Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project | Completed

[SpongeG]

that was sort of my point - i don't think the convention centre should have ever been designed to be a landmark and as such its nice for what it is

save the "iconic landmark" for something else

[Hourglass]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

that was sort of my point - i don't think the convention centre should have ever been designed to be a landmark and as such its nice for what it is

save the "iconic landmark" for something else

That's the problem. There isn't any landmark that is easily identifiable with Vancouver and I seriously doubt anything will be built within our lifetimes. What landmarks there are tend to be lesser versions of what exists elsewhere. Seattle has the Space Needle, Vancouver has Harbour Centre; San Francisco has the Golden Gate, Vancouver has Lions Gate; Sydney has the Opera House, Vancouver has Canada Place ... you get the idea.

[vansky]

Originally Posted by Hourglass

That's the problem. There isn't any landmark that is easily identifiable with Vancouver and I seriously doubt anything will be built within our lifetimes. What landmarks there are tend to be lesser versions of what exists elsewhere. Seattle has the Space Needle, Vancouver has Harbour Centre; San Francisco has the Golden Gate, Vancouver has Lions Gate; Sydney has the Opera House, Vancouver has Canada Place ... you get the idea.

ya. We only have one concept that's uniquely vancouver. HK has a skyline with a mount. drop, chicago has a wide skyline, sydney has a convention center on the sea...etc

Stanley park's the most unique thing in van, especially to non-locals.

(apologizing for my depressed and unthoughtful comments made earlier on this forum)

[vansky]

Originally Posted by Jacques

You must be from EDMONTON with such statement
Frankly big difference between FLAT lands in nowhere land and Vancouver's Mountains, oceans, parks, waterfront, beaches, architecture and so on and so forth.
Calgary Tower is the mini me of CN are you serious?????

Edmonton has a good mall, calgary got a nice flowing stream of water. I remember when I was in calgary I just remembered the river. Winnipeg has a river too, no skyline. Ottawa got one too, what's with downtowns and rivers...

[SpongeG]

i think people associate totems with vancouver and nature

maybe a giant totem pole taller than shangri la is needed

[jlousa]

Forget the totem pole idea, Canada evented the IMAX projector, they always advertise that it's powerful enough to display an image on the moon, I say we point all our projectors towards the moon and draw the olympic circles inviting the world to Vancouver, that should be Iconic enough.

The convention centre won't even be finished till after the games, I say we wait till 2011 to deem it's status. Remember Parisians hated the Eiffel tower and wanted it knocked down.

[furbe]

Vancouver's landmark building is Canada Place whether you're a fan or not. The sails and masts are original and define a lot of what Vancouver is about. It obviously isn't in the same class as the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, or other international architectural landmarks, but it's as much a landmark for the city as those buildings are for their cities. You rarely see footage of Vancouver that doesn't start with Canada Place.

I do get the point however, and was originally very critical of the convention center for the very same reason. I've changed my tune a bit however, as while this building may not dazzle internationally with its architecture, it's a pretty significant green building that helps further brand Vancouver as a progressive and green city. We're talking about a massive green roof that hasn't really been attempted in too many places on this scale as well as the achievement of Leed Gold. When the Olympics come to Vancouver, it's quite possible that it could become one of the highest profile green buildings in the world. I hope the roof will one day support all kinds of wildlife and birds, which would create something quite unique and special for a downtown structure.

Second point, the environment come to define much of Vancouver, and as such the city doesn't need massive structures like the Eiffel Tower, CN Tower, Calgary Tower, etc. It's framed by mountains, and as such a massive tower would look out of place. That's not to say I don't support taller buildings or better architecture, as I do, but Calgary and Toronto don't have natural landmarks of any kind which in turn creates the need to build something "recognizable". You'll never confuse Vancouver for another city despite the fact we don't have a CN Tower or otherwise.

I would like to see in the near future more emphasis from city hall to encourage new and interesting architecture however. I'm holding out great hope for the new Vancouver Art Gallery. This is a very important institution in Vancouver, and the perfect opportunity to create something that will inspire architecturally.

