CF Pacific Centre Developments

[Prometheus]

Well, they are definitely not "operational" in this photo, taken on New Year's Eve:

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i took this new years eve, doesn't look too bad

2016-01-18_12-37-12 by snub_you, on Flickr

[officedweller]

Probably because those floors and patios are not yet occupied by Microsoft, who would be responsible for the hydro bill as part of its leased premises (as opposed to common area lighting). If that's the case, then the lights will likely cycle off at 12 midnight like they do in the TD Tower (and have to be turned on manually if the floor is still occupied).

[LeftCoaster]

To be honest I don't know why they are not on, but the intent was always to operate them.

[officedweller]

Microsoft sign on the north side:


https://twitter.com/GranvilleStreet

[trofirhen]

... it all adds bit by bit to that "corporate cool" that Vancouver needs - and is
inexorably getting.

[EdinVan]

Walked by Nordstrom tonight. All the signs, except for Microsoft, were off, and the interiors were very dimly lit The entire block looked like a giant dead zone.

I see the Future Shop sign no long works either. Do they plan to replace it with a Best Buy sign?

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by EdinVan

Walked by Nordstrom tonight. All the signs, except for Microsoft, were off, and the interiors were very dimly lit The entire block looked like a giant dead zone.

I see the Future Shop sign no long works either. Do they plan to replace it with a Best Buy sign?

i think that is going to be the new normal for lots of buildings. with LEED being the buzz word of the day these building all dim lights according to natural light, occupancy etc. Even though we have a energy glut companies are switching to automatic systems. I think the days of showy buildings are done

[Metro-One]

They seem to building lots of developments with lights / video screens throughout other Canadian cities (Toronto, Edmonton) and ofcourse, throughout the world.

Even our own Telus Tower has many great lighting features.

This development was simply a lazy missed opportunity.

[jlousa]

We had to cut our energy consumption substainably to be the first building post built to get LEED: Platnium and we now have to find yet another 500,000KWHs in savings to recertify in the next go around which is just around the corner. It's not easy, and we're having to shell out big bucks to get there, turning off non-essentially lights was done ages ago.

[osirisboy]

Why didn't they put solar panels on the roof?? I think this leed certification is stupid.

[Metro-One]

Sounds like a stupid system to me.

There are far better ways to be environmentally friendly than turning off all the decorative lights and therefore reducing the quality of the night atmosphere in a city core.

And yes, this project would have been perfect for solar panels on the roof.

I was always afraid the green movement in Vancouver would equate to killing the night city vibe.

So many other ways to reduce energy (or produce it) that dont reduce the enjoyment / interest of the city at night.

Toronto is looking better and better all the time though and seems to have really started to capture that big city vibe.

[mcminsen]

And contrast the Nordstrom building with the Telus office tower with lights blazing all night every night, including the white outline of the protruding box. I took this pic this morning at ~4:25 AM.

Late yesterday afternoon I was coming south over the Lion's Gate Bridge on the bus and the skyline was resplendent with lights, except for the Trump and Shangri La towers. Of course, Trump is not up and running yet and it was in front of the Shangri La as seen from the bridge. But even with a clear view of the Shangri La at night it is mostly a black area up top. I really wish there was some requirement for minimal rooftop crown lighting on all the tallest buildings. It could just be a half dozen white LED lights across the top roof edges. Then you would know a building was there.



Jan.24 '16, my pic

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I was always afraid the green movement in Vancouver would equate to killing the night city vibe.

So many other ways to reduce energy (or produce it) that dont reduce the enjoyment / interest of the city at night.

And it's not like electricity in BC is produced with coal power plants. Isn't something like 90% of electricity in BC produced by hydro?

[Spork]

Originally Posted by Jebby

And it's not like electricity in BC is produced with coal power plants. Isn't something like 90% of electricity in BC produced by hydro?

Yes, but Hydro is not unlimited, and does indeed have an impact on the environment. By the time we are all driving electric cars, I would be willing to bet that LEED will help quite a bit to ensuring that we have enough electricity to power such a fleet.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

it is about 90% in BC that is produced by hydroelectricity. Hydro power is arguably the most sustainable based on the impact compared to how versatile it is. it doesn't need batteries, it doesn't need to wait for wind or sun. water will always be running to the lowest point and if you build it in the right spot, sure you flood some forest, but in BC there is a lot of forest. it is also decently low maintenance which always helps.

for night time lighting, the city is trying to get away from decorative lights due to the impact on bird migratory patterns. the city wants to stop as much unnecessary light from going into the sky as possible. the city wants a fully dark sky to be environmentally friendly in another way. of course this means that if the city had their way, it would all be LED street lights point down, no concrete lamp-topped posts from the old days, and none of the lights you see on BC and Canada Place.

[Metro-One]

The joke is that advancements in lighting technology alone have made decorative lighting / signs / video screens sooooo much more energy efficient that we don't need to turn them off and have our city atmosphere suffer at night (especially one as dark as Vancouver though the winter where people suffering from SAD is a real thing).

Instead of turning these features off I wish the green movement was more akin to how it is in Japan / Europe where countless businesses and houses now are built with solar panels and other local energy production facilities. (and yes, Tokyo did dim down its lights recently after the big earthquake disaster... but a general downtown street is still about 10X brighter and covered in signs / lighting effects than anywhere in Vancouver). Most European cities I have been too have also embraced lighting effects more so than Van, and these are old school / environmental leading cities.

Being environmental should not equate to being boring and dark.

The migratory bird problem sounds a little wishy washy as well. (seeing how most migratory birds in Van frequent areas such as Sea Island and near the ferries, which are from the downtown core).

All features of city living should be weighed. While dimming the lights may be a little better for the natural environment (not as much as I suspect the environmentalists believe it will), it will be worse for the urban environment (making the city dark will make it less inviting at night and may even cause crime to rise. There is a reason why Translink has figured out recently to make its stations as bright as possible at night).

Again, the more I see Toronto (and now even Edmonton) embrace the urban living / form, lighting up their entertainment districts more and more, the more I am getting jealous.

And here I thought Vancouver was actually going to follow this a little bit with re-doing Granville, lighting up older buildings with floods, the Telus development, but I guess that was all just a bright bump in their road to basic and boring?

PS, I don't feel that every part of the city needs to be bright / full of lighting features, but our tallest / key towers and entertainment districts should be lit up, and this includes this spectacular failure of a development in that regard (considering its prime location). As was stated earlier, a digital billboard where the PC sign is located on Granville and Robson would have been ideal.

Why is the NORDSTROM in Salt Lake City far more dynamic than ours with lighting??

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by EdinVan

I see the Future Shop sign no long works either. Do they plan to replace it with a Best Buy sign?

In December, Granville St. twitter said a new sign was coming "soon".
I would just expect Best Buy lettering on the same gray "fin".

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

For night time lighting, the city is trying to get away from decorative lights due to the impact on bird migratory patterns.

I've always said Vision's urban philosophy is for the birds.

I am in Toronto right now where things couldn't be more different; the city is lit up like a Christmas tree. Sad to see the lights of civilization going out in Vancouver.

[jollyburger]

They should ban anti-bird spikes and netting in parking garages that limit the natural habitats for pigeons.

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

I've always said Vision's urban philosophy is for the birds.

Except that it was Elizabeth Ball, an NPA councillor who proposed the light pollution bylaw. But I forget, this is SSP Vancouver where facts never get in the way of hyperbolic, shouty Vision bashing.