Modern Architecture at its Finest; or Designs to Inspire Vancouver!

[SpongeG]

They also have a great tram network and they have transformed some of the older ones, I saw two of them, into restaurants where you can watch people go by the stop sitting inside dining.


wikimedia

• Video Link

[SpongeG]

the podium contains a marketplace, retail and entertainment spaces, and a BMW experience center


stairs and platforms lead visitors from street level through the retail and entertainment programing




towards the upper levels, tree planting is introduced within winter gardens

UPDATE: on august 15, 2018, it was announced that UNStudio had won the ‘southbank by beulah’ competition to build a new skyscraper in melbourne, australia. the design is defined by a pair of twisting towers organized around a ‘green spine’ of vertically networked platforms, terraces, and verandas. this configuration also results in porous city views and improved contextual links. the proposal was competing against entries from other high-profile firms, including OMA, MAD architects, and coop himmelb(l)au. see the design in more detail below.

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/...green-spine-southbank-beulah-08-02-2018/

[Klazu]

That Melbourne project looks very nice. I love the use of materials and the podium looks amazing. Definitely so much better than Australia 108 next door...

[dreambrother808]

Yeah I’m not a fan of Melbourne’s tower architecture but that is a beautiful game-changer.

[Metro-One]

Have to echo the sentiments above.

Melbourne’s previous tallest towers leave a lot to be desired, but this project is fantastic.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Sheba

You do realize that Sydney is a completely different climate (more comparable to San Diego than Vancouver) and that xmas is mid-summer for them. While we could certainly do more for seasonal lighting I really can't foresee that happening any time of the year here.

I'm more in love with that glass roof. If any of the mall renos do something like that...

Notice a lack of homelessness, public property damage/vandalism and littering? I don't think it's just the climate or the superior architectural style: it's also how people are like and conduct themselves in other major cities. Vancouver is a gong show in many regards, and it starts with the mentality of its residents.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Thanks for the great pictures. I particularly like the indoor plazas and shopping districts. That is a city to look to for when seeking inspiration for Vancouver projects ... IMO

Melbourne (and many other cities in the world) is now everything that Vancouver had rejected previously. Hence they are where they are right now while we are becoming rather depressing.

This includes, well-lit buildings, huge CBD casino, secondary CBD malls and retail podiums, tall skyscrapers (not human scale), continuous stretch of al fresco dining by the water, sidewalk upgrades, retail in laneways, new attractions like a ferris wheel, etc etc.

Now Vancouver only has mountains and not much else.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

We did have the opportunity to build a sister CBD back then, like the Southbank of Melbourne: the Olympic Village.

No comparison now....they got the ball rolling and moved so much further ahead.

Here we still talk about viewcone limits, spandrels, seafoam windows and modular housing.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Vin

Notice a lack of homelessness, public property damage/vandalism and littering? I don't think it's just the climate or the superior architectural style: it's also how people are like and conduct themselves in other major cities. Vancouver is a gong show in many regards, and it starts with the mentality of its residents.

you see homeless there, I stayed on Elizabeth street right in the CBD in Melbourne and there were a number of people sleeping in the doorways at night, didn't see as many people asking for money during the day though. In Sydney I saw more homeless people than Melbourne, and during the day a lot more people asking for money.

But both were pretty clean downtown, I didn't get far out of the CBD's but there was some pretty dirty areas, the graffiti is more celebrated there and much more artistic.

And the lighting is much better, lots of screens and interesting lighted things, buildings etc. The casino in Melbourne was huge, I was surprised to see so many families with kids. They have a lot of restaurants, food courts, fast food places around the gaming area. The Melbourne one had a movie theatre, a variety of high end shops like Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Bvlgari, Prada, Rolex were some. Plus other brands like G-star Raw, Guess. There is also a DFO outlet mall close to the casino, its a long walk though when your feet are killing you and its cold outside (lol). The outlet was ok but the prices were really high, like the coach outlet was really expensive compared to Canada. You can get a mens wallet in Canada for about $50 when all savings are applied. A mens wallet in Australia I looked at was like $225 plus 30% off which isn't much.

There was another outlet place near the big train station/stadium area, it was mostly discount stores and had a TK Maxx which was about the same prices as here at Winners. Similiar brand selection too.

[SpongeG]

just to throw this into the mix for Vin.

Perhaps something like this could work downtown, it's small, only 60 stores over 3 or 4 levels. I went there it was mostly people using it as a passthrough. It was really nice interior wise though and has a decent mix of stores on collins street which is where all the high end brands had stores, similiar to Alberni street.

