General Updates and News

[ILoveHalifax]

But the buildings would be on the west side of the Common so the Common would get full sun from the south all day until late in the afternoon.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

And given that the Common is basically a treeless field with some baseball diamonds, I'm all for a bit of shade. But I'm aware I'm in the minority--most people enjoy squinting and sweating and soaking up UV for hours on end. I don't understand it.

I completely agree. Would be nice to be able to sit on the grass in a long shadow, rather than baking in the cancer rays.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

I completely agree. Would be nice to be able to sit on the grass in a long shadow, rather than baking in the cancer rays.

Dr, Strang will probably get Glavine to pass a law banning that in the near future.

[someone123]

A bit of news about The Drum, a 44-unit building that will go on the Centennial Pool block near where the new roundabout is going in at North Park. Westwood is still waiting for Centre Plan amendments. If they go through, construction is planned for early 2016.

Here's an old rendering. I like how the building's shape responds to the triangular lot and the cylindrical part is interesting. The brickwork looks like it could be nice too. The ground floor could use some work to make it more inviting though:


Source

[Keith P.]

^^^ That rendering looks awful, frankly. That "X" detail on the cylindrical part looks like that awful building on the corner of North and Agricola, and the street level looks like it is right at the curb. Surely we can do better than this.

Also, what's up with that old guy?

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Dr, Strang will probably get Glavine to pass a law banning that in the near future.

They'll be sure to ban "the use of cancer rays" just to be sure to put all small businesses out of business...

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by someone123

A bit of news about The Drum, a 44-unit building that will go on the Centennial Pool block near where the new roundabout is going in at North Park. Westwood is still waiting for Centre Plan amendments. If they go through, construction is planned for early 2016.

Here's an old rendering. I like how the building's shape responds to the triangular lot and the cylindrical part is interesting. The brickwork looks like it could be nice too. The ground floor could use some work to make it more inviting though:


Source

Why don't they go for something really classy, like a flat-iron style building?

[hokus83]

Originally Posted by someone123

A bit of news about The Drum, a 44-unit building that will go on the Centennial Pool block near where the new roundabout is going in at North Park. Westwood is still waiting for Centre Plan amendments. If they go through, construction is planned for early 2016.

Here's an old rendering. I like how the building's shape responds to the triangular lot and the cylindrical part is interesting. The brickwork looks like it could be nice too. The ground floor could use some work to make it more inviting though:


Source

So are they planning to build something taller than what is already approved? What's the point of them waiting for the Centre Plan if not.

[curnhalio]

Originally Posted by hokus83

So are they planning to build something taller than what is already approved? What's the point of them waiting for the Centre Plan if not.

I wonder if they're waiting for that stretch of Rainnie to be officially closed and made a walking path before building. Maybe they can get a few more feet of right of way on that side. It can make all the difference in how much you can get for rent or sale of individual units.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by someone123

A bit of news about The Drum, a 44-unit building that will go on the Centennial Pool block near where the new roundabout is going in at North Park. Westwood is still waiting for Centre Plan amendments. If they go through, construction is planned for early 2016.

Here's an old rendering. I like how the building's shape responds to the triangular lot and the cylindrical part is interesting. The brickwork looks like it could be nice too. The ground floor could use some work to make it more inviting though:


Source

I actually like the shape also. Are there any colour renderings?

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

^^^ That rendering looks awful, frankly. That "X" detail on the cylindrical part looks like that awful building on the corner of North and Agricola, and the street level looks like it is right at the curb. Surely we can do better than this.

Also, what's up with that old guy?

I'm going to have to agree with Keith on this one. Ugly building, reminds me a lot of that disaster on Falkland at Gottingen.

Old guy looks sketchy, probably on his way to a Heritage Trust meeting.

[Drybrain]

I really, really hate this design.

