Vancouver House (1400 Howe St) | 151.5m | 52Fl | Completed

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by C3YVR

Oh the drama, light strips have always been part of the plan and yes they are planters.

Really? Kinda weird they didn't install the lighting beforehand, rather than wait for people to fall into the pits.

Were the planters planned too? The concrete cuts and patching make them look like an afterthought.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Really? Kinda weird they didn't install the lighting beforehand, rather than wait for people to fall into the pits.

Were the planters planned too? The concrete cuts and patching make them look like an afterthought.

generally things that are "planned" don't require undoing brand new things... unless someone really messed up the scheduling.

[jollyburger]

I mean it looks so stupid that it has to be an afterthought bandaid fix.

[WarrenC12]

It's like we've never built something on an incline before.

[mcminsen]

Look at the Howe Street entrance for the tower.

This pic was from earlier this year but I presume it's still the same with the steps blending in with the sidewalk.





Feb.5 '20, my pic

[jollyburger]

How large of a potential liability would a property owner face for people falling on these kind of uneven walking surfaces?

[C3YVR]

Maybe you should check it out at the BC Supreme Court, I believe they have some really cool steps.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by C3YVR

Maybe you should check it out at the BC Supreme Court, I believe they have some really cool steps.

Not any with that wonky uenven rise in Mcminsen's pic.

[officedweller]

Looks like an awkward ramp/step combination.
It's awkward because none of it is properly lined up with either the enterphone panel or the front doors.

Also looks like conduit on the steps for lighting.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Looks like an awkward ramp/step combination.
It's awkward because none of it is properly lined up with either the enterphone panel or the front doors.

Also looks like conduit on the steps for lighting.

I think it's made worse because they needed to level out to those doors further north of the main entrance. I guess if they built further south over the service station lot that it wouldn't have been a problem

[officedweller]

It also looks like they have a flat/fixed ceiling height for the underground structure and did not want to eat into that.

On the east side, they've put the steps and ramps (ie sidewalk) into the public realm instead of internally eating up square footage in the retail space
(i.e. compare to Best Buy and Canadian Tire on Cambie @ 7th where there are steps up or down inside the doors and are similarly awkward but hidden from view / public exposure)
That's the best comparison for a street-facing on hill 2 storey big box (large sq ft) situation.
The London Drugs and IGA at Broadway & Vine is also odd because the IGA is half subterranean and I think the London Drugs is half elevated on that level site.

That could also reflect the same unwillingness to adapt the concrete structure to add internal stairs and cut-outs into the retail spaces and instead force those to the outside.
Note that the triangular site also makes internal space at a premium here compared to the Cambie example, so that could have been the overriding factor.

[Marshal]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

How large of a potential liability would a property owner face for people falling on these kind of uneven walking surfaces?

The City's approvals would put the liability on their shoulders. The owner's/architects could also be on the hook if negligence of professional standards could be proven. Not likely.

[officedweller]

There's still occupiers' liability though for accidents on strata property. So everyone will get sued.

[Marshal]

You would be in tough suing a strata for designed elements operating 'properly.'

[officedweller]

Yeah, but if after a break-in period an issue is discovered and they don't seek to remedy the situation... they could be liable.
They can't sit on their hands (i.e. up at the market corner they added the planters and ground down the step, yet that had been approved.)

At the BC Place concourse, they added a railing to the tops of the concrete barriers marking the drop off to prevent dogs from jumping over to the road below - yet that had been in place for 20 years.

[truenorth44]

Originally Posted by officedweller

At the BC Place concourse, they added a railing to the tops of the concrete barriers marking the drop off to prevent dogs from jumping over to the road below - yet that had been in place for 20 years.

And all that could have been avoided if the dog owners would just leash their dogs.

Back to nicer thoughts: here's a view of the skyline from English Bay with the three latest prominent towers.

my pic, July 29, 2020

[Feathered Friend]

For those who missed the streamed tour of Vancouver House, Westbank has now uploaded a video of it.

It lasts about 30 minutes, and though I wouldn't call it a tour per say; there's some nice shots of the building, amenity areas, homes, construction process, and the views. Of course, there's plenty of Ian Gillespie, and marketing for Westbank's new King Street project in Toronto.

The last 1/3 is focused on the development of the chandelier. Full disclosure, I haven't watched the entire thing, I've only skipped through it.

https://vimeo.com/442502650/a524dc68e9?u...5317&mc_cid=ac11c3d6da&mc_eid=cb7a545bd6

[officedweller]

Yeah, not really a tour.
I was surprised at the number of times Ian Gillespie said 'uh..'

[C3YVR]

There is a pop up art display today at Vancouver House.

[SpongeG]

designboom has done a piece on Vancouver house

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/...vancouver-house-virtual-tour-08-13-2020/