1451 Wellington St W | 39m | 12f | U/C

[McC]

Yeah, my thoughts exactly; but Ottawa's a little behind the fashion times, and not much was built here in the late 80s and early 90s (hard times fighting those deficits), so I tacked on a few more years. Also, I'm getting old and I still think of the '90s as not that long ago... :p

[Norman Bates]

Make that teal cladding real copper and they've got a deal.

It reminds me of the Supreme Court.

Props to Mizrahi for staying in the game and not phoning in another snoozer. Like it or not, this raises the bar for Ottawa architecture. I can't wait to see what charlesfort offers in response.

[MoreTrains]

Pft, I think its great. Its a more modern homage to the Parliament buildings. Some of it might be outdated, but what isnt in this town? Its a bold addition, it isnt subtle. Its exactly what this town needs more of.

[Norman Bates]

The archetctural drawing states that it is copper cladding. :-)

[passwordisnt123]

Interesting render. The devil is really in the details here. That building could end up being gorgeous or it could end up being a monstrous eyesore and it would depend entirely on the building materials used.

If ever there was a need for the developer to give extensive details about the building materials *and be forced to stick with what they say they're going to do*, this would be the case. Based on that rendering, it's impossible to tell whether the developer is planning to use high quality building materials or low-quality faux-historic materials. We could end up with a gorgeous properly oxidized copper roof like we see on the Confederation Building and other Parliament buildings. But they may be planning on going the cheap faux-historical route and use a diarrhea-green aluminum roof in a quasi attempt to look historical like the eyesore of a building attached to St. Andrew's Church at the corner of Kent and Wellington (see below).

It's also unclear to me, given the fiasco with the Union of Canada building, if the city even has any mechanism in place to force them to stick to high quality building materials so that the end result looks more than vaguely like what they said it would.

For reference:

Confederation Building:



St. Andrew's Annex:

[waterloowarrior]

The green is copper, the vertical yellow is brick, the horizontal yellow/white is pre-cast, the blue is glazing.
http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%...Site%20Plan%20and%20Building%20Plans.PDF

[rocketphish]

Seriously?

Right building, wrong location. I think that this would be a great addition to the judicial precinct, located where a new judicial building is supposed to go (ie. the spot currently being hijacked by the Communism Memorial), but on Wellington & Island Park? Not so much. In this location it looks fake to me... like it's trying too hard to be something it isn't, and doesn't really fit in.

My guess is that Mizrahi is calling the City's bluff and wants them to tell him to go back to the original (way better looking, IMO) design.

[OTSkyline]

Well it's definitely different and definitely "landmark" or such for a condo... Agree the location is a bit weird and that this sort of architecture would be better closer to the CBD, Centretown or even Rideau St but hey... the city and the condo owners who buy into this will be the ones to decide.

I am curious to see what the layouts would be for the penthouses in this new design; it looks like slanted walls and very high ceilings and windows. Could be VERY nice!

But as someone mentioned, maybe he's just testing council to see what they say. I mean if they don't say this is "landmark" enough, I think it's clear to say that this new "landmark" clause is bogus and nothing will ever meet its undetermined criterias...

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Seriously?

Right building, wrong location. I think that this would be a great addition to the judicial precinct, located where a new judicial building is supposed to go (ie. the spot currently being hijacked by the Communism Memorial), but on Wellington & Island Park? Not so much. In this location it looks fake to me... like it's trying too hard to be something it isn't, and doesn't really fit in.

My guess is that Mizrahi is calling the City's bluff and wants them to tell him to go back to the original (way better looking, IMO) design.

My thoughts exactly. The first split second I saw it on the Sun, I thought it WAS the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Judicial Building.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by passwordisnt123

But they may be planning on going the cheap faux-historical route and use a diarrhea-green aluminum roof in a quasi attempt to look historical like the eyesore of a building attached to St. Andrew's Church at the corner of Kent and Wellington (see below).

Not to mention Minto Place, Performance Court, the old Post Office on Sparks and Elgin... the list goes on and on.

[kwoldtimer]

If they got rid of all the green rubbish and kept the rounded corner turret from the second proposal they'd pretty much have it right. At nine stories.

[Urbanarchit]

I'm not a huge fan of the turret being completely copper in this. I like the spire, but they should have kept the copper above the 9th floor to designate it as being "the roof". I like the slanting back though, but that bit doesn't scale right. If the copper were only the roof and it wasn't as tall, I'd be fine with the design otherwise.

[rocketphish]

Developer proposes 'landmark' condo building for West Wellington

Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 17, 2015 | Last Updated: September 17, 2015 11:53 AM EDT

A Toronto developer is proposing what it calls a “landmark” condo building for the corner of Wellington Street West and Island Park Drive, months after the city shot down the company’s first proposal.

Mizrahi Developments wanted to build a 12-storey building at 1445 and 1451 Wellington St. West, but council turned down the project because the proposed height exceeded what the rules allow for that location.

The developer appealed the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board, which offered two options in its May decision: Cap the building at nine storeys or demonstrate “landmark” architecture for the top of the building sufficient enough to persuade the board to allow 12 storeys.

The latest renderings released by Mizrahi now show a building with a pronounced green roof and pointy corner tower, a nod perhaps to the Confederation Building on Parliament Hill. Gone from earlier renderings are the glass-enclosed top floors and projecting balconies.

Mizrahi has pushed for the additional height because the site is contaminated and requires costly remediation. A nine-storey project just isn’t financially viable at the location, Mizrahi has said.

Although council refused the first proposal, the developer won over many nearby residents who were impressed with the company’s various attempts to consult the public and incorporate the feedback into the plan.

Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper will host a public meeting on Sept. 24 to give residents an opportunity to comment on Mizrahi’s revised proposal. The meeting will be held at Kitchissippi United Church (630 Island Park Dr.) from 6-9 p.m.

Mizrahi and the city have until Nov. 7 to report back to the OMB.





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http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...dmark-condo-building-for-west-wellington

[Kitchissippi]

That is hideous. So out of character and scale for that corner.

[McC]

And imagine it with a gas station, a vacant former (heritage) gas station and a used car lot on the other three corners... it's just silly to me.

[dhottawa729]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

That is hideous. So out of character and scale for that corner.

I agree, it is very ugly and I don't want that in my city. The first proposal wasn't that bad.

[Harley613]

Hmm...I guess they are trying to tie into the Parliament look. I didn't like it at first on 150 Elgin, but it's grown on me since. Actually, like 1950 Elgin, I find this design to be very post-modern 1990 style. I don't hate it completely, it's just 25 years late for it's style.

[Arcologist]

Originally Posted by dhottawa729

I agree, it is very ugly and I don't want that in my city. The first proposal wasn't that bad.

It's a very nice building, IMO, but not for that location.

Bring back the old design, it was much better for Island Park & Wellington.

[Arcologist]

At the very least, get rid of the spire on top of the corner turret... it looks like they chopped off the top of the Peace Tower and stuck it on there! I think that small change in itself would make a huge difference!

[cr872190]

I kinda like it. It's different, but unoffensive. And even if the rendering looks a little weird, Mizrahi has proved they make very good quality product with very high end finishes. I think it will end up looking really good.