Story of Rideau & Chapel [151+153 Chapel St] | 78+84m | 25+26f | U/C

[GeoNerd]

Yeah this Story quickly became a Nightmare... I'll see myself out

Not sure how this specific bait and switch went down, looks like they slowly cheapened the design throughout the approval process. The file planner should have been all over that.

I can say that once you get site plan approval, I don't think city planning staff even follow up with building code staff to make sure you build exactly what was approved. The city is a bit dysfunctional in that way, and also understaffed. I also don't know what the penalty would be for a post-approval bait and switch. I'm sure in places like NYC they'd slap you with a hefty penalty or make you tear it down. Here? Probably a slap on the wrist if anything.

[Harley613]

Look at all those new Charcoal walls with tiny windows we'll get facing Rideau when tower 2 is built.

[yotajoe]

I would say this is the ugliest tower in the city.

It's honestly getting ridiculous, the city should be ashamed of allowing construction of these towers with poor execution and flat out laziness.

[Uhuniau]

I fail to see the problem with "cladding" that everyone else sees.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I fail to see the problem with "cladding" that everyone else sees.

Taste is subjective, but really???

[OTownandDown]

Having reviewed the remainder of this thread, after the change to 'The Story Of...' and thinking this would be exciting..

I'm convinced that developers go about a range of hoops to get the best value for their investors.

This developer fights for height using 'rendering porn' with extreme perspectives and supposed 'high-quality' architecture. Thereby appeasing the NIMBY's and whomever is in government or funccionaires who need to be appeased in order to get their extra square footage approved.

Then, once the height and mass is in place, bring in an architect team who know how to get the job done on a budget, and hire a builder who knows how to apply all these materials, and justify that the height and massing was already approved.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Harley613

Taste is subjective, but really???

Really.

"Cladding" seems to be to this forum what "traffic" and "the children" are to your run-of-the-mill Neighbourhood Nimby Network.

[J.OT13]

It truly is the story of Rideau. A mix of heritage building and urban gritty-ness evolving into a wall of bland, generic 20-something towers. I would say this is ever so slightly better than the Claridge Plazas/Envie blocks thanks to an ok street level set-up and some space between towers, but not by much.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Really.

"Cladding" seems to be to this forum what "traffic" and "the children" are to your run-of-the-mill Neighbourhood Nimby Network.

I mean, you do you, but I think the brickwork on this building is a dog's breakfast. Not only is it ugly in form, it also looks to be of poor quality and poorly installed in places.

Also, yes, discussing cladding is important on a forum that discusses buildings, is it not? What shall we critique if not the building itself, here on this building discussion platform?

[Sheezy]

One of the reasons these buildings are all looking the same are the prescriptive WWR in the energy code, and developers don't want to pay the premiums for having more efficient buildings to allow for higher WWRs.

Another aspect was there was a HUGE shortage of bricks and other materials in the last couple years, and developers had to be less picky about the colours of brick and adapt to what was available to keep the projects on schedule.

The architects probably died a little inside but they had to make these adjustments to finish the project within budget and schedule

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Sheezy

One of the reasons these buildings are all looking the same are the prescriptive WWR in the energy code, and developers don't want to pay the premiums for having more efficient buildings to allow for higher WWRs.

Another aspect was there was a HUGE shortage of bricks and other materials in the last couple years, and developers had to be less picky about the colours of brick and adapt to what was available to keep the projects on schedule.

The architects probably died a little inside but they had to make these adjustments to finish the project within budget and schedule

I can sympathize with these issues, but there is no way anyone at NEUF or RLA died inside when these materials were finalized. These people live and breath Charcoal & Beige/White.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Sheezy

One of the reasons these buildings are all looking the same are the prescriptive WWR in the energy code, and developers don't want to pay the premiums for having more efficient buildings to allow for higher WWRs.

Another aspect was there was a HUGE shortage of bricks and other materials in the last couple years, and developers had to be less picky about the colours of brick and adapt to what was available to keep the projects on schedule.

The architects probably died a little inside but they had to make these adjustments to finish the project within budget and schedule

How is there no shortage of charcoal bricks and white metal cladding at this point!?

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I mean, you do you, but I think the brickwork on this building is a dog's breakfast. Not only is it ugly in form, it also looks to be of poor quality and poorly installed in places.

Also, yes, discussing cladding is important on a forum that discusses buildings, is it not? What shall we critique if not the building itself, here on this building discussion platform?

Sure, I suppose, but it's a strange thing for folks to get worked up about IMHO.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Sure, I suppose, but it's a strange thing for folks to get worked up about IMHO.

The exterior of the building is a strange thing to get worked up about on a building discussion forum? That's like saying the exterior of a supermodel is a strange thing to get worked up about on a supermodel forum

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Harley613

The exterior of the building is a strange thing to get worked up about on a building discussion forum? That's like saying the exterior of a supermodel is a strange thing to get worked up about on a supermodel forum

I'm more about the talent competition (how the building functions at street level and other public-facing contexts) vs. swimsuit (colour etc.)

But each according to his own sewer!

[McDonald's Racoon]

I think the cladding is one of the most important things to discuss when it comes to Skyscraper design.

It is the first thing you see from a distance and takes up most of the surface area of the building (especially when windows are that small)

When most of our buildings are square boxes 27 floors high, the materials used are the only saving grace so its obviously upsetting when they're not up to par...

This one looks especially bad from a far.

[Harley613]

Ottawa's finest building today:

[OTSkyline]

Obviously not a masterpiece and definitely a letdown vs. the previous renders & versions that were proposed/approved.

BUT if they wouldn't have done those random beige T's, the tower would've been much less ugly and would've just blended in and be much less offensive.

[SL123]

According to an Instagram post by Trinity Group. Popeyes Fried Chicken is gonna be a commercial tenant in this development

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by SL123

According to an Instagram post by Trinity Group. Popeyes Fried Chicken is gonna be a commercial tenant in this development

That's going to smell great, wafting up to the residential levels above it