Downtown Vancouver Updates

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by mcminsen

Re: the enhanced barriers at BC Place. I seem to remember there was a guy (I think he was drunk) that fell over the barrier during the Olympics. He was seriously hurt but survived. Maybe there was a lawsuit.

I thought that was the Cambie bridge? Or maybe both.

At any rate, yes, risk lawyers probably took a look at that barrier after the dog incident and shit their pants. They'd be totally exposed to a lawsuit, and this is PavCo backed by the BC Government. Their pockets couldn't be deeper.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Because apparently some people seem to think that they can read warning signs.

That’s apparent only to you, because obviously nobody thinks that.

People do think the idea that we must construct public infrastructure capable of protecting pet safety even in situations where pet owners act negligently is highly impractical. We cannot afford to do that even for humans. In 37 years two dogs have died at BC Place. How many more unleashed dogs have died in other locations in the city during that time? If we have an obligation to build negligent-proof infrastructure at BC Place as the result of two pet deaths, then that obligation applies with equal force to every other location in the city where two pet deaths have occurred—and with even greater force to locations where more than two pets have died. When applied with principle and logic, this alleged obligation is exposed as impractical and even absurd.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

That’s apparent only to you, because obviously nobody thinks that.

People do think the idea that we must construct public infrastructure capable of protecting pet safety even in situations where pet owners act negligently is highly impractical. We cannot afford to do that even for humans. In 37 years two dogs have died at BC Place. How many more unleashed dogs have died in other locations in the city during that time? If we have an obligation to build negligent-proof infrastructure at BC Place as the result of two pet deaths, then that obligation applies with equal force to every other location in the city where two pet deaths have occurred due to owner negligence—and with even greater force to locations where more than two pets have died.

Wow. Are you kidding me?! Ugh, Sad


Anyways. The new railing looks great, will probably prevent accidents, and looks like it would've been minimal cost. The casino probably made it back in 10 minutes!

People sure like to bitch about stupid things.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Wow. Are you kidding me?! Ugh, Sad.

This kind of vacuous response sums up the coherence of your stance. Your outcry is as arbitrary as your solution. The deaths of two unleashed dogs that received media attention inspire your advocacy but not the far greater number of dogs that die each year in similarly preventable accidents around the city. If your concern for dogs is genuine and principled, then you must be an advocate for the same solution at all locations where dogs have died due to similar owner negligence, not just BC Place. Your solution doesn’t seem ridiculous only when arbitrarily applied to one or two locations where it can have no substantial impact on overall pet accident prevention.

[osirisboy]

I didn't have any outcry or advocacy on this issue (never even heard about this until on here) My issue came from people like you getting all bent out of shape with the government fixing a "hidden danger".

Also I just don't agree with your "logic". That if you can't fix all hazards don't bother fixing any

I hope that wasn't too vacuous for you

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

BC Place barriers - I like it, effective without being too intrusive. I always thought the original walls were oddly low, and I'm only 6ft tall.

Parq "outdoor" balcony - yes, it's neat, but in on the side of the building with the worst view and air quality.

that is the smoking patio for the casino

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

that is the smoking patio for the casino

Ahh, a necessity, I assume.

[officedweller]

I still think this would make an awesome base for a sculpture to fill the barren plaza.
The finish on the concrete looks very good.

If you have CEPTED concerns, the entire colonnade around the library is a CEPTED concern.

Originally Posted by mcminsen

It's nice to see the north plaza getting back to normal. That crane base is pretty substantial, though. I presume it will be broken apart for removal?

March 18 & 20 '18, my pics

[truenorth44]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I still think this would make an awesome base for a sculpture to fill the barren plaza.
The finish on the concrete looks very good.

Is there bracing in the parkade underneath that behemoth? Thought I'd seen some info on that before.

[officedweller]

I seem to remember someone mentioning that.
I guess retention may depend how intrusive the bracing and the load limit of the parking structure (a sculpture shouldn't weigh as much as the crane).

[WarrenC12]

http://urbanyvr.com/720-beatty-central-steam-plant-westbank

Looks interesting. What ever happened to their plan to convert to biomass or biofuel?

[officedweller]

Just hoping the building on the old plant site does not have windows facing the BC Place Northern Lights Display
- otherwise there will be endless complaints.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Just hoping the building on the old plant site does not have windows facing the BC Place Northern Lights Display
- otherwise there will be endless complaints.

It says it's now an office project - so why would the stadium lighting be an issue? The illustration definitely shows windows facing the stadium.

[officedweller]

Well, Miller Thomson (in the former Sears) complained about the enlarged billboard at Granville & Robson.

