Oakridge Park | 13 Towers | 154m | 52fl | 5M sqft | U/C

[truenorth44]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Though I do question the wisdom of planting trees on it...

Don't worry too much about it - they're sure to be 'devalue engineered' out.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Towers also being value engineered? (For towers yet to go to sale that’s okay, but for those already sold...)

I guess that depends how many are really "sold".

[vanman]

The ole' bait and switch.

[Galaxy]

I wish they had turned the space in the middle of the plaza that is not some sort of podium of sorts into for example something just like the upside-down rose that Nemesis Cafe is located in front of Emily Carr Great Northern Way Campus. They could have then allowed for some seating in the summer around it for patrons during the warmer months...

That new station house design is They should keep existing and expand that as the existing one is way nicer. Just add 5 more escalators and 3 more elevators and be done with the thing. Clearly value engineering doesn't manage to factor in long term cost. This is going the same path as Telus Garden like the fountain that was reworked over and over again just on a way bigger scale.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Was excited for Vancouver to get its first true canopy roof...

... second, after the Plaza of Nations.


The narrow plaza entrance created by the arch isn't very inviting.


September 2019 artistic rendering of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment at the intersection of Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue. (Henriquez Partners Architects / Westbank / QuadReal)
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakr...-plaza-concept

That second entrance may go to the station concourse, but would be confusing for people since it faces away from the other stationentrance.

Originally Posted by officedweller

Looking back at the July DPB Application, I found these older plans:

https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Oakri...pendix%20D.pdf

Note marked underground passage to NE corner of intersection.

https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Oakri...pendix%20D.pdf

Also, from that Hive article - renders of the reclad office building:


September 2019 artistic rendering of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment at the intersection of Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue. (Henriquez Partners Architects / Westbank / QuadReal)
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakr...-plaza-concept


September 2019 artistic rendering of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment at the intersection of Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue. (Henriquez Partners Architects / Westbank / QuadReal)
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakr...-plaza-concept

[officedweller]

Article on the fungi balconies:

https://henriquezpartners.com/intent...-to-sanctuary/

[SpongeG]

is the arch walkable? it looks like it has seating on it and that you can walk over it.

[officedweller]

There's no railing on it, so presumably, "no".
But that may just be an oversight, like a gutter.

[SFUVancouver]

The revision to the transit plaza roof structure is lamentable, if not wholly unexpected. On the other hand, I have no issue at all with the reskin of the exisiting office building. If executed with a high quality curtain wall, as depicted in the renderings, it should be a handsome mid-rise office block and, frankly, a minor background building in the complete parti of the Oakridge redevelopment. Furthermore, the reuse of an existing structure is far better for the environment than tearing it down and replacing it with something of a similar size and scale. I imagine the structure itself has many decades of useful life left in it, and the embodied energy and resources in the structure aren't negligible.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by officedweller

There's no railing on it, so presumably, "no".
But that may just be an oversight, like a gutter.

If you zoom in on the rendering it sort of looks like there's a tinted glass railing all the way up the structure.

[officedweller]

Thanks.
I suppose it could be an amphitheater for that stage in the middle of the plaza.

I don't see a railing on this one:

Originally Posted by truenorth44

New renderings show some pretty big changes to the Cambie/41st entry plaza:
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakr...-plaza-concept

But I do see it on this one:

Originally Posted by officedweller

September 2019 artistic rendering of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment at the intersection of Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue. (Henriquez Partners Architects / Westbank / QuadReal)
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakr...-plaza-concept

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by vanman

If you zoom in on the rendering it sort of looks like there's a tinted glass railing all the way up the structure.

Originally Posted by officedweller

Thanks.
I suppose it could be an amphitheater for that stage in the middle of the plaza.

I don't see a railing on this one:


But I do see it on this one:

Yeah, I don't think that's railing.
It looks like an optical illusion and is just the edge of the other side of roof of that arch gateway.

