Canadian City Proposals II

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by monkeyronin

333 queen: Decent looking tower,

...... A step up from the usual aa glass box architecture. I'm enjoying the ongoing trend towards warmer, more tactile material palettes and rationalist forms.

Originally Posted by shappy

regarding 333 queen e., it's a fairly handsome design. In a context like this abutting older commercial buildings, texture at street level is what is most important. If they made the facade a wall of glass, this area would feel like a dead zone. See some of the condo frontages on yonge for reference...

Whether it's this tall or half the height, i don't think it matters when walking down the street. As long as the new buildings coming into this area stick to basic urban design principles, it should end up creating an attractive and interesting area as it gentrifies.

+1

[J.OT13]

Ottawa's next Dow's Lake tower, and set to be the new tallest (because 900 Albert has no chance of getting built), across from Claridge Icon (the one on the right of the image). Very simple design, but that might be a good thing considering how the out of the box Icon design was butchered.

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Ottawa’s largest high-rise will be built at Dow’s Lake

By Josh Pringle, CTV News
Published: December 03, 2025 at 11:34AM EST | Updated: December 03, 2025 at 11:43AM EST



Ottawa’s largest high-rise will be built overlooking Dow’s Lake.

The planning committee approved an amendment to the Official Plan to allow a 50-storey, mixed-use high-rise building with 503 residential units at 829 Carling Avenue at Preston Street.

The building will be located less than 100 metres west of the Dow’s Lake O-Train Station, and close to the future Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus.

It will be built across the street from the current highest building in Ottawa, the 45-storey Claridge Icon that was built in 2022.

“The proposed development is a 50-storey, mixed-use, high-rise building with 503 residential units and 196 vehicle parking spaces and 482 bicycle spaces,” staff said in a report.

“The building contains a mix of unit types, including studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. On the ground floor, 300 square metres of commercial space will front onto Preston Street, reinforcing the Mainstreet Corridor character and providing active street frontage, while the main residential and office entrance will be accessed from Carling Avenue.”

According to the report, Claridge Homes originally proposed a 60-storey mixed-use tower in May 2021, before changing the proposal to the current 50-storey mixed-use building.

Staff say the 50-storey residential tower on an underutilized site will deliver a “high-density, transit-supportive built form that enhances the area’s role as a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use environment.”

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/articl...-at-dows-lake/

[HomeInMyShoes]

Don't be Claridge, don't be Claridge...DOH!

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Don't be Claridge, don't be Claridge...DOH!

To be fair to Claridge, they seem to have upped their game on the last couple of projects; a very plain tower at LeBreton Flats with very nice finishes and a more playful design that was well executed between Bayview and Corso Italia stations.

First image is mine, second image is btap on Skyrise.



So with this simple design at Dow's Lake, I'm pretty confident they should be able to deliver.

[905er]

the nation's capital deserves much better than the designs it's currently getting.
Releve is pretty decent but everything else is so basic boring.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by 905er

the nation's capital deserves much better than the designs it's currently getting.
Releve is pretty decent but everything else is so basic boring.

100% they should be looking at Victoria or QC for quality low and mid-rise designs. Instead, it looks like they are looking at London or K/W for design ideas.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

100% they should be looking at Victoria or QC for quality low and mid-rise designs. Instead, it looks like they are looking at London or K/W for design ideas.

Actually, several of the recent low rise projects have been rather nice. As have a couple of the recent towers, in addition to Releve. The new library is no slouch either. Although the majority remains bland, at best.

[Maldive]

45-47 Sheppard East | 203m | 59s | Lev Living | B+H l Recommended for Approval

To the suprise of some (just east of the Yonge and Sheppard intersection) this large project including towers of 30, 49, 53, and 59 storeys with 2000 sq metres of retail has been Recommended for Approval by city council. The 59 storey tower would be by far the tallest in North York.



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[GreatTallNorth2]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

100% they should be looking at Victoria or QC for quality low and mid-rise designs. Instead, it looks like they are looking at London or K/W for design ideas.

Yeah I don't think they are looking at London and K/W for design ideas anymore than London/KW developers are "looking at Ottawa for design ideas". It's just what naturally happens when developers take zero pride in their buildings and/or only care about building for as cheap as they can.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Yeah I don't think they are looking at London and K/W for design ideas anymore than London/KW developers are "looking at Ottawa for design ideas". It's just what naturally happens when developers take zero pride in their buildings and/or only care about building for as cheap as they can.

Obviously, just stating cities with the same quality of designs going up. When Ottawa should be building better quality structures like QC or Vic.

[GreatTallNorth2]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Obviously, just stating cities with the same quality of designs going up. When Ottawa should be building better quality structures like QC or Vic.

Well I guess when it comes down to it, it depends on what cities will allow to be built + what the standard of quality is in that city. Quebec City and Victoria are both historic cities whereas I am guessing their local governments set a standard on what can be built. London politicians just have such a low standard so our only hope are proposals from Toronto developers like Fitzrovia to come to town and elevate the standard which hopefully challenges other developers to step up. We don't expect much in London, just no more commie blocks downtown please.