In Winter, when it gets dark at 4:30pm, a big flashing billboard out your window may not be welcomed
when there's at least a couple hours of work left.

But agreed, that it's better than having residential there, as previously proposed.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Well, Miller Thomson (in the former Sears) complained about the enlarged billboard at Granville & Robson.

In Winter, when it gets dark at 4:30pm, a big flashing billboard out your window may not be welcomed
when there's at least a couple hours of work left.

But agreed, that it's better than having residential there, as previously proposed.

It's obviously not ideal - but at least the lights were there first, so tenants will be going in with their eyes open (or not).

It's interesting that the Bjarke Ingels design appears to be very similar to the first time it was seen several years ago - although then it was mixed use. There were rumours of a new design with a different architect, but it would seem that isn't the case. Assuming it goes forward as illustrated, that's another big chunk of Downtown office space, and another innovative design from Westbank.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Changing City

It's obviously not ideal - but at least the lights were there first, so tenants will be going in with their eyes open (or not).

It's interesting that the Bjarke Ingels design appears to be very similar to the first time it was seen several years ago - although then it was mixed use. There were rumours of a new design with a different architect, but it would seem that isn't the case. Assuming it goes forward as illustrated, that's another big chunk of Downtown office space, and another innovative design from Westbank.

So the report done by the city in 2015 said the site can have up to 350,000 office and up to 400,000 residential. So if it's just office now does that mean it will be 750,000 office building?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

http://urbanyvr.com/720-beatty-central-steam-plant-westbank

Looks interesting. What ever happened to their plan to convert to biomass or biofuel?

Wasn't that always intended for the False Creek Flats or somewhere with the downtown plant being there as a backup?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by truenorth44

Is there bracing in the parkade underneath that behemoth? Thought I'd seen some info on that before.

Here's the section of the article talking about the crane foundation:

To further reduce project costs, SBW’s plan for the CTL 430-24 crane included a freestanding tower that wasn’t tied into the library’s structure. Originally, SBW planned on using an undercarriage strut mounting for the tower section. However, the optional base’s availability was limited and not available in Western Canada.

SBW put its more than 100 years of concrete fabrication experience to work and consulted with the firm TNAI Engineering Ltd. of Vancouver, to construct a custom concrete base to serve as a tying point for the crane’s tower. TNAI came up with an ingenious way to anchor the crane in a manner that would not require it to be secured directly into the building’s foundation.

Anchoring to the foundation would require cutting through the street-level membrane and closing the three-level underground parking structure.

“You don’t know what type of utilities and electrical components you will run into when cutting into the membrane, and this could lead to significant expense and delays,” Arsene said.

TNAI’s engineering team came up with a floating 10 by 10 metre X-shaped concrete base.

“When reviewing the parking lot’s drawings, we found columns supporting the library’s parking structure that were built at a 10 by 10-metre spacing, so we tied directly into those columns,” Arsene said, adding the columns served as the anchor conduit to the foundation below the parking structure.

The concrete anchor measured 1.8-metres wide, and height along most of the cross section was 2 metres tall. The outside 1.2-metre end segments of the structure anchoring into the columns were 2.6-metres tall.

“This, in essence, gave us 61 cm of spacing between the concrete end segments and grade at the center of the X-shape to create the floating base required to properly disperse the load,” Arsene said.

https://www.equipmentjournal.com/on-the-job/the-right-crane-for-high-rise-renovations-in-vancouver/

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

So the report done by the city in 2015 said the site can have up to 350,000 office and up to 400,000 residential. So if it's just office now does that mean it will be 750,000 office building?

The report didn't quite say that. It said that Westbank proposed two buildings with 300,000-350,000 sq ft of commercial and 300,000-400,000 sq ft of residential. There was a also a 25,000 sq ft retail building, and 70,000 of steam plant.

The report said that to be allowed any residential they would be required to first deliver 7.0 FSR of non residential. That would be 510,000 sq ft+. The rezoning was at that time considered acceptable because the public benefit would be the shift away from the existing relatively inefficient gas boilers.

It's not clear from the release so far whether that fuel switch is going ahead. It's equally unclear if that amount of space was achievable. The report didn't confirm the Westbank aspirations were achievable, and I don't think the Ingles design ever had any solid numbers attached to it.

Looking at the two images in the UrbanYVR story, the floorplate looks to be less than half the 73,000 site footprint, so perhaps 30,000 sq ft each? There look to be 19 floors, so that would be a 570,000 sq ft building, which would still be one of the biggest built Downtown. Some would be steam plant space, but 500,000 sq ft of office space would be slightly bigger than 1133 Melville for example.

[mcminsen]

I wonder if all these trees along the alley by the 401 W. Georgia development will get the axe.



March 24 '18, my pics