Claridge Icon [505 Preston St] | 143m | 45 fl | Completed

[OTownandDown]

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/25014130/805-carling-avenue-unit4301-ottawa-little-italy

Those balconies
*chef's kiss*
Such premium.
I'm sorry if this is your listing and I'm not being nice to it.

[ServiceGuy]

Originally Posted by YukonLlama

I mean, one can dream that a proper grocery store open up here but as it stands, it seems little Italy is still destined to be a food desert.

The space isn't large enough for that. It could be subdivided for a couple of small shops I suppose but what is needed here is a well stocked convenience store with a Tim's kiosk. Neither are within walking distance despite all the local highrise within a two block radius and passing Carleton students. I also can't see CIBC moving there either. No parking, no drive thru, and the vault is usually set in the concrete. Sporting goods shop might work given Dows, bike path, etc.

[Tesladom]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Those balconies
*chef's kiss*
Such premium.
I'm sorry if this is your listing and I'm not being nice to it.

That's really too bad, the rest of the place is really nice

[cr872190]

Originally Posted by ServiceGuy

The space isn't large enough for that. It could be subdivided for a couple of small shops I suppose but what is needed here is a well stocked convenience store with a Tim's kiosk. Neither are within walking distance despite all the local highrise within a two block radius and passing Carleton students. I also can't see CIBC moving there either. No parking, no drive thru, and the vault is usually set in the concrete. Sporting goods shop might work given Dows, bike path, etc.

Isn't Sherwood Deli like 3 blocks from this intersection? And there's a Morning Owl on Rochester.

[OTownandDown]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/25014130/805-carling-avenue-unit4301-ottawa-little-italy

Those balconies
*chef's kiss*
Such premium.
I'm sorry if this is your listing and I'm not being nice to it.

Sorry if this seems spammy, but I had to go back to 1 Bloor to take a look at what was possible:



Having seen these images I wonder if I'm being unfair. 1 Bloor seems to have two typical concave and convex curving components, with straight runs between, whereas Icon is all over the place and perhaps this made the job too 'custom' to manufacture?

[YukonLlama]

Wow, you can really tell the difference when you put two and two photos together. Such an embarrassment of a project. 1 Bloor also is known for its shoddy build quality, but at least they made an effort on the exterior.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Having seen these images I wonder if I'm being unfair. 1 Bloor seems to have two typical concave and convex curving components, with straight runs between, whereas Icon is all over the place and perhaps this made the job too 'custom' to manufacture?

What about Aqua in Chicago? The railings are not part of the architecture in this case, but if you can't do a custom job, Studio Gang's approach is best.







EDIT: Claridge even did a far better job with balconies at Loop.

Looking at the curved balconies. Perforated metal seems far better. Would love to see a picture from the balconies themselves.

Originally Posted by rocketphish

On a grey day...



Nov 13, 2022
Photo by me

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

Speaking of cohesion and patchy. I noticed this yesterday for the first time.





The outer balconies are fully caged but the inner balconies have glass sides. The fully caged balconies leave something to be desired with that perforated metal.



Interesting how the one column of balconies changes width. I feel like that double column would have been cheaper and easier to build using a single slab with a divider in the middle. I think it would look less awkward. Throw some angle on the balcony and glass the sides and you have an uncle named Robert.

[OTSkyline]

Beurk, these Loop towers have to be one of the worst recent new builds (along with Story-of). A true Dog's breakfast

[Sheezy]

The Aqua in chicago is not a design that should be replicated, as its one of the worst examples for thermal bridging in balconies.

https://buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi062-thermal-bridges-redux

However, if we're just talking about the curved railings, yes its clear Claridge cheaped out and could have easily found curved systems if they were willing to spend the money.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Sheezy

The Aqua in chicago is not a design that should be replicated, as its one of the worst examples for thermal bridging in balconies.

https://buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi062-thermal-bridges-redux

However, if we're just talking about the curved railings, yes its clear Claridge cheaped out and could have easily found curved systems if they were willing to spend the money.

Curved railings, but also the quality of the balconies. The slabs look nice and clean compared to the rough/stained bare-concrete of Icon.

[zzptichka]

[ponyboycurtis]

Nice pic. I like the exposure time and now that LED accents are so popular gives the average apartment towers some cool vibe.

[J.OT13]

Looks really good at night, or from a far (Dow's Lake face). They may have botched it when it came to fit and finish, however this is still quite unique in Ottawa.

[hokiefans]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I didn't see any pictures, but it kind of looks that way, yet the space between the bike racks were not plowed? Hoping someone posts a pic at some point.

I have one from December 19th right after the "incident"; I can never figure out how to upload a picture here. They have since been completely removed.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by hokiefans

I have one from December 19th right after the "incident"; I can never figure out how to upload a picture here. They have since been completely removed.

Please see: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246386

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by hokiefans

I have one from December 19th right after the "incident"; I can never figure out how to upload a picture here. They have since been completely removed.

Sounds about right. Very Ottawa to just give up instead of learning and improving. Maybe they'll be back this summer? Maybe in the same dumb spot

[J.OT13]

A very nice angle from "That Walking Guy" on Twitter. Almost looks like the renderings.


https://twitter.com/mchkzn/status/1657816684638470144?cxt=HHwWgIC86bff34EuAAAA

[daud]

I like the building from a variety of angles to be honest.

I get the arguments about craftmanship and materials and the only view I'm not huge on is directly facing it from the south looking north. Other than that, I think the building is a great addition to the skyline and the height provides some desperately needed variety to it. From carling, east or west it looks great. From the north it looks great, but it really looks good from 45 degree angles.

As the area around preston and carling continues to develop it also doesn't seem so isolated and out of place.

If only downtown could have 2 or 3 buildings of this height, it would change the whole look of our crop top skyline.

[905er]

downtown could use that height, yes, but not that design. the randomness of those balconies is just messy.

[SL123]

Taken May 19 during the Tulip Festival