Winnipeg Construction IX

[Urban recluse]

That building was renovated not that long ago.

[esquire]

A sign of things to come?

Australia gets its first engineered timber (i.e. wood) office building. Six storeys.

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/tech...t-wooden-office-building-heralds-new-era

I have to admit, it looks pretty cool.

[Urban recluse]

Nice.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by BigG

I wonder if the Public Safety Building is also in their plans.

Media reports are the RRC Exchange expansion is to the north not the east which rules out the Public Safety Building site. Also if RRC is pulling the pin on an Exchange expansion that isn't the Public Safety Building the giant elephant in the room seems to be the prospect of RRC "saving" the Public Safety Building isn't going to happen.

[esquire]

^ I think the PSB's fate is sealed... no one is going to throw money at saving it at this point.

[optimusREIM]

That is totally fine with me. The idea's been pitched to make the psb block into an open air market with some small mixed use buildings. That's perfect tbh.

I'm gonna digress here for a second. Someone teased us with the prospect of Harvard potentially doing something with the gravel lot adjacent to 201 portage. Anyone know anything about this or where it's at?

Same thing with Richardson which was supposedly going to build a hotel near their building. I'm just too curious lol

[EndoftheBeginning]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

I am sure Drew could shed some light on this, but I would argue it is less expensive to renovate.

I would take a guess that the building has a fair bit of asbestos, which could drive up reno costs. You can get away with doing a bit less abatement for demo, but not if you are going to implode the thing and spread dust everywhere. Early 1970s construction (it was built 1972-74) was a time when asbestos was quite common in flooring, roofing, plaster/stucco, drywall joint compound, glazing, caulking, and of course insulation for pipes/ducting.

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Media reports are the RRC Exchange expansion is to the north not the east which rules out the Public Safety Building site. Also if RRC is pulling the pin on an Exchange expansion that isn't the Public Safety Building the giant elephant in the room seems to be the prospect of RRC "saving" the Public Safety Building isn't going to happen.

There was already some info that came out a while back. Its the buildings on Elgin. Metro motors is coming down and they're renoing the Scott fruit (?) building. Plus the new building.

I didn't think RRC was ever in the plans for the PSB site.

[EndoftheBeginning]

From RRC twitter



And on the web page

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

I didn't think RRC was ever in the plans for the PSB site.

I think RRC likely state down and at least had a discussion on how the PSB could fit into their plans. Agree though that once into got to the point of looking at the specific of the building it never really was on the table.

[biguc]

It's a damn shame they aren't building on the parking lot at the corner of princess.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by biguc

It's a damn shame they aren't building on the parking lot at the corner of princess.

Agreed. I guess the landlord didn't want to sell? The unfortunate thing is that with more people in the area, the parking stalls in that lot will become even more valuable, making it even harder to develop that site.

As for the project itself, it looks great. Kind of Pompidou-like with those stairs. It'll transform RRC from being a one-building thing into an actual campus. I'm actually kind of amazed that this building will even get off the ground in the current climate.

[goldenboi]

I'm so glad that RRC is making an effort to push the exchange northwards. Because there aren't too many other establishments that would be willing to do that. It's quite a dead zone up there and something like RRC is the exact thing we need to liven it up. The area has grown so much in the past few years and I don't think it's done yet. Eventually I see the district extending all the way to Higgins. Plus with everything that is happening on the eastern side of main, and with Waterfront Avenue being extended into Point Douglas. Unfortunately I don't think the impact will ever reach across the tracks. Which is really where it is needed most.

[oftheMoon]

The RRC expansion looks great! The disappointment is the parking lot being left on the corner of Elgin and Princess.

[1ajs]

Mmf has a major foot print on north side of the tracks these days. The one thing that screems development is the poor old vulcsn iron works building

[biguc]

Crossing Logan will ultimately prove the most challenging part of the Exchange's northward creep. The homeless shelters up there don't make for the best time. But this project and the residential development up on Ross are pushing into the wall of parking lots between The Exchange and Centennial. And the Bag Factory apartments are all the way up on Alexander already. If the private portion of the PSB redevelopment turns up residential, it'll make for a lot of people living around the edge of the West Exchange.

Originally Posted by esquire

A sign of things to come?

Australia gets its first engineered timber (i.e. wood) office building. Six storeys.

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/tech...t-wooden-office-building-heralds-new-era

I have to admit, it looks pretty cool.

Check this out, in Quebec:



from http://nordic.ca/en/projects/mass-timber-bridges


Apparently engineered wood bridges like this offer a lot of advantages, among them being drastically cheaper because wood is lighter than concrete, so the bridge doesn't need to be as strong to support its own weight. And they look gorgeous.

We live next to the biggest forest in the world, we're stupid to not use it.

[esquire]

^ Beautiful. I wonder how that bridge will age, and how it'll hold up?

Then again, there are plenty of old wooden railroad trestles still in use...

[biguc]

They're supposed to last 100 years. Part of the design is a waterproof bridge deck, to keep the wood dry.

[trueviking]

should note that the image for RRC isn't a final design. It was part of the feasibility study. An RFP will come out to find an architect.

[Urban recluse]

I am telling you all right now: this is going to bring another 1,200 students to the area; if this does not result in any new developments, I...I...I give up.