[Halifax] Nova Centre | 65-58-58 m | 16-15-14 fl | Completed - Page 286

Haliguy · #**5701** Posted **Dec 21, 2017, 4:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Shall we officially term this debacle on Argyle St "Mason's Folly"?

I am thinking of starting a poll as to when it will again all be ripped up.

Mason's Folly

Naw, HRM will just have to start inforcing the rules

Keith P. · #**5702** Posted **Dec 21, 2017, 4:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Naw, HRM will just have to start inforcing the rules

And then contractors/general public will complain the design simply does not work, it will hit the local media, and soon enough Council will be forced to backtrack and fix it.

Haliguy · #**5703** Posted **Dec 21, 2017, 5:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

And then contractors/general public will complain the design simply does not work, it will hit the local media, and soon enough Council will be forced to backtrack and fix it.

hahahaha I'm sure. I know you don't like it keith P but just accept it and move on (:

Keith P. · #**5704** Posted **Dec 21, 2017, 7:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haliguy

hahahaha I'm sure. I know you don't like it keith P but just accept it and move on (:

Never! Victory shall be ours!!

OldDartmouthMark · #**5705** Posted **Dec 21, 2017, 10:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

And then contractors/general public will complain the design simply does not work, it will hit the local media, and soon enough Council will be forced to backtrack and fix it.

Perhaps you should suggest that contractors load their tools and equipment onto bicycle trailers and bike to their jobsites?

OldDartmouthMark · #**5706** Posted **Dec 23, 2017, 10:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanWatson

You can now walk all the way through the Grafton plaza, with access points to the BMO door. Unfortunately it looks like they rushed to get the pavers down... A lot of them are not installed well and are quite uneven.

Walked through there today. I didn't notice any of the pavers to be installed poorly or any that were uneven from block-to-block - not that there weren't any, just none where I was walking. I didn't find any 'ankle benders' there, anyhow, as there seemed to be a smooth transition between blocks.

However, the whole 'street' surface is very wavy and uneven, as though the base was not made level and straight. It is such that if you stand at one end and sight down it looks like sine wave in some spots and other areas look like there are 'pockets' sunk into the surface. My thoughts were that maybe it was done that way to encourage drainage, but it still seemed a little severe even with that mindset. A little perplexing, really, for an area that will be so prominent.

Regarding it being dark and uninviting, I'd say that it is as dark and uninviting as any other unfinished construction project. Still a lot of work to be done with many unfinished surfaces, and there is only one row of lights installed currently. If more lights are to be installed it will be much better IMHO.

Also, I didn't get any impression of it being a wind tunnel. It was much windier once I was outside of the 'square'.

I feel it has the potential to be a nice area, so I am content to wait until it is finished before I comment further.

JHikka · #**5707** Posted **Dec 24, 2017, 11:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Naw, HRM will just have to start inforcing the rules

As was pointed out in the replies to the linked tweet, tickets are being handed out for parking on the street. It'll take time but eventually a pedestrian-oriented street will sink in mentally.

eastcoastal · #**5708** Posted **Dec 27, 2017, 2:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

... Regarding it being dark and uninviting, I'd say that it is as dark and uninviting as any other unfinished construction project. Still a lot of work to be done with many unfinished surfaces, and there is only one row of lights installed currently. If more lights are to be installed it will be much better IMHO.

Also, I didn't get any impression of it being a wind tunnel. It was much windier once I was outside of the 'square'.

I feel it has the potential to be a nice area, so I am content to wait until it is finished before I comment further.

Fair enough. Here's hoping we don't have to call it Rogers-Desolate-Hole

OldDartmouthMark · #**5709** Posted **Dec 27, 2017, 4:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

Fair enough. Here's hoping we don't have to call it Rogers-Desolate-Hole

You don't have to read too far back in this forum to know how I feel about selling off a city street to Rogers, or this being a block-buster project, but I truly am hoping it will turn out to be a nice, inviting place where people like to go.

So... I'm being optimistic!

Jonovision · #**5710** Posted **Dec 29, 2017, 4:44 PM**

Got some shots of the new lighting.
I'm not a fan of the uplighting on the sharp edge of the tower. It just looks odd when you uplight curtain wall.
I'm curious to see if this bright strip of colour will always be blue or can it change to reflect the day or current events?