If say a developer and the city allowed it, I could see replacing the London Drugs and neighbouring buildings to the east on Robson and across the street where the old AE was, connect them with an underground passageway and a third or 4th level overhead. But won't happen obviously. Then have a hotel highrise built on top. One can imagine.

Or maybe down near waterfront somehow. Really redevelop Sinclair Centre and make it more of a shopping centre with larger store sizes and better configured than Sinclair is now. Anchored by Leone.

• Video Link

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

just to throw this into the mix for Vin.

Perhaps something like this could work downtown, it's small, only 60 stores over 3 or 4 levels. I went there it was mostly people using it as a passthrough. It was really nice interior wise though and has a decent mix of stores on collins street which is where all the high end brands had stores, similiar to Alberni street.

If say a developer and the city allowed it, I could see replacing the London Drugs and neighbouring buildings to the east on Robson and across the street where the old AE was, connect them with an underground passageway and a third or 4th level overhead. But won't happen obviously. Then have a hotel highrise built on top. One can imagine.

Or maybe down near waterfront somehow. Really redevelop Sinclair Centre and make it more of a shopping centre with larger store sizes and better configured than Sinclair is now. Anchored by Leone.

• Video Link

I think that this is just the type of "small but smart" sophisticated shopping mall that Vancouver needs! Great example. On the London Drugs site, or the Sinclair Centre site: GREAT!!!

[Sheba]

Slightly outside the box (and I didn't want to start a new thread just for it)

The best idea in a long time: Covering parking lots with solar panels

America is a nation of pavement. According to research conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, most cities’ surfaces are 35 to 50 percent composed of the stuff. And 40 percent of that pavement is parking lots. That has a large effect: Asphalt and concrete absorb the sun’s energy, retaining heat — and contributing to the “urban heat island effect,” in which cities are hotter than the surrounding areas.

So what if there were a way to cut down on that heat, cool down the cars that park in these lots, power up those parked cars that are electric vehicles (like Teslas), and generate a lot of energy to boot? It sounds great, and there is actually a technology that does all of this — solar carports.

It’s just what it sounds like — covering up a parking lot with solar panels, which are elevated above the ground so that cars park in the shade beneath a canopy of photovoltaics. Depending of course on the size of the array, you can generate a lot of power. For instance, one vast solar carport installation at Rutgers University is 28 acres in size and produces 8 megawatts of power, or about enough energy to power 1,000 homes.

Solar carports have many benefits, ranging from aesthetics (yes, the things look very cool) to subtler factors. Like this: Not having to return to a hot car after spending three hours at the mall or a sporting event in the summer. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, being able to park in the shade in the summer is actually a substantial contributor to increased vehicle fuel efficiency, because it saves having to cool your car back up by cranking the air conditioner.

So what’s the downside here? And why aren’t solar parking lots to be found pretty much everywhere you turn?

In a word, the problem is cost.

“It’s the most expensive type of system to build,” says Chase Weir of TruSolar, which rates solar projects based on financial riskiness. “A lot more engineering, a whole lot more steel, more labor, and therefore, it’s a relatively small percentage [of solar power]…but it is growing, and the cost to install a solar canopy today is less than the cost to install a rooftop just a few years ago.”

...

[Migrant_Coconut]

At the very least, it beats the crap out of the solar highway idea.

[SpongeG]

Imagine this at Arbutus for the station.

This is a building in Perth, below it and you can see the entrance to the train station underground.


jagonal.com.au


cbusproperty.com.au

[officedweller]

That's nicer than The Stack.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

the podium contains a marketplace, retail and entertainment spaces, and a BMW experience center


stairs and platforms lead visitors from street level through the retail and entertainment programing




towards the upper levels, tree planting is introduced within winter gardens





https://www.designboom.com/architecture/...green-spine-southbank-beulah-08-02-2018/

This is absolutely breathtaking - this might be my favourite proposal I have seen in on this website. Dare I say favourite proposal in the world?

Looks fantastic.

[Vin]

Wow, and it comes with a huge mall too. How come we never think of that?

ohh, right....

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by officedweller

That's nicer than The Stack.

It’s a tacky, incongruous mishmash.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by rofina

This is absolutely breathtaking - this might be my favourite proposal I have seen in on this website. Dare I say favourite proposal in the world?

Looks fantastic.

I love the bones of the idea but its execution is inelegant. The two other tall towers in that skyline could have used some refinement as well.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by officedweller

That's nicer than The Stack.

yea it was nice, it has laneways in it and through it and beside it and full of cafes, restaurants, retail shops and a loungey looking bar up on about the 3rd or 4th level, people were all up there and you can look down at the street, house music was pumping out of the bar, pretty lively on a friday night.

there are some courtyard spaces and passageways