1728 Alberni St | 117.3m | 44fl & 41fl | Proposed

[cov]

Originally Posted by vanman

Agreed. All those buildings are far more interesting than the bland square glass boxes we're used to. Even if they're not the most beautiful buildings around.

There is far too much hate towards glassy exteriors on towers. Glass reflects light and blends in with natural hues of the sky, which creates both brighter and more natural street-level ambiance. This is extremely important for urban cores because a reflective surface expands visual space at the ground level where the streets are walled in by towers.

Glass is the best thing to ever happen to downtowns.

[MistyMountain]

Glass also has very poor thermal performance. If we're looking to design more energy efficient buildings we'll be seeing a lot less glass.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by cov

There is far too much hate towards glassy exteriors on towers. Glass reflects light and blends in with natural hues of the sky, which creates both brighter and more natural street-level ambiance. This is extremely important for urban cores because a reflective surface expands visual space at the ground level where the streets are walled in by towers.

Glass is the best thing to ever happen to downtowns.

I guess until the glass curtains fail.

[bb1510]

Can't post old proposals but I'll just try to describe them. However, I actually have all the renders and presentation packages for it including fly through videos and whatnot. Would love to share them but I really can't/shouldnt. Know the Kingswood/Bosa ppl.



Basically massing is essentially the same with the draped podium and tapered tower bottoms. Actually the entire form was similar to one of the massing studies with the extruded pixellations.


Podium roof was originally a waffle structure similar to the Heatherwick Tokyo project except the square models are five times the density and had rounded corners. The squares were arranged at a 45 degree angle.


The tower profile was also based on this grid from the waffle structure extruded upwards and the corners of these units had a rounded radii similar to the squares below. Each of the these extruded 'squares' had either a floor to ceiling V glazing unit or V glass balcony balustrade. All the glazing had a rounded corner to match. Exterior cladding was terrazzo or bronze.


The bottom of the towers which were curved cut off these extrusions resulting in the bottoms visible similar to Heatherwick's Zeitz MOCAA interior. Similar concept except the results were rounded squares.



Hope you guys can visualize what I said

[officedweller]

I have no clue, but all good anyways.

WRT glass towers, I think that a large percentage of vision glass counteracts Vancouver dark gray winter days, and we don't have that many hot humid summer days to make air conditioning an absolute requirement. The solution for summer days is to close your window blinds. Operable windows that swing out, instead of flipping out, also generate more air circulation.

[s211]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The solution for summer days is to close your window blinds.

Nope. Once the thermal radiation is through the glass, blinds won't help one bit. Been there, tried that, roasted to a crisp.

There's a very good reason why AC purchases are through the roof the last few years.

[officedweller]

Works for me facing west to close the blinds in the morning all day.
Keeps the temperature from sweltering, but still warm.
My glass is also tinted slightly.

[superelevation]

Originally Posted by s211

Nope. Once the thermal radiation is through the glass, blinds won't help one bit. Been there, tried that, roasted to a crisp.

There's a very good reason why AC purchases are through the roof the last few years.

I recently rented a place in a new build in Metro Vancouver that had no AC at all, it simply had some bs "cooling ventilation", had to buy our own AC unit after like 3 days.

[s211]

Originally Posted by superelevation

I recently rented a place in a new build in Metro Vancouver that had no AC at all, it simply had some bs "cooling ventilation", had to buy our own AC unit after like 3 days.

Yeah, the city/Westbank circle jerk has tried geothermal cooling and it's one billion percent snake oil. But hey, they're saving the planet, one blast furnace apartment at a time.

[dleung]

Originally Posted by cov

There is far too much hate towards glassy exteriors on towers. Glass reflects light and blends in with natural hues of the sky, which creates both brighter and more natural street-level ambiance. This is extremely important for urban cores because a reflective surface expands visual space at the ground level where the streets are walled in by towers.

Glass is the best thing to ever happen to downtowns.

Can't agree more. The only glass I don't like is when it's fake (spandrel). The city should be pushing for better-performing glass rather than pushing for less glass, which is causing the growing spandrel problem.

Then again, a good chunk of SSPers would be perfectly happy if we regressed to 1930's Manhattan towers in 2021.

[casper]

Originally Posted by dleung

Can't agree more. The only glass I don't like is when it's fake (spandrel). The city should be pushing for better-performing glass rather than pushing for less glass, which is causing the growing spandrel problem.

Then again, a good chunk of SSPers would be perfectly happy if we regressed to 1930's Manhattan towers in 2021.

Did someone say 1930's Manhattan towers ? The felling of history, a solid strong enduring building. The incorporation of art deco elements into a building help tell a story about the business or people that commissioned the building in a concreate, visual and enduring way.

A lot of us are ok with the glass. The biggest complaint is lack of variety. When every building is a solid glass tower and exactly the same colour of glass that is a problem.

Getting back to this building. I like it. It is most definitely not a 1930s. Its story is about being one with nature. The only thing that will screw it up is if some of the residents on the lower floors are not into gardens. Without the planting everywhere it will look bad.

[SpongeG]

dezeen did a feature on the project, a lot of haters in the comments. They also mention some other recent projects and upcoming projects in Vancouver.