20171228_180729 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

20171228_180716 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

20171228_180740 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

20171228_180638 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

20171228_180735 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

And a bonus shot of the Stubborn Goat Mural

20171228_180526 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

q12 · #**5711** Posted **Dec 29, 2017, 7:02 PM**

Source Twitter: https://twitter.com/rodneytown/status/944605151758823425

ILoveHalifax · #**5712** Posted **Dec 29, 2017, 10:38 PM**

WOW!!
Love the lighting - Great shots Juno!
I look forward to other colors if they happen

Keith P. · #**5713** Posted **Dec 29, 2017, 11:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by q12

Source Twitter: https://twitter.com/rodneytown/status/944605151758823425

What a ridiculous way to wreck a street.

alps · #**5714** Posted **Dec 30, 2017, 3:42 AM**

Beautiful!!!

I love the festive atmosphere created by the lights strung over the street.

Anyone know what's going in the Argyle shopfronts of the convention centre?

MonctonRad · #**5715** Posted **Dec 30, 2017, 3:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonovision

Got some shots of the new lighting.
I'm not a fan of the uplighting on the sharp edge of the tower. It just looks odd when you uplight curtain wall.
I'm curious to see if this bright strip of colour will always be blue or can it change to reflect the day or current events?

There are lighting stanchions (in addition to regular streetlights) on Downing Street in Moncton (also a shared space roadway), which are LED and are programmable. They frequently leave them cycling between red, green and purple. They're actually very nice and really define the roadway.

The lights edging the corners of your convention centre are neat. The new Wingate Hotel in Dieppe also has lighting along the edges of the building like that. I wonder if the use of creative lighting on buildings will be a new trend in the region.........

The new events centre in Moncton will have the ability for multicolour displays along it's crown. I have a video here of what it looked like during a test the other month, but unfortunately it's of the back of the building and not the front.

• Video Link

And here's a video of a drive by showing the lighting inside the entrance into the events centre.

• Video Link

If this focus on lighting is a new trend in urban design, I like it. It brings colour and vibe to the downtown of our cities.............

Keith P. · #**5716** Posted **Dec 30, 2017, 6:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

If this focus on lighting is a new trend in urban design, I like it. It brings colour and vibe to the downtown of our cities.............

I can pretty much guarantee that there will be some of the usual Halifax suspects appearing in the media complaining. Just remember the huge fuss when the MacDonald Bridge towers got illuminated? You would have thought it was the end of the world here.

Haliguy · #**5717** Posted **Dec 30, 2017, 10:09 PM**

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/argyle-grafton-street-transformation-award-1.4468514

Jonovision · #**5718** Posted **Dec 30, 2017, 11:01 PM**

I'm curious though about the long term upkeep of these types of lighting features. Don't get me wrong, I think they are great. But given the maintenance track record of all things urban in Halifax I wonder if in 10 years half of the bulbs on that row of lights will be broken and not lit?

lawsond · #**5719** Posted **Dec 31, 2017, 3:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonovision

I'm curious though about the long term upkeep of these types of lighting features. Don't get me wrong, I think they are great. But given the maintenance track record of all things urban in Halifax I wonder if in 10 years half of the bulbs on that row of lights will be broken and not lit?

How many Haligonians does it take to change a lightbulb? Not many really. Just replace them. Buildingsall over the world are illuminated. And have been for decades. The whole area looks stunning. The convention centre is turning out to be better than I ever would have expected. The new Argyle St looks straight out of some European city. At some point, people in Halifax are going to have to face the fact that you have an incredible city and the envy of any city it’s size or greater.

Keith P. · #**5720** Posted **Dec 31, 2017, 5:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawsond

The new Argyle St looks straight out of some European city.

European design, all right. Looks great, but doesn't work at all for its intended purpose.

Quote:

At some point, people in Halifax are going to have to face the fact that you have an incredible city and the envy of any city it’s size or greater.

Uhhh, no. It is in a strange kind of decline in some ways. With all of the money HRM is pouring into useless projects and spending, we have very little to actually show for it. No stadium, no effective transit system, poor street infrastructure.