Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project | Completed

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by touraccuracy

what the hell is that giant white orb?

It's part of a nuclear power plant.

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

yea exactly, all of our buildings cant be passive unobtrusive ubiquitous point towers.

I agree. What gives a city its texture is the mix of passive and bold; big and small; old and new; pretty and ugly; light and dark. It all works.

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by lightrail

That is one ugly building. I can't believe that it got built in Vancouver. The streetscape is not human scale. It's overpowering - sorry, but I don't like it.

Do you feel it's ugly specifically because of its scale at street level? Or are there other reasons you feel it's ugly?

When I think "ugly", I think of things like overall shape, proportions (as seen from a distance), exterior finishes, etc...

[mr.x]

......to be continued

[EdinVan]

The vertical entrance sign is absolutely cryptic.

[raggedy13]

Thanks for all the great photos SFUVancouver and mr.x2! I checked the area out tonight and I'm really loving it. The various forms of night lighting look great and since it was dark I could easily see into the lit interior and it looks great too. The wood treatment on the walls looks amazing, especially with the night lighting on it. As nice as the building itself is, I love how much the development adds to the public realm. It's an impressive design overall and a fantastic addition to our waterfront. I didn't have my camera with me so I got a few pics with my phone but they're pretty crappy:

Here is the white dome with some projections on it, just like Vanman thought:


One thing I love about the area is how prominent the lighting effect on the Shaw Tower is. It suits the area great and works nicely with the other new lighting features like those angular structures.


There are some huge escalators in this building on the south side.


I guess this is one of the art features, a giant spinning globe hanging from the ceiling:


SFUVancouver has a much better picture of this


That strange light feature on the roof is only visible from across the street and doesn't stand out too much. I'm not really sure I understand why its there.

[zivan56]

Thanks for all the pics guys. I need to get there one evening/night and take some long exposures from all angles.
Doesn't look that bad...at least it wasn't 70's Brutalist...

[Hed Kandi]

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[Canadian Mind]

The dome is neat, and the lighting effects in combnation with Shaw ower are fucking amazing.

The hanging globe looks fragile and potentially deadly during an earthquake. What's keeping it from falling should the cable or any of it's mountins fail... or is it just a giant inflatable rubber bal that wont harm anyone if it falls?

I actually like the artistic lamp-post. But it would have been better served at ground level. Several of them along the walk between Canada Place and the convention centre, and or along the front of the building would have been pretty impressive.



It still looks like an alien though.

[LotusLand]

Thanks for all the photos guys. I need to invest in a camera or atleast a camera phone

[johnjimbc]

The center looks great up close. One thing I noticed last evening was how warm the Convention Center feels at street level in the evening. The wood walls inside and the touches of wood on the underside of the roof-line inside and out all glow warmly, making for a very soft and inviting presence - surprising for such a large angular structure. The large overhangs above the seawall and various balcony areas of the convention center really envelope it nicely as well.

It is charming in person, in a way the photos don't capture.

I also noticed for the first time that the blue angled structure lights actually mirror in vertical form the roof-line shape of the convention center, especially the angles formed by the eastern edge (the edge closest to Canada Place). They looked really good as well.

Final observation is the big curved structure with the red maple leaf (the Vancouver info booth) actually works because it sits nearer Canada Place, so it seems to really have been designed to help dress up the renovated plaza in front of Canada Place. In that context it works really well.

[mr.x]

....to be continued~

[amor de cosmos]

April 3, 2009
Office of the Premier

PREMIER OPENS NEW VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE

VANCOUVER – Premier Gordon Campbell and Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway Stockwell Day joined convention centre workers to officially open the new Vancouver Convention Centre today – one of the world’s “greenest” convention centres and the largest waterfront convention centre anywhere in Canada.

“The new Vancouver Convention Centre is an iconic, world-class facility that will bring thousands of new visitors to our province and inject billions into the economy,” said Premier Campbell. “Of the upcoming meetings and conventions already booked, 57 would not have come to B.C. without this new, larger centre. This centre is an economic engine that will generate more spending, more business and more opportunities for decades to come.”

