Andaz Hotel [325 Dalhousie St] | 56.3m/70m | 15fl/23fl | Phase 1 complete

[YOWetal]

Of course the cladding is not a key decider which is why they were happy to skimpo on it but when you are booking quickly you look at the picture and form an impression about how modern the hotel is. I assume it is well appointed inside and it may have the nicest rooms in Ottawa. The first impression image will not convey this however which makes is seem more comparable to a new Courtyard Marriott or similar brand.

[Uhuniau]

I pass this building almost every day. I am trying very very very hard to see what is so offensive, bad, or inadequate about this building's exterior cladding. I am failing equally hard.

[AndyMEng]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I pass this building almost every day. I am trying very very very hard to see what is so offensive, bad, or inadequate about this building's exterior cladding. I am failing equally hard.

Something my mother told me in my teenage years. "Brown and grey don't usually look good together". In this case, there are several issues:

1. Why is there a clay brick of that colour, and cladding of cold grey?
2. Why are there glass spandrels AND sheet metal spandrels?
3. Why is it so boring?

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I pass this building almost every day. I am trying very very very hard to see what is so offensive, bad, or inadequate about this building's exterior cladding. I am failing equally hard.

I think the problem is they set very high expectations and then cheaped out to the point of being a full bait-and-switch.

If the renderings showed the final product from the beginning, there would have been a few ho-hums and that would have been the end of it.

[OTSkyline]

Yes, to me the thing that irks me the most is how ugly it is in comparison to what was originally proposed. If this version was what had been originally proposed, then at least nobody would be "disappointed".

The original proposal seemed to be an all glass tower - reflective glass at that, which looked really neat - floor to ceiling. None of those spandrel crap

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

Something my mother told me in my teenage years. "Brown and grey don't usually look good together". In this case, there are several issues:

1. Why is there a clay brick of that colour, and cladding of cold grey?
2. Why are there glass spandrels AND sheet metal spandrels?
3. Why is it so boring?

4. Why are any of these things a problem?

[AndyMEng]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

4. Why are any of these things a problem?

The building presides over one of the most important neighborhoods in our nation's capital city. It should feature good design, which it does not. Why is this a problem? Because low standards and cheap finishes have created our architecturally dull city. Higher standards are needed.

I haven't even mentioned the slim sidewalks and inwards-facing lobby creating a less than inviting streetscape, in a pedestrian focused neighborhood, no less.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

The building presides over one of the most important neighborhoods in our nation's capital city. It should feature good design, which it does not. Why is this a problem? Because low standards and cheap finishes have created our architecturally dull city. Higher standards are needed.

I really, really, really fail to see the esthetic problem with any of the external cladding of this building.

I haven't even mentioned the slim sidewalks

Are they slimmer now than before? Does the hotel own or design the sidewalks?

and inwards-facing lobby creating a less than inviting streetscape, in a pedestrian focused neighborhood, no less.

Those could be tweaked, yes.

But overall, I really cannot see what everyone is grumbling about.

Then again, I'm a contrary crusty old fart who also doesn't know why (a)everyone in Ottawa thinks Ottawa is the only place in the world with overhead wires for stuff or (b) why wires are an esthetic problem.

I'm also the same contrary crusty old fart who for the life of me can't figure out why there were people up in arms about losing the supposedly more-esthetically pleasing piece of mid-century awfulness that was previously on the same site.

[AndyMEng]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I really, really, really fail to see the esthetic problem with any of the external cladding of this building.



Are they slimmer now than before? Does the hotel own or design the sidewalks?



Those could be tweaked, yes.

But overall, I really cannot see what everyone is grumbling about.

Then again, I'm a contrary crusty old fart who also doesn't know why (a)everyone in Ottawa thinks Ottawa is the only place in the world with overhead wires for stuff or (b) why wires are an esthetic problem.

I'm also the same contrary crusty old fart who for the life of me can't figure out why there were people up in arms about losing the supposedly more-esthetically pleasing piece of mid-century awfulness that was previously on the same site.

I agree the brutalist beauty that was there should have been restored. And I also think the problem lies with the previous building. It was replaced by a box, with uninspired cladding. Maybe it wasn't cheap (though it is), but it's definitely not inspiring architecture.

