and if you're just using it for paper storage with filing cabinets, that cuts into the space available for people," he said.

Colliers senior vice-president Colin Scarlett brokered the deal for Miller Thomson, which has offices in 11 Canadian cities.

He told BIV that he has lined up other potential tenants for the building including what he described as a Vancouver technology company that wants to expand.

http://www.biv.com/article/20140115/BIV0...t-tenant-in-pacific-centre-redevelopment

[Spork]

It's great to hear so much diversification in the market, especially with startups and the technology space. Hopefully it isn't just a change in media reporting, but it seems like there is more and more momentum in this small city. All of the additional office space might not be for naught.