Fitzrovia proposal for Richmond/Oxford in London.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Well I guess when it comes down to it, it depends on what cities will allow to be built + what the standard of quality is in that city. Quebec City and Victoria are both historic cities whereas I am guessing their local governments set a standard on what can be built. London politicians just have such a low standard so our only hope are proposals from Toronto developers like Fitzrovia to come to town and elevate the standard which hopefully challenges other developers to step up. We don't expect much in London, just no more commie blocks downtown please.



Fitzrovia proposal for Richmond/Oxford in London.

I kind of like this. It has nice, clean lines. I wonder how long this new trend of metallic finishes on buildings will last. I hope for at least a decade.

[Nouvellecosse]

Yeah that one's low-key kind of awesome!

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by 905er

the nation's capital deserves much better than the designs it's currently getting.
Releve is pretty decent but everything else is so basic boring.

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

100% they should be looking at Victoria or QC for quality low and mid-rise designs. Instead, it looks like they are looking at London or K/W for design ideas.

We're still seeing some K/W type proposals, but in general, designs in Ottawa have improved over the last 5 years. We're trending in the right direction. What I posted above, the 50 storey tower will be plain, but could still look nice if built with the right materials. The LeBreton tower is again plain, but high quality materials make it a pretty decent background tower (though it's at the foreground right now). It's even better from up close with some bronze accents: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...226521&page=31

The one with the staggered balconies is a step up as well. It could be considered plain in Vancouver and Toronto, but certainly not K/W quality. We have other high quality recent builds like Zibi, Parkdale Collective and Rideau Registry. Relevé, the Renaissance Marriott, Odenak are all well above what Ottawa is used to.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

We're still seeing some K/W type proposals, but in general, designs in Ottawa have improved over the last 5 years. We're trending in the right direction. What I posted above, the 50 storey tower will be plain, but could still look nice if built with the right materials. The LeBreton tower is again plain, but high quality materials make it a pretty decent background tower (though it's at the foreground right now). It's even better from up close with some bronze accents: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...226521&page=31

The one with the staggered balconies is a step up as well. It could be considered plain in Vancouver and Toronto, but certainly not K/W quality. We have other high quality recent builds like Zibi, Parkdale Collective and Rideau Registry. Relevé, the Renaissance Marriott, Odenak are all well above what Ottawa is used to.

I'd add the Azure tower on Scott St to that list.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I'd add the Azure tower on Scott St to that list.

Yes, thank you. The waves are a but lost from a distance, but the tower is still quite nice and the podium is top grade.

Here's a proposal that came in today. It replaces a 14 storey brutalist office block in the middle of the CBD with a 26 storey residential tower. Again, not a show stopper, but a clean and modern design. The brutalist podium pays homage to the old office tower that was demolished.

Unit Count: 391

Retail Space: 663 m3

Description: The building has a footprint of 1494m2 and is 25 storeys in height including 391residential units, commercial premises on the ground floor and 102 underground parking spaces.

Among the largest and most dominant towers in the city, is nestled 110 O Connor with its 25 floors on one of the busiest arteries in the city. The concepts articulated in three floating masses and retains the precious brutalist language of the sector with a reinterpretation of historic styles present on its neighboring buildings. The contemporary design of the tower on top preserves the integrity of the architecture without dominating the 6-storeypodium. The transparent tower rises above and is made out of curtain wall so as to be read in second plane. The concept is driven by a desire to harmonize with the brutalist facades in the immediate context. The podium is distinguish by its size and by its grid like facade with a tectonic play in fiber cement.

Location: https://www.google.com/maps?sca_esv=...00715&ictx=111



Site Plan:



Renderings:





https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...=252981&page=4

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Renderings:

What it's replacing:
Salter_and_OConnor by Andrew Moore, on Flickr

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Well I guess when it comes down to it, it depends on what cities will allow to be built + what the standard of quality is in that city. Quebec City and Victoria are both historic cities whereas I am guessing their local governments set a standard on what can be built. London politicians just have such a low standard so our only hope are proposals from Toronto developers like Fitzrovia to come to town and elevate the standard which hopefully challenges other developers to step up. We don't expect much in London, just no more commie blocks downtown please.



Fitzrovia proposal for Richmond/Oxford in London.

Which would be great (for London, given our extremely mediocre standards) if it ends up looking like the rendering. Hopefully it doesn't get the Drewlo treatment (aka, London's banal answer to Waterlooian-style condo towers).

[Maldive]

150 Queens Wharf | 140.93m | 37s | TCHC/CreateTO | Karakusevic Carson + Teeple l pre-construction

Purpose-built rentals with zero tiny shoe-box studio units.


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[Nouvellecosse]

^ Great to see some much needed relief from the blue glass in that area!