Canadian Skyline Thread III

[J.OT13]

Ok, I see it now. It was very subtle in the pics posted earlier, but these show the design in all its glory.

[hipster duck]

That Montreal tower is better than average, but the podium is a mishmash.

[Zeej]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

That Montreal tower is better than average, but the podium is a mishmash.

Agreed - the 3-dimensionality of the cladding is the saving grace. Nothing special or beyond average about the rest of it.

The city initially refused the 1st proposal for this tower and forced a better architectural treatment - hence the precast extrusions.

[niwell]

I'm inclined to agree with the above. The cladding on the tower is great, however the interface with the podium is a bit awkward. I'm sure it looks good in person when the cladding details are more obvious.

[WhipperSnapper]

I'm sure I saw this design in Manhattan except that it continued throughout the podium and tower. I don't know what they were thinking in Montreal but, less is more wasn't on the list.

Exceptional quality finishes to the rest of us. Standard in Montreal.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Ottawa's "skyline" doesn't only lack height. It lacks meaning.

Actually, that's not true. The skyline formed by Parliament Hill, the Supreme Court, the Chateau Laurier etc. has a meaning. It is a glyph pointing to the story of Confederation, of Canada and of the institutions we have made.

This enormous, abstracted line of third-rate office blocks, investor condos and what probably are elderly care homes or similar once you get down to the smaller blocks... that's nothing. That is just aggregated life. It doesn't cohere into anything and it isn't a symbol of anything.

I just saw this post, and was commenting in a different thread about the fact that Ottawa doesn’t have a “skyline” and will likely never have one. Ottawa’s true, distinctive skyline is the historic one around Parliament Hill, akin to Quebec City and its Chateau Frontenac-Édifice Price combo (and the handful of mid-rises in the area). I appreciate Harley’s enthusiasm, but I don’t think there’s much of a skyline to speak of in there. And that’s fine.

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

What are all those little grass covered mounds?

Both art & landscaping. They are supposed to remind us the waves on the St Lawrence river.

[shappy]

Toronto


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[KnoxfordGuy]

Perfect time of day. You can still see the massing of the buildings, the lights on inside and the width and depth of the skyline *chefs kiss*

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by le calmar

...I appreciate Harley’s enthusiasm, but I don’t think there’s much of a skyline to speak of in there. And that’s fine.

That's honestly a pretty poor take considering the current development pipeline. I'm not basing my enthusiasm on some kind of pipe dream, 'Big Ottawa' is happening right now at this moment, in real time. There are 47 towers under construction/approved/proposed that would make it in the current top 10 in height, and most of them would be in the top 5. The skyline right now suffers from severe tabletop syndrome and the disconnect between the large nodes Downtown/Little Italy/Tunneys/Westboro/Future Lebreton, but it has considerable potential based on the sheer amount of highrises that the new taller towers will rise up from and connect.

Here is a .kml file you can load into Google Earth Pro and play around with that has simple height accurate mockups of the built,u/c/approved/proposed towers in the NCR.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-dE...ew?usp=sharing

[I

[WhipperSnapper]

Proposed and approved are not happening now. They could happen later but, it's a certainty that all of them won't make it from vision to reality. To suggest that they will be built listing them with the under construction as if it's all relative and posting the accompanying "future" development skyline is precisely an enthusiastic fanboy pipe dream.

This is even before we get into the insurmountable debt financing to get a $100 million dollar project off the ground in 2024 and the uncertainty of the current administration future and their unpopular population growth policies.

Perhaps the high cost of business hasn't hit the Ottawa market quite yet but, ask any Toronto forumer on how new tall construction is going. (P.S. it's not). Ottawa is a lot easier place to shift to 250 unit, 5 over 1s than Toronto that can be built cheaper and a whole lot quicker than skyscrapers.

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Proposed and approved are not happening now. They could happen later but, it's a certainty that all of them won't make it from vision to reality. To suggest that they will be built listing them with the under construction as if it's all relative and posting the accompanying "future" development skyline is precisely an enthusiastic fanboy pipe dream.