Here's the Andaz in West Hollywood:

https://assets.hipmunk.com/assets/ho...1b3dc51725.jpg

Andaz Tokyo

http://i.pointhacks.com/2015/05/1523...s-Exterior.jpg

Andaz NY

https://cdn.kiwicollection.com/media...enue-PRINT.jpg

Andaz Shanghai

https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/me...-xintiandi.jpg

Andaz Ottawa

http://travelupdate.boardingarea.com...8/IMG_5330.jpg

at least it's not gaudy, just boring. It could have been worse:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3137/2...abdb1dbd_b.jpg

[OTSkyline]

^ LOL. Had a good laugh scrolling through that last post.

[Uhuniau]

One of the gripes about the Ottawa andaz is that the sign telling you it's an andaz is on the top of the building.

Like all those other andazes?

Like pretty much every high-ish-rise hotel in Ottawa?

[J.OT13]

Here's the least offensive picture I've seen of Ottawa Andaz.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...ticle33332686/

[ars]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

One of the gripes about the Ottawa andaz is that the sign telling you it's an andaz is on the top of the building.

Like all those other andazes?

Like pretty much every high-ish-rise hotel in Ottawa?

My problem with the sign is that it looks like it was slapped on a shipping container and then that shipping container was placed at the top of the building.

To be honest though, the Ottawa Andaz seems to be on par with Hyatt's other North American Andaz hotels. Andaz San Diego and Savannah, for example, are pretty boring looking too. I actually prefer Andaz Ottawa to those two.

[gjhall]

If we're going to do apples to apples, here's the actual building of Andaz New York (where I've stayed - its a converted office building, just as Andaz Ottawa was originally proposed), hardly going to win a Pritzker:

[Davis137]

It's an improvement over what was there, and it's taller. So I don't hate it...

[YOWflier]

Put me in the "don't see an issue" club. In fact, I bet if this wasn't a Claridge project it wouldn't get nearly the amount of crap flung at it.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

Put me in the "don't see an issue" club. In fact, I bet if this wasn't a Claridge project it wouldn't get nearly the amount of crap flung at it.

I also don't really know why Claridge gets so much crap rained down on them, either.

[McC]

Originally Posted by Davis137

It's an improvement over what was there, and it's taller. So I don't hate it...

isn't it the exact same height, just with lower ceilings to fit more floors?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by McC

isn't it the exact same height, just with lower ceilings to fit more floors?

Shorter than the conversion, taller than the original.

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Claridge asks to demolish Union du Canada building rather than renovating it

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen July 4, 2013 5:06 PM

OTTAWA — Having received permission for a major renovation to turn the Union du Canada headquarters on the edge of the ByWard Market into a hotel, Claridge Homes is instead asking to tear it down.

The developer hopes to squeeze about the same number of rooms into a shorter building and head off an appeal of the project from neighbours angry that it’s too tall, according to a report bound for the city’s committee on heritage buildings.

The stark concrete-and-glass office tower at 325 Dalhousie St. was the monumental home to an icon of French-Canadian finance, until the Union du Canada insurance company went bust in 2012. The building itself is undeniably unique in its neighbourhood, though it is a matter of opinion whether it’s a charming and historic oddity in the Market district or an eyesore that looms menacingly over the area.

Either way, Claridge received approvals this spring to “re-clad” the 11-storey building and add four storeys to turn it into a luxury hotel, part of a two-building project that includes a condo tower on the same block. But nearby residents appealed the city council decision to the Ontario Municipal Board, at least partly on the grounds that the proposal is too tall and out of keeping with other buildings on Dalhousie.

“The project architect analysed the programming requirements and existing heights of the building, and concluded that, because the floor-to-ceiling heights required for an office building are higher than those required for a hotel, the height of the proposed building could be reduced and the needs of its clients met, if an entirely new building were to be constructed,” the new heritage report says. The current building tops out at 45.8 metres, it says, and a brand-new one would rise to 52.4 metres. Claridge’s approved renovation would take it to 67 metres, so the difference is four to five storeys.

Otherwise, the report says, the architectural style would be similar to the version city council has already approved. And the 22-storey condo building would remain unchanged.

Officially, the Union du Canada building is of negligible heritage value, interesting only because the whole ByWard Market is a heritage conservation district, so the city’s heritage staff have no problem with Claridge tearing it down.

The city council committee, a mixed group of councillors and heritage experts, is to vote on the idea July 11.

dreevely@ottawacitizen.com

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Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Cl...#ixzz2Y86MfnzJ

[ars]

Passed by this building quite a bit this weekend when I went for La Machine, I will admit that I've grown to really like it. It has a form of subtle class to it.

It definitely looks much better in person than in pics.