[red-paladin]

There is a real problem with the attitude that we have to build some big tall unique building to attract attention. That's like all the little towns building the world's largest hockey puck or world's largest sausage. That's kitsch at the extreme. Hong Kong has a skyline like that because it was good for business, not to attract attention. Dubai on the other hand built everything to attract attention, and I'm sure it's going to be an empty decaying city that looks like an old Expo site in a few decades.
We don't need a silly sightseeing tower anyway, we already have Harbour Centre, and then we have Grouse and Burnaby Mountains right next door. We don't need to build wacko post-modern buildings for the sake of edgy art either. Although I certainly don't think that the Ritz would have been that. Vancouver is an authentic, thriving, growing city, which has a great mix of business minded development and cohesive urban planning.
Sure, I agree with most everyone that a few buildings the height of Shangri-La or higher would be cool. But would most visitors to Vancouver even notice? Half the tourists I spoke to thought that Vancouver was a larger city than Seattle with taller buildings anyway, simply because of the way our downtown is pedestrian friendly and by the water.
Sure, we could have build some bizarre and memorable building, but most of those projects go bad anyway. For every Eiffel Tower there is an Ostankino Tower. I'm sure when Boston City Hall and Tokyo City Hall were built, people thought "Great!! We're a modern city now with cutting edge architecture!" But now people think the Toyko example is still cutting edge, but tourists mistake the Boston City Hall for a parkade.

[vansky]

tall feels good, confident, powerful...skyscraper height maybe related to human height

[Delirium]

the city has always maintained that the five sails is our "iconic" building so it would make no sense having two structures side by side competing for attention.

besides, over the top iconic buildings are lost today anyway. with the advent of "starchitects" seems like every city has a wow building now and they all get lost in the shuffle. besides, vancouver is not a look-at-me-i-need-the-worlds-attention type of city. our natural environment does that for us.


photo by estaticist on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecstati...7604589635180/

[Hed Kandi]

..

[officedweller]

Whoa - that pic highlights the expanse of terracotta tiles on the promenade (even on the Canada Place extension). Are they replacing those tiles and walkways with gray tiles and concrete?

[vanman]

Canada Place is definitely Vancouver's most recognizable man made landmark. I've seen countless tourists over the years pose in front of it for pictures.

[usog]

I think a calm rolling landmark is a better representation of our city than a tall singular building that dominates all around it, no? XD

[BigWilly]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

Looks like the reno's are well underway at Canada Place. Does anyone have the specifics as to what is happening there?

I think it might have been mentioned before, but this is copy and pasted off another website:

The original "East" section of the centre will undergo renovation starting in April and scheduled to be completed by September. The renovation will include cosmetic improvements to mirror the look and feel of the expansion. Upgrades will include new stone work, a new plaza, updated carpets, wall treatments, the introduction of natural woods, and new chairs.

[lightrail]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

1st of all this design incorporates a lot of things 'convention centres' dont have but it also, and in my opinion, could have finally brought some recognition and a true identifiable symbol (although the sails at canada place are cool) to the city.

Paris - Eiffel

Longon - big ben

sydney - opera house

toronto - cn

nyc - empire state

calgary - calgary tower

vancouver - ?

Edmonton is similar to vancouver in this case for it really has no single identifiable symbol that is known by most people.

Edmonton - Muttart Conservatory

[Cypherus]

Does anyone notice the man waving at the camera in the last picture of Canada Place? He's standing on top of the circular pedestal with stairs around it.

[NetMapel]

Although it is less internationally recognized, Canada Place is most definitely Vancouver's landmark right now. I don't see any other Vancouver buildings that come even close to the recognizability of Canada Place within the region. Maybe if we build a giant ferris wheel........ just kidding...

[sacrifice333]

I'm visiting the new convention centre next week. Can't wait to see it all in person.

[Mike K.]

To save me from having to go through the entire thread, could someone tell me what the height of the convention centre is?