University of Ottawa - Vanier Hall tower | 15 fl | Completed

[bartlebooth]

Originally Posted by defishel

Excellent, that please me to know. Thanks I'm hoping to go either tomorrow or the day after, provided the weather is clear enough. But I'm guessing the patio space on top of the purplish block doesn't exist?

Just to add to LeadingEdgeBoomer's post, I have also wandered around the inside of this building and had no problems. It is quite nice, I think you'll enjoy it. The atrium spaces just off the main entrance are probably some of the nicer ones for a university building in Ottawa and I like how the new building and Vanier Hall work together from the inside. Have fun and perhaps you can share a few of the pictures you get!

[teej1984]

For sure you can go in and look around! No one is going to ask you for an ID or anything like that unless you look really suspicious I see university buildings as mostly public spaces anyway (whether rightly or wrongly, I don't know!)!

Yea, that parking lot is still there which is very unfortunate. It could be a great green space/gathering area on campus... something that is somewhat lacking at U of O apart from the space in front of Tabaret.

[McPwned]

Originally Posted by defishel

I'm hoping to go either tomorrow or the day after, provided the weather is clear enough.

As will be readily apparent when you attempt, the top (15th, IIRC) floor isn't accessible to the rabble. If you don't have a badge for it, the elevator won't do anything when you press the button. I had to settle for the 14th when I checked the building out.

[Aylmer]

The 14th floor offers some great views over Centretown and a great place for studying or napping I'll try to snap some pics next time I'm there.

[Urbanarchit]

Originally Posted by McPwned

As will be readily apparent when you attempt, the top (15th, IIRC) floor isn't accessible to the rabble. If you don't have a badge for it, the elevator won't do anything when you press the button. I had to settle for the 14th when I checked the building out.

I went today and learned that. There were other rooms and windows I lamentably couldn't get to which would have given great North, South, and East views (I really wanted some that overlooked Sandy Hill). But I did manage to get some, albeit the sun's glare in the window ruined my pictures. :S Maybe one day I can get better ones, especially if I can get a better camera.

You can see the Merit, Tribeca, Performance Court, 90 Elgin from here. The bio-wall stretches up about 6 stories, and on the second floor there are bridges that criss-cross, providing quiet study space.


Highrises by Shel DeF on Flickr


Skyline by Shel DeF on Flickr


Golden Triangle and Old Ottawa East by Shel DeF on Flickr


Jock-Turcott and uOttawa by Shel DeF on Flickr


Bio-wall by Shel DeF on Flickr


Staircase by Shel DeF on Flickr


Halls by Shel DeF on Flickr


Somerset by Shel DeF on Flickr

[Urbanarchit]

Vanier Hall Tower by Shel DeF on Flickr

[J.OT13]

Very nice.

[Harley613]

gorgeous shot!

[waterloowarrior]

^great shot!

Here's another nice one from Harley613

Originally Posted by Harley613

Some more from today:

[rocketphish]

University of Ottawa's edgy tower wins 3 awards

Robert Bostelaar, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 17, 2014, Last Updated: December 17, 2014 5:21 PM EST



Two years after it opened, the University of Ottawa’s prow-shaped Faculty of Social Sciences building is riding a crest of design and engineering approval.

The highly visible tower was named top institutional building in this month’s Ontario Concrete Awards for its combination of traditional, cast-in-place floors and sturdy sheer walls, which allowed a narrow footprint and floor and ceiling heights that match the adjoining Vanier Hall.

Wedged into a sliver of space on the western boundary of the downtown campus, the 15-storey, glass-shrouded structure presents a cool, ordered face to the Rideau Canal and Nicholas Street and a more playful aspect to the east, where a square, multifloor bump-out over the entrance houses a theatre and multi-use hall.

Distinctive even among the bold exteriors of recent U of O structures, the building has quickly become a landmark. But its interior features, and particularly a six-storey “living wall” of greenery, are also drawing notice.

The wall, meant to purify air returning to the ventilation system to be recirculated, won an Award of Excellence in November at a Green Roofs for Healthy Cities conference.

Also in November, the building received the Interior Wood Design Award from the Ontario Wood Works! program of the Canadian Wood Council. Wood products are found throughout the building, and cherrywood slatted screens line an atrium that connects it with Vanier Hall.

Other Ottawa wood-award winners were the Richcraft Recreational Complex in Kanata (Green Building Design) and Lansdowne Park (Institutional-Commercial Wood Design over $10 million).

The U of O’s 272,000-square-foot social sciences building brought the faculty’s 10,000 students, 260 professors and 100 staff under one roof for the first time. It was designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects of Toronto and KWC Architects of Ottawa.

The two firms are also guiding the $190-million restoration of the Government Conference Centre on Confederation Square that once was Ottawa’s central train station, while Diamond Schmitt principal Don Schmitt is project architect for a major overhaul of the National Arts Centre that will include a new entrance and glass facade on Elgin Street.

[email protected]
twitter.com/robt_bostelaar

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/university-of-ottawas-edgy-tower-wins-3-awards

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

The original living wall in this building has been replaced by one designed by indigenous artist Stephanie Tenasco.

[J.OT13]

Some context, the original green wall didn't do well and had to be replaced. Kind of preferred a plain green wall, but this is kind of cool.