Great Canadian Skyline Thread II

[Tosin007]

Originally Posted by DLLB

Great picture. Telus Sky will fill in between Brookfield Place and the Bow very nicely.

The Gap isn't really needed anymore IMO. (As Calgary is already a pretty Big City now),
But it will block out a few other existing tower's right now from that angle.

[travis3000]

Haven't been out to Calgary since 2009, Im excited to see the new buildings. Probably going next year, by that time Telus Sky should be close to done. It'll be a huge change by then! Pumped to see it.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

I haven't been to Calgary, but I have been to Chicago several times and I live in the GTA so my opinion is just based on Google Street View. In terms of downtown leased office space Toronto has 73.4 million square feet of office space and Calgary has 42.2 million square feet - http://www.jll.ca/canada/en-ca/Research/CAN-Office-Market-Overview-Canada-Q3-2016-JLL.pdf . However, one thing that Calgary might be missing is the large quantity of residential towers that Toronto has in the downtown core which results in a lot people living downtown and results in a vibrant downtown core.

It would be interesting to know how many highrises over 12 stories are in Calgary versus Toronto. Both cities have fairly narrow city streets with many urban canyons, which gives a big city feel. Certainly the average height would be more in Toronto, but at street level the urban canyons make a city look big not so much the tower heights (just my opinion). In any case, I hope to get a chance to visit Calgary sometime, I have had family members live there and they liked the city.

Having visited LA's downtown I was completely underwhelmed. It felt tiny compared to Calgary's even though it has some supertall buildings. Calgary's made some great improvements in the last decade but still lacks a lot of DT residential. That will improve with buildings like Telus Sky going up. Our most bustling area is actually south of DT in the Beltline. That is where the majority of condos are being built.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by DrNest

I was in Calgary last week. The skyline in no way is comparable to Toronto or Chicago, but that being said, Brookfield and The Bow from behind look fantastic. Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap any pictures, but I did appreciate in person the look of those two on the skyline.

It's interesting you liked the Bow from behind. That is the angle most Calgarians seem to find unflattering.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by travis3000

Haven't been out to Calgary since 2009, Im excited to see the new buildings. Probably going next year, by that time Telus Sky should be close to done. It'll be a huge change by then! Pumped to see it.

It's changed a lot since then. The two most obvious additions will be BP and Telus sky but there's also EAP and it's twin plus many many new condos in the Beltline. East Village will also be a major sight to see with the new Central Library, National Music Centre and multiple condo buildings built and under construction. I also highly recommend you go see the Peace bridge and the newly redesigned St. Patrick's island next to the Zoo.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Having visited LA's downtown I was completely underwhelmed. It felt tiny compared to Calgary's even though it has some supertall buildings. Calgary's made some great improvements in the last decade but still lacks a lot of DT residential. That will improve with buildings like Telus Sky going up. Our most bustling area is actually south of DT in the Beltline. That is where the majority of condos are being built.

Houston is pretty similar in that respect. I haven't been in 12 years (that might change soon...), but to me the downtown felt pretty lifeless, and that's in comparison to where Calgary was at in 2005.

Of course, you get out of downtown Houston and into places like the Galleria or the medical district and things are happening, but that's the case in cities like L.A. too.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Having visited LA's downtown I was completely underwhelmed. It felt tiny compared to Calgary's even though it has some supertall buildings.

Tiny compared to Calgary's?! I disagree completely. DTLA definitely has big city heft in a way that only Toronto, Montreal and maybe Vancouver can exceed among Canadian cities. Both in terms of skyscrapers, as well as just vibrant street scenes. No question that DTLA's busiest hubs of pedestrian activity are grittier than what you'd see in Calgary, but I think that maybe after another 100 years of growth, downtown Calgary would be lucky to match DTLA.

Downtown Houston, on the other hand...

[speedog]

Montreal versus Calgary downtowns, yeah there is most definitely more street life/vitality in Montreal's but Calgary still has the edge on the number of and height of skyscrapers.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by esquire

Tiny compared to Calgary's?! I disagree completely. DTLA definitely has big city heft in a way that only Toronto, Montreal and maybe Vancouver can exceed among Canadian cities.

Downtown LA has many large and elaborate heritage buildings from the early 20th century. A lot more than any Canadian city. But it has fewer postwar residential buildings than most Canadian cities.