The additional 111,500 sq m (1.2 million sq ft) triples the centre’s capacity, and includes Canada’s largest ballroom, 52 different meeting rooms, a six acre “living roof” with its own colony of bees, and an exhibit hall larger than the playing field at BC Place. The new facility has already attracted 184 upcoming events which will generate more than $2 billion in economic activity.

“As the Asia Pacific gateway to Canada, Vancouver is a truly international city,” said Minister Day. “As a result, this spectacular expansion of the Vancouver Convention Centre will go a long way to capturing the attention of the world, encouraging meeting planners to select us for their next convention. It’s an investment in tourism and trade that’s already paying dividends.”

“It’s a remarkable building in so many ways,” said Podmore. “The men and women who helped to design and build this waterfront expansion have combined form and function to create something very special. It’s a truly unique public asset in which we can all take a great deal of pride, because it’s as much for us as it is for our visitors, and that’s not always the case with modern convention centres in other cities.”

The expansion emphasizes the use of B.C. wood and features a 90-metre glass connector linking it to the original Convention Centre at Canada Place.

Today’s opening ceremonies come ahead of two days of public open houses on April 4 and 5.

“One of the most important features of the Convention Centre is its capacity to bring people back to other parts of British Columbia,” said Bill Bennett, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, and minister responsible for BC Pavilion Corporation, which operates the Vancouver Convention Centre and BC Place. “Delegates will come to meet here, but we also know that many of them will also return as visitors to other parts of the province. It makes the Convention Centre a powerful marketing tool for our tourism industry.”

The $883.2-million expansion, which broke ground on November 8, 2004, was made possible by a funding partnership of the Province of British Columbia ($540.7 million), the Government of Canada ($222.5 million), Tourism Vancouver ($90 million), and an additional $30 million in revenues to be generated by business activities at the new centre.

“With the world watching in 2010, the Convention Centre expansion will give us the ability to tap into whole new markets,” said Geoffrey Howes, chair of Tourism Vancouver. “There’s no question the world wants to meet in Vancouver, and these new facilities and the centre’s setting and commitment to environmental sustainability combine to give us a competitive advantage that few places can rival.”

The expansion was built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standards, with environmental features that include the largest living roof in Canada, a new marine habitat surrounding the buildings foundations, water recycling, and the use of natural light and ventilation throughout.

With the opening of the new centre, the original at Canada Place will close for upgrades before the entire convention centre is turned over to VANOC in September for use as the media and broadcast centre during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_rele...062-000619.htm

[Hed Kandi]

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[Hed Kandi]

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[vansky]

london, new york, la, what kind of city is that?

what kind of city is this?

we gota be realistic that vancouver is not in that status,at least not yet, who knows when. At least the current tourism # and local population # dont support it, so even if it's bigger, probably it will not be used efficiently. i'm an outsider of this, so this is only my opinion.

[Jacques]

Personally I would rather have a convention in Vancouver than Las Vegas, anytime.
I realize this center has cost an arm and a leg, however it Leed standard and design brings appeal in such surroundings that could very well makes us become the envy of many people visiting our city in years to come.
My opinion

[osirisboy]

I just spent 2 hours walking around the place which was packed full of people and it is truly amazing!!! I recommend everyone to go to the open house. The one thing I would like to have seen were planters etc on the patios but im sure that will happen in the future.

I finally left via the passage way that leads to the old convention centre and wow. the old one looks like shit now I cant wait to see that renovated.
Does anyone have plans as to what the renovations will look like when they are completed?

[SFUVancouver]

[moved to next page]

[Minato Ku]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

Global Convention Centre Size Comparisons

Milan Italy - Fiero Milan (345,000 m2)
Las Vegas, USA - Las Vegas Convention Center (297,000 m2)
Tokyo, Japan - Makuhari Messe (210,000 m2)
Los Angeles, USA - Los Angeles Convention Center (80,700 m2)
Geneva, Switzerland - Geneva Palexpo (70,000 m2)
New York, USA - Jacob K Javits Convention Centre (67,700 m2)
London, United Kingdom - Earles Court Convention Centre (58,811 m2)
Vancouver, Canada - Vancouver Convention Centre (43,991 m2)

Paris, France - Porte de Versailles (220,000 m2)