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Originally Posted by Nilan8888
Although I think using the word "monstrosity" is engaging in hyperbole, I would personally agree with those views. I think the site needs something much taller and that it's a bit silly that the birthplace of Canada's largest bank has the second-smallest Halifax footprint of the major 5 (Scotiabank, the other bank that solely came out of NS -- since CIBC came through the merger of two NS and Ontario banks -- has an even smaller one).
But the design for this is just not doing it for me. The windows aren't my favorite, but it's really the awkward shape in its efforts to work around the BOC building.
If Halifax were 2-3 times its current size, maybe I wouldn't care: then maybe there's be enough presence to try something this different and new, and see if it worked out. But Halifax's financial core, such as it is, is very small. It consists of, essentially, 5 very visible towers. The TD tower expansion is exactly what's needed and I'm all for that. And I'm all for making what we can out of the RBC tower. But we really need to get it right, and not be left with something everyone regrets for decades.
I'd rather they make something brighter, taller than any of the adjacent towers, and more consistent with the RBC style of gold and blue. If they really want to build something "on top" if the BOC, better they attach it somehow then have an awkward-looking shadowy overhang that I'm not really sure is going to work.
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Again, I don't disagree with the idea of having impressive buildings for the origins of some of the country's biggest banks. But the reality is that not only do we dislike new and different in Halifax, we also don't like tall. We have the height limits in HRMxD and that is that.
So, if we're not going to see some legitimate skyscrapers literally scraping the clouds, then we may as well do something new or interesting with the height spacing we do have. I actually think that once this development is done, having it take up basically two blocks will make it a pretty impressive building.
I'm no fan of the accordion either-- it makes the design too busy. But I actually think the cantilever design with the overhang as the most intriguing part of the design. It really is unique. We have one other cantilever design in the city-- the new library-- and that is much different design and context. I like the daring mix of architectural styles and the ambitiousness of incorporating solar paneling, but that needs work. I think it'll provide a very nice contrast with the more modernist designs surrounding it. Do we really need just another tower of glass and steel?
In fact, I'd rather have something that has enough of a "wow" factor that it makes half the city disclaim it a "monstrosity" and the other half think it's a daring piece of interesting design-- like this proposal-- than another glass building, with nothing new to offer.
After all, here's a famous angry letter, then written and signed by local artists in opposition to a little proposed development you may have heard of:
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“We protest with all our strength the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is without doubt the dishonour of Paris. Everyone feels it, everyone says it, everyone is profoundly saddened by it.”
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Link:
http://listverse.com/2010/10/21/10-n...-people-hated/
"useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower". After it was built, it became a hit, and tens of thousands flock to its platforms every year.
Now, I'm not saying this proposal the Eiffel Tower. Rather, just to have some perspective about the typical Halifax anti-everything squad, at least when it comes to proposals that stand out.