For fun, here are views of downtown LA and Calgary at roughly the same scale (the tallest LA building is about 20% taller than the tallest one in Calgary).





When I've visited Calgary I've found that the largest office towers are pretty much exactly like the big office towers in large cities, but that things fall off quickly a few blocks away. It is like a large traditional North American CBD grafted onto a small, new city. Both Calgary and LA have a lot of holes and surface lots.

[esquire]

^ Thanks for the illustrations, someone. It might be fair to say that they're comparable, but I don't think anyone could reasonably say that DTLA feels "tiny" compared to Calgary. That certainly isn't the impression that I got when I was there.

[rotten42]

I've found that downtown Charlotte NC has a very similar feel to Calgary's. Lots of +15 type walkways too.

[Pavlov]

I always find these kinds of comparisons interesting.

Charlotte has a nice skyline, but in terms of downtown scale, it appears to me to be an order of magnitude smaller than Calgary (although admittedly it is very difficult to find aerial photos from similar distance and angle to properly compare).

Calgary:

Arial view of downtown Calgary in an Air Canada Express (Jazz) Dash 8-400 plane by jimbob_malone, on Flickr

Charlotte:

Charlotte Aerial Photography by James Willamor, on Flickr

Brittany's Flight Around Downtown Charlotte NC 7-22-09 by Caleb Howell, on Flickr

[Pavlov]

Just to add: By the same token, Calgary is obviously at least an order of magnitude smaller than downtown Toronto and especially Chicago. Its definitely an order of magnitude smaller than Montreal as well. Among other things, it really lacks those muscular five to eight story historic blocks that really make the larger cities feel more muscular and more dense.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Reesonov

I always find these kinds of comparisons interesting.

Charlotte has a nice skyline, but in terms of downtown scale, it appears to me to be an order of magnitude smaller than Calgary (although admittedly it is very difficult to find aerial photos from similar distance and angle to properly compare).
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Charlotte:

Charlotte Aerial Photography by James Willamor, on Flickr

I have to agree. There are too many parking lots and gaps in the Charlotte downtown. Calgary looks better based on the pictures.

For some reason I was underwhelmed by Manhattan, NY. I guess because I had heard so many times that it was the "big apple" and greatest city in the world. When I was actually there, I wondered what is all the fuss about? On the other hand, I was blown away by downtown Chicago with its tall building and large early 1900's tall buildings. Likewise with San Francisco with its bustling downtown and long bridges (what an amazing city).

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

[IMG]DNZ_8619_00026 by Alberto Donzelli, on Flickr

This is an incredible picture. Toronto has become a monster of a city.

Toronto has become too large for me, although it has been interesting to watch it grow over the past 37 years. I avoid Toronto unless I want to see a Blue Jays game, although it is an impressive city to be in, after dodging street cars and impatient drivers in my small car.

For me, Hamilton is the right size for a city. Hamilton is a bustling city, and if I want to go to the Godzilla city of Toronto, I am close enough that I can.

[TorontoDrew]

I like Hamilton for those reasons as well. I also like it because it feels like a place one can leave their mark still.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

This is an incredible picture. Toronto has become a monster of a city.

Toronto has become too large for me, although it has been interesting to watch it grow over the past 37 years. I avoid Toronto unless I want to see a Blue Jays game, although it is an impressive city to be in, after dodging street cars and impatient drivers in my small car.

For me, Hamilton is the right size for a city. Hamilton is a bustling city, and if I want to go to the Godzilla city of Toronto, I am close enough that I can.

It all boils down to what one's comfort level is. Toronto, for me, is still too small. If it doubled in population (6 million in the city and 13 million the metro) on the same geographic footprint it would be at the lower end of what I prefer. 10-25 million is the sweet spot for me. I haven't been to Tokyo but maybe I'd like that too.

I loved Vancouver but found it sleepy. It would have to double/triple in size before I'd consider moving there.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by Reesonov

Charlotte:

Charlotte Aerial Photography by James Willamor, on Flickr

This angle actually reminds me much more of London, ON than anywhere else.

[Coldrsx]

Love that shot of Edmonton

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRwwj44F4IN/?taken-by=matt.thepilot

[RoshanMcG]