Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion

[vancouver604]

Originally Posted by officedweller

http://vancouverfoodster.com/blackboard/

And another - Big Rock Urban Eatery - near Maynard's at 310 West 4th Ave. @ Alberta - in connection with Big Rock's Brewery and corporate offices:

http://bigrockurban.com/big-rock-urban-eatery

https://www.facebook.com/BigRockVancouver

Hmm.. kind of turning into a mini Portland! Hopefully there's Happy Hour!

[connect2source]

The slope from W 2nd to Broadway along Main is certainly becoming a showcase of innovation! Now we just need the City Centre Motel gone soon.

[s211]

Originally Posted by vancouver604

Oh no not another pub, that's that last thing this area needs. More markets would be nice! Soon there will be a bunch of drunks walking around because of all the bars/pubs in the hood

I'm sure they will throw the words "craft beer" or someother hipster nonsense into their name and then all of a sudden they get a hall pass from just being another pub.

[rsxstock]

interesting roof design, too bad noone on the ground would ever see it

[sacrifice333]

Originally Posted by connect2source

The slope from W 2nd to Broadway along Main is certainly becoming a showcase of innovation! Now we just need the City Centre Motel gone soon.

IIRC, Onni owns that site.

[mukmuk64]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I like the terraces (interestingly oriented for the southern sun, rather than northern views), but the West 2nd and Main St. corner and frontage doesn't stand out as much as it should for such a significant corner.

The "uphill" part of the Main St. frontage also dives into the hill too much.

Well there's not a lot of northern views left for this building. Just the NE. The city view will be (already partially is) largely blocked by Olympic Village buildings. Gardening has become pretty popular, so I'm sure those big southern decks will be a big plus for some people.

A major part of the Mount Pleasant Community Plan is to deemphasize big box stores, and encourage small, independent retail, so that could be why the retail space at the corner isn't dramatic.

I really like this design in general, though an earlier rendering of it I saw didn't have the red plates and I liked that one a bit better.

I went to a few of the MP Community Plan meetings and the implementation meetings for the distinct 2nd to 7th Lower Main area that were held later. In general I feel that the Lower Main section of the plan was more coherent than the rest of the Mount Pleasant plan and so far that's been reflected in the building applications that have so far appeared in this section.

At an earlier open house for this rezoning the city showed off an earlier lazy bog standard tower and podium design that was killed due to extreme negativity from the community and weak conformity to the community plan. I wish that was floating around somewhere because the difference between this excellent design and that one is like night and day.

[officedweller]

Even a setback or wider sidewalk on the corner would have been nice.
It doesn't really open up the corner as you would expect for a major crossroads.

In fact, in the north-facing render, the Main St. façade angles out, which narrows the view and
"hides" any perspective of SEFC that you might have had when approaching from the south.
That intersection should really be the gateway to SEFC.

http://www.vancouvermarket.ca/2015/02/12/12-storey-tower-proposed-for-main-2nd/

[osirisboy]

Hahah I like the corner for the reasons you don't.

It looks like they have planters along the sidewalk. I'd rather nothing allowing for more space to move about.

[mukmuk64]

Originally Posted by officedweller

In fact, in the north-facing render, the Main St. façade angles out, which narrows the view and
"hides" any perspective of SEFC that you might have had when approaching from the south.
That intersection should really be the gateway to SEFC.

Well in the context of the Lower Mount Pleasant plan this building and whatever is eventually built across the road on the East side of Main are the intended to be the gateways to Mount Pleasant. So if the developers were closely considering the MPCP, the buildings are not obligated to consider their relationship to SEFC.

It's an interesting aspect of how we arbitrarily carve up the city into neighbourhoods and the current community plan process. From my memory of sitting in on the planning meetings, adjacent areas like SEFC were basically not relevant to the discussion and didn't impact the process.

[officedweller]

Interesting - so facing south, rather than north/northwest - not sure if it works that well for that, either, if Main St. will be largely streetwall.

I do recognize that they wouldn't want a clock tower on that corner, as they have the one up the hill at the former Post Office building / Heritage Hall.

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Hahah I like the corner for the reasons you don't.

It looks like they have planters along the sidewalk. I'd rather nothing allowing for more space to move about.

I noticed the planters and they reminded me of the ones along The Rise on Cambie - could be steps on one side, sloping sidewalk on the street side.

