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Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker
Great Hali set. I'm starting to wonder if my innate opposition to modern architecture in old cores is simply because, until recently, modern here has meant absolutely awful, hideous.
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There aren't many good modern buildings in Atlantic Canada, and a lot of the older buildings are of exceptional quality. Many people in Halifax who showed up to public consultations for developments used to assume that any new building was going to be like a 1970's-era brutalist housing project or office tower. It was common to oppose all new construction, since it was assumed that it would be worse than anything it replaced. If new construction was permitted, people wanted it to at least be faux-historic in style and as small as possible.
I think this view has evolved tremendously in Halifax over the past 10 years. There are quite a few decent modern buildings and the public library is a modern-looking landmark that lots of people visit regularly and like.
I'm happy that Halifax has become more forward looking, because without these new buildings it would not have been possible for the older parts of the city to be vibrant and functional. They were too large and too disfigured by post-WWII development to be preserved in amber as a tourist attraction. And I think a mid-sized city that is vibrant and has a mix of old and new architecture is a more unique niche on the East Coast. Portland ME and Saint John have the red brick Victorian thing covered, and there are quaint small towns all over New England and the Maritimes.