Heatherwick Studio reveals visuals of skyscrapers for Vancouver
India Block | 25 January 2021 36 comments

British architecture and design firm Heatherwick Studio has unveiled visuals of a pair of residential skyscrapers planned for Vancouver, Canada.

The high-rise buildings will be located on Alberni Street in Vancouver's West End neighbourhood.

https://www.dezeen.com/2021/01/25/heatherwick-studio-skyscrapers-vancouver/

[s211]

Now I remember what the base of the towers reminds me of:

[Klazu]

Having lived in Berlin, I have been to a company Christmas party in that red tower.

[Zepfancouver]

https://shapeyourcity.ca/1728-alberni-st...paign=1728-alberni-st-and-735-bidwell-st ... Virtual open house: February 22 to March 14, 2021
• Video Link

[Klazu]

Thanks for posting. They sure look like something else but are not my favourites.

[rofina]

I'm all for it.

Especially on the West End.

[Feathered Friend]

This one has kicked up a bit of trouble, here's a sampling of the questions submitted so far. Frankly, some of the city's answers leave a bit to be desired too. .

1. What will the price range of the 401 strata residential units of the proposed development? 2. Will the sale of units be first offered to local residents or will it turn out to be a case of the whole development being "Sold Out" (read: promoted overseas and snapped by foreign nationals) before local residents have a chance at purchasing? 3. Will the developers provide more information about the potential use of the five-story mix-used podium?

Is there no protection for the modernist concrete apartment block ( about 9 stories tall ) at the corner of Bidwell and Alberni? This is one of the best concrete buildings of that era in the West End.

Do the people who assembled this proposal care at all what they include? Please notice the building on booklet pg 33, top middle and right. One of the greatest 70's ish 9 story apartment blocks in the West End. worthy of heritage protection! They present it as part of the advantageous 'Site surroundings', but isn't it one of the buildings which must be torn down to accomodate this development? Have you no qualified architect, aware of the great modern work of the 70's in Vancouver, to weigh in on the degrading anaylsis this proposal posits on pages 34 & 35 of some of the architectural gems of the West End? (Just because they can photoshop in a bunch of pedestrians and plants does not make thier architecture good.)

Answer- The applicant has an architect working on the proposal

Picture the near derelict Robson Street market, and the grim interior of the Denman Mall, and all the very wonderful one off streetfront businesses that have gone under along Denman and lower Robson due to real estate speculation pressure. Then please answer -- what exactly is the economic model of the 'vibrant ground floor businesses' that will rent space to do business in this 'all for big profit venture'? How expensive will those businesses have to be to pay the rent. Will the costly vendors be for the dwellers in the 'Quiet, low rise and senior' residents in the yellow block on the page 13 map? Or just the 'Quiet residential types' in the red block (described as no-car-havers on pg 16)? Or perhaps just the residents of this market price building will liven up the neighbourhood by livening up their ground floor spaces at exclusive chain venues their neighbours can't afford? It's not like the well heeled commmuters going by on Georgia to and from West Van would stop here.... Where would they park? And as the page 16 map indicates, Georgia is a pedestrian barrier to keep the Coal Harbour folks away. Can you please explain the economics of this as a neighbourhood builder?
dbcap asked 15 days ago

Answer- The applicant determines the economic model for their proposal. The cost of rent is also not determined by the City.

Also, how does this project fit into the aesthetic of the neighbourhood since the buildings look more like termite mounds or wasp nests than the trees of Stanley Park (i.e. contrasting curved grids weaving up the sides from a bulbous base do not look like trees. Cedar trees have straight, vertical bark that runs parallel and they buttress out at the bottom).

Can you tell me what is the mechanism utilized by the City for determining if a design, in particular one occupying most of a city block and featuring two buildings each more than 340 feet each, is APPROPRIATE for that site and for the city? Is there a check list? Is there a process? Is the appearance of the development considered at all?

My personal "favourite"

Booklet page 40. Why is a survey of what people want for DOWNTOWN applied to this lot in the far WEST END. Can you verify that respondents indicated in colour bar-chart percentages WERE ACTUALLY WEST END DWELLING CITIZENS? Have those on council who speak up for 'neighbourhoods' made it clear that the West End is a neighbourhood and that proposals should consider those who actually live there as part of the picture?

You can view the rest of them here.
https://shapeyourcity.ca/1728-alberni-st-and-735-bidwell-st?tool=qanda#tool_tab

Either way, if people here like this project, I would strongly suggest sending in your comments (Of course, you should send them in regardless of what you think, but in my experience those who are opposed don't usually need to be reminded to do so).

https://shapeyourcity.ca/1728-alberni-st...ol=survey_tool&tool_id=feedback#tool_tab

[dleung]

I just submitted my comments. Totally agree that they should be preserving the 9-storey modernist tower - there's a handful of those in the area that I really worry about, especially the one across the street from this one. What's the point of doing a cool pair of retro towers if you have to demolish the kind of architectural context that support the proposed design in the first place?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by dleung

I just submitted my comments. Totally agree that they should be preserving the 9-storey modernist tower - there's a handful of those in the area that I really worry about, especially the one across the street from this one. What's the point of doing a cool pair of retro towers if you have to demolish the kind of architectural context that support the proposed design in the first place?

Just because they reference the existing buildings in the area how you try to equate that with them trying to use it to support their application is very interesting.

When they demolish it down can you post a reaction video on YouTube..