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Originally Posted by Drybrain
Oh, I agree. And I think this can be one of those bigger developments, but I'd just like it to be redesigned to be a BIT more sensitive to the existing building stock. Here's a thoughtful piece from Toronto Star urban-affairs writer Christoper Hume on the whole thing. (In spite of that thing I posted above, facadism is all over the place in Toronto, sometimes well done, sometimes comically bad, but definitely over-used in place of fuller retention.)
EDIT: Here's also an older, angrier, more staunchly anti-facadism article from the same writer.
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Originally Posted by someone123
I fear that the Champlain building facade will end up looking something like the one stuck on to Bay-Adelaide. If it's done well though it could look great.
I like Hume's point about the specific merits of the buildings, e.g. the fact that ACC worked because the carvings on the outside of the old building accounted for most of its value. Buildings like that are the best candidates for facadism. The former CIBC building is not one of those and thankfully the plan is to save the interior.
I'm never very convinced by arguments about how heritage restorations aren't viable in Halifax. I think either there's a demand for development and space or there isn't, and if there is then there's a way to make preservation work. This is clearly true in Halifax given the new construction happening. The only real reason why we don't see more preservation is that it would be less profitable for private interests. This may or may not be a sufficient reason but it's important to see it for what it is and to have a public discussion about the value of these buildings.
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More often than not, I find myself agreeing with things both of you post on this forum. But on even this, reasonable people can disagree.
I appreciate the Hume piece, but I think we all have to agree that facadism is inevitable in any growing city. The question is only, how much of it we are willing to tolerate.
Arguably, it's a nice debate to have, given how truly awful Halifax/HRM has been at promoting (1) promoting any kind of worthwhile and sustained development and density downtown over the last 30 years and (2) preserving heritage assets, beyond blocking all profitable developments and letting heritage buildings, through neglect, basically rot.
This is where I think 22 Commerce Square is a nice compromise, better than most of the developments Hume mentions. In fact, yes, this has facadism, but it also goes out of its way to preserve the Merrill Lynch building in its entirety, and does so by using a pretty unique looking architectural design. I love the cantilever look.