[red-paladin]

I am a fan of the Main & 2nd proposal, especially the massing.

[quobobo]

Originally Posted by officedweller

http://vancouverfoodster.com/blackboard/

That list is fantastic, thanks for the link.

[vancouver604]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

We're moving from Yaletown to OV in about a year (Block 100). We love going to the area now and can't wait until we are there. It's growing and improving at an amazing rate, I don't think there's anything close happening elsewhere in BC.

I see that they are doing the second floor of block 100, apparently they are putting down a pre-fab wooden structure as flooring and pouring about a 1" thick concrete over it, so it's basically a wood frame with concrete pour. It's not a true concrete building like they do in towers (i.e." trump tower or the one in OV). Hopefully they put good soundproofing on the floors.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by vancouver604

I see that they are doing the second floor of block 100, apparently they are putting down a pre-fab wooden structure as flooring and pouring about a 1" thick concrete over it, so it's basically a wood frame with concrete pour. It's not a true concrete building like they do in towers (i.e." trump tower or the one in OV). Hopefully they put good soundproofing on the floors.

Hmmm interesting. Got any more details on this? Wouldn't the concrete need to be a little thicker for structural reasons?

[officedweller]

A subfloor over concrete slab for noise insulation?
I've heard of some older concrete buildings with that, but not modern ones.

[vancouver604]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Hmmm interesting. Got any more details on this? Wouldn't the concrete need to be a little thicker for structural reasons?

Hi there, thanks, I walk by the area everyday on my way to work and I've seen them lay those pre-fab pieces down. If you look on the side of the floors you will see what almost looks like a handle, on top of it is wood, then they do a concrete pour. It's not really as good as in other developments where it's solid concrete, if you walk down the street to the one you will notice it's all solid concrete. I'm hoping Onni didn't try to sell people on it being all solid concrete when it's actually not. I'm sure it looks nice but there will be noise between the floors if it's not solid concrete.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by vancouver604

Hi there, thanks, I walk by the area everyday on my way to work and I've seen them lay those pre-fab pieces down. If you look on the side of the floors you will see what almost looks like a handle, on top of it is wood, then they do a concrete pour. It's not really as good as in other developments where it's solid concrete, if you walk down the street to the one you will notice it's all solid concrete. I'm hoping Onni didn't try to sell people on it being all solid concrete when it's actually not. I'm sure it looks nice but there will be noise between the floors if it's not solid concrete.

I'll have to take a closer look, thanks. It was sold as concrete of course, but I'll reserve judgment for now. I've been in a few modern wood buildings that have great sound insulation. It's also a myth that you'll never hear your neighbours in concrete. It depends more on the people than the construction IMO.

[stump]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I'll have to take a closer look, thanks. It was sold as concrete of course, but I'll reserve judgment for now. I've been in a few modern wood buildings that have great sound insulation. It's also a myth that you'll never hear your neighbours in concrete. It depends more on the people than the construction IMO.

Concrete is definitely not sound proof as I hear it when people drop hard objects onto their floors in units around me. Also the sound can come from anywhere, not just the condo above. Still, that's about all I hear.

That being said, it is way, way, way better than any wood frame I've been in. My mom's wood frame is only 7 years old and strata meetings are nothing but noise complaints. Neighbours can hear people walking normally, cabinets being closed, toilets flushing, etc.. My mom's floor actually shakes when the grand children of the resident below her run back and forth.

Maybe that's normal for Onni constructed buildings though. It's probably the worst and cheapest constructed building I've ever seen.

[WarrenC12]

Well concrete is only ever between floors. No building ever has concrete walls, so soundproofing there is limited to whatever insulation they use.

We live in a tower now and always hear people dropping things, but nothing else.

For construction I'd be more concerned about the rainscreening and water issues than anything else.

[Vin]

There is always a lot of bouncy floor with wood construction, and insulation is definitely bad when it comes to sounds created by floors above. Also, wood and nails tend to creak, especially over time. Another disadvantage is that it is more likely for wood to rot in moist environments, especially if you have leakage of pipes beneath sinks and bathtubs, not to mention it turning mouldy with a musty smell over time. That's why I will never buy wood, and there goes my dream of owning an affordable single family home or townhome here in western Canada.