This is part of the reason I'm less than excited about Westwood's plans for the SGR-Doyle block (Tom's Havana, etc.) especially if it involves a teardown. What are we going to see it replaces with? Something like this? I can't imagine it not being an architectural and aesthetic downgrade. It's confusing because Danny Chedrawe seems like a sharp guy with a lot of good ideas about the scale of development and the city's future, etc. His buildings are just extremely...un-inspiring, I guess.

A few days ago I was made aware of The Acre, an with work in Saint John and NYC (an odd combo).

What did Saint John do to deserve better residential architecture than Halifax?

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

A few days ago I was made aware of The Acre, an with work in Saint John and NYC (an odd combo).



What did Saint John do to deserve better residential architecture than Halifax?

Wow! I like. Is it approved? I worry that this will never get a green light in conservative ol' Saint John.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

A few days ago I was made aware of The Acre, an with work in Saint John and NYC (an odd combo).

What did Saint John do to deserve better residential architecture than Halifax?

How does the rendering on top relate to the one below? I am confused as they do not appear at all the same.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

How does the rendering on top relate to the one below? I am confused as they do not appear at all the same.

Different projects, just different styles.

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

Wow! I like. Is it approved? I worry that this will never get a green light in conservative ol' Saint John.

That's part of why it's a bit unexpected. I think the church conversion is approved--the church was previously facing demolition, but this project involves converting it to lofts, so that probably has to do with its acceptance. The project is taking a while to get going, but if/when it happens, it'll be a modestly scaled development, fused with an ambitious heritage restoration, in a much poorer city than Halifax. That should give the lie to the "Halifax developers can't afford to do heritage like they do in bigger cities," which is an argument that's been made before on this forum.

The first one is indeed on hold or maybe cancelled, not because it's too contemporary, but because Saint John's planning department asked for more onsite parking. (A previous application was rejected as having too many units.) Which means hey, maybe the design could be repurposed locally...

[hokus83]

Originally Posted by someone123

A bit of news about The Drum, a 44-unit building that will go on the Centennial Pool block near where the new roundabout is going in at North Park. Westwood is still waiting for Centre Plan amendments. If they go through, construction is planned for early 2016.

Here's an old rendering. I like how the building's shape responds to the triangular lot and the cylindrical part is interesting. The brickwork looks like it could be nice too. The ground floor could use some work to make it more inviting though:


Source

If anywhere in the city this is the spot that should be 40 stories with a restaurant on the top floor

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by hokus83

If anywhere in the city this is the spot that should be 40 stories with a restaurant on the top floor

NOOOOO! The world would spin off its axis if that were to occur! And it would block the view of the skating oval from the ramparts of the Citadel!

It's TOO TALL!!!

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Why don't they go for something really classy, like a flat-iron style building?

Hmmmm...



Would need about double the floors, though.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Hmmmm...



Would need about double the floors, though.

Mark, you actually read my mind! When I wrote my original post, I was going to reference this exact building, and go find the old posts on point. But then I got lazy and just made the flat-iron reference.

Thanks for being less lazy than me, and finding the old pic. I think it would be awesome to try to do a re-make of this beautiful building, and this is the perfect plot.

Can someone email Mark's idea to Danny? I'm actually serious about this.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

I really, really hate this design.

This is part of the reason I'm less than excited about Westwood's plans for the SGR-Doyle block (Tom's Havana, etc.) especially if it involves a teardown. What are we going to see it replaces with? Something like this? I can't imagine it not being an architectural and aesthetic downgrade. It's confusing because Danny Chedrawe seems like a sharp guy with a lot of good ideas about the scale of development and the city's future, etc. His buildings are just extremely...un-inspiring, I guess.

A few days ago I was made aware of The Acre, an with work in Saint John and NYC (an odd combo).

What did Saint John do to deserve better residential architecture than Halifax?

Both of these are nice, with the latter actually quite stunning. I love the contrast between the new/modern glass and the old church structure. Would love to see something like this in Halifax.

I hope Danny realizes he's building opposite one of our most stunning buildings in the Library and he rises to meet that challenge.