This is even before we get into the insurmountable debt financing to get a $100 million dollar project off the ground in 2024 and the uncertainty of the current administration future and their unpopular population growth policies.

Perhaps the high cost of business hasn't hit the Ottawa market quite yet but, ask any Toronto forumer on how new tall construction is going. (P.S. it's not). Ottawa is a lot easier place to shift to 250 unit, 5 over 1s than Toronto that can be built cheaper and a whole lot quicker than skyscrapers.

This is the case in Calgary now (and has been for the past couple of years). There has been a huge surge in wood construction mid-rises (up to 12 storeys) and very few true high-rise projects (although I knew a few unexpectedly started excavation this week). This is despite enormous demand fueled by Calgary's historic growth over the past two years.

And frankly, I think its great. Hundreds of new mid-rises built each year does more for Calgary than another couple of dozen high-rises.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by Harley613

There are 47 towers under construction/approved/proposed that would make it in the current top 10 in height, and most of them would be in the top 5. The skyline right now suffers from severe tabletop syndrome and the disconnect between the large nodes Downtown/Little Italy/Tunneys/Westboro/Future Lebreton, but it has considerable potential based on the sheer amount of highrises that the new taller towers will rise up from and connect.

Ok, well in all fairness you’re more informed than I am regarding the upcoming developments. Will take a look at the kml file when I get a chance. It’s just that there’s so much work to do to turn the skyline into a proper one that I can’t help but doubt it’s going to happen. It doesn’t only need a bunch of highrises in the 150-200m range, but they would need to be in the CBD as opposed to being scattered around the city to make a real impact.

The 417 when coming from Kanata offers one of the best views of the entire city. I see that view often, and it honestly doesn’t even look like a skyline to me. It’s mostly just a collection of unremarkable midrises in the distance with the nicer buildings around Parliament Hill buried in the middle. Kinda reminds me of a larger version of Harrisburg PA. The distant suburbs of the GTA are frankly more impressive than that imo.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Proposed and approved are not happening now. They could happen later but, it's a certainty that all of them won't make it from vision to reality. To suggest that they will be built listing them with the under construction as if it's all relative and posting the accompanying "future" development skyline is precisely an enthusiastic fanboy pipe dream.

I'm far from an enthusiastic fanboy pipe dreamer, I am an estimator and project manager in the Ottawa Construction industry. My company is helping build this new skyline. Not everything will be built in the pipeline, but what's secured and under construction right at the moment is going to be absolutely transformational, and we see signs of significant future planned developments being secured and started over the next year.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I'm far from an enthusiastic fanboy pipe dreamer, I am an estimator and project manager in the Ottawa Construction industry.

Wassup, fellow professional guesser!

[harls]

Originally Posted by le calmar

The 417 when coming from Kanata offers one of the best views of the entire city.

Nah. The best view is from the area around Montée Paiement and the 50.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I'm far from an enthusiastic fanboy pipe dreamer, I am an estimator and project manager in the Ottawa Construction industry. My company is helping build this new skyline. Not everything will be built in the pipeline, but what's secured and under construction right at the moment is going to be absolutely transformational, and we see signs of significant future planned developments being secured and started over the next year.

I'm an occasional visitor in the Ottawa forums. You don't need to remind me of the career path chosen. It's kinda hard not to notice.

I stand by my comments with respects to this, "There are 47 towers under construction/approved/proposed that would make it in the current top 10 in height, and most of them would be in the top 5." and the accompanying renderings. There's 6 under construction give or take that would crack the top 10. That makes 41 proposed. Or, Perhaps I'm just reading that wrong.

The near continuous skyline was quirky for even a fanboy to say. That's Caltrane or Chadillac level fanaticism

[Luisito]

Really nice shots of Toronto.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by harls

Nah. The best view is from the area around Montée Paiement and the 50.

Yeah that’s the other one I had in mind. Autoroute 5 southbound around Mont-Bleu is another decent one.

[zoomer]

Love this shot! What is the school field at the bottom right?

Originally Posted by shappy

Toronto


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