Besides which, while I really wouldn't rely on renderings as an accurate or reliable indicator on what they're actually planning on doing and will get executed,
The people who do these renderings tend to take a lot of artistic liberties to make the images more "sexier" and sell the project more.
Case in point : In these particular renders, I would probably bet that that arch is not walkable just based on the fact that it doesn't look like it has the structure to support such a function given it's shape. But at the same time the render artists included (roughly) 15-20 foot tall trees on that green roof vegetation landscaping treatment. Trees are notoriously heavy. If your structure can't support crowds of walking people, then it certainly won't be able to support a small forest of trees that have to be occasionally tended.

They just put them there probably because the architects insisted on it.
Architects love putting trees all over their projects even where it doesn't make sense (like at the top of 80 storey tall highrise towers).
It'll probably be a green roof and having some small planting but more likely something on the same scale as what they're doing to the roof of the Vancouver House podiums.

But yeah, as for walking, that cantilever is pretty extensive without any visible supports or structure, and as mentioned the lack of railings is a dead giveaway that it isn't walkable.

[jollyburger]

If you look at the renderings there are three rows of wooden seating at the foot of the canopy and directly behind that there's a glass railing blocking access up further. The panels beyond the glass seem to be a series of angled metal slats or steps (they look different from different angles for some reason). Even if it's walkable maybe they have glass at the edge just for liability reasons?

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

If you look at the renderings there are three rows of wooden seating at the foot of the canopy and directly behind that there's a glass railing blocking access up further. The panels beyond the glass seem to be a series of angled metal slats or steps (they look different from different angles for some reason). Even if it's walkable maybe they have glass at the edge just for liability reasons?

Liability would be my guess too, and even more proof that they never intended it to be a walkable roof.

You don't want people wandering to the top of the arch and then suing the mall when they fall off the edge, while claiming they didn't know that they couldn't or were not allowed to walk there.

[ranvancan]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Article on the fungi balconies:

https://henriquezpartners.com/intent...-to-sanctuary/

Sometimes I really have to laugh at renderings. I often wonder who decides the race of the characters in the render. I do believe there is mis-interpretation as to the humans and what they do in the scenes of renders. Very very off-putting and funny at the same time. Not accurate at all. And I am a Caucasian male in case you were wondering. Just sayin'.

[SFUVancouver]

Do they know that people use their balconies for barbecues? Because that's wholly absent from this little fantasy of dinner parties, yoga, and business meetings.

The wasted space and inflexibility of these contrivances is outrageous. Plus, have these architects ever tried to keep outdoor furniture clean and free of dirt accumulation and mildew? White? Really? And I assume that they have conducted drainage testing on this furniture and outdoor fabrics.

[trofirhen]

No barbecues ..... probably because the 'target market' for this project market doesn't use bbq's, and, as in the render, uses them for yoga, meditation, gathering spaces, and the like.
The entire project is, I would think, not targeting your average 'Canadian' buyer - most of whom don't have that kind of $$megacash, anyway, but rather, other groups, other 'tastes.'
And about the seeming absence of water drainage, yeah, that could be a real problem, if the rainwater fills the balcony spaces and backs up into the living rooms.

[s211]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

No barbecues .....

Not joking, but it's quite possible BBQs are not encouraged because they're not "green".

Possibly joking: BBQs frequently (but not always) involve meat.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Do they know that people use their balconies for barbecues? Because that's wholly absent from this little fantasy of dinner parties, yoga, and business meetings.

The wasted space and inflexibility of these contrivances is outrageous. Plus, have these architects ever tried to keep outdoor furniture clean and free of dirt accumulation and mildew? White? Really? And I assume that they have conducted drainage testing on this furniture and outdoor fabrics.

The space between the balcony glass and wall will be a nightmare to keep clean. The flooring is really nice! Good to see something different from the painted grey concrete that balconies are usually finished with

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Do they know that people use their balconies for barbecues? Because that's wholly absent from this little fantasy of dinner parties, yoga, and business meetings.

The wasted space and inflexibility of these contrivances is outrageous. Plus, have these architects ever tried to keep outdoor furniture clean and free of dirt accumulation and mildew? White? Really? And I assume that they have conducted drainage testing on this furniture and outdoor fabrics.

Maybe that why they're called fungi balconies?