The Butterfly | 178.6m | 57Fl | U/C

[Vin]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Terrazzo is back!

.... like the old Eaton's and the Scotia Tower's precast panels.

Traditional Terrazzo with larger aggregates in them seem to age really badly, often discoloured or stained after being exposed to the elements. Hope they have better coatings nowadays. I like the light sandblasted one better: seems more modern.

Glad this is moving ahead.

[rofina]

This looks amazing.

If no bait and switch, and built to model.

This is going to be exceptional.

Super stoked.

[jollyburger]

So is this project called The Butterfly? They have the Fazoli in the new exhibit at Fairmont Pacific Rim

http://www.fightforbeauty.ca

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Vin

Traditional Terrazzo with larger aggregates in them seem to age really badly, often discoloured or stained after being exposed to the elements. Hope they have better coatings nowadays. I like the light sandblasted one better: seems more modern.

Glad this is moving ahead.

i.e. the aggregate panels on Scioia Tower just need to be ground down / sanded since they have a smooth finish.

Some other types, like on Telus House (now largely hidden) have a rough texture - but I suspect that power washing would clean them up well,
as was very rarely done for the old Eaton's / Sears façade.

[jlousa]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

So is this project called The Butterfly? They have the Fazoli in the new exhibit at Fairmont Pacific Rim

http://www.fightforbeauty.ca

No... I'm not sure I can elaborate more at this point though.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by jlousa

No... I'm not sure I can elaborate more at this point though.

Yeah, I understand it might be under wraps. Their phrasing:

"Smoothing the wood of the piano designed by @bingthomarchitects to respond to the architecture of Westbank's project, The Butterfly. All final polishing of the pianos is done by hand. #piano #architecture #thebutterfly."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX1TAgxDDPN/

[chrisel]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

So is this project called The Butterfly? They have the Fazoli in the new exhibit at Fairmont Pacific Rim

http://www.fightforbeauty.ca

'The Butterfly' was BingThom's proposal for 99 Pender. Maybe Westbank still has plans to bring it to fruition:



Source: http://bingthomarchitects.com/project/99-pender/

[jollyburger]

I guess we'll find out soon. But some more clues.. 99 West Pender had open breezeways as well but no gardens like Burrard/Nelson.

When designing the piano for the lobby of The Butterfly, Westbank’s latest project in Vancouver, the Bing Thom Architects sought to capture the same experiential qualities inherent in the design of the tower: The lightness of the legs and rails echo the open garden breezeways, while its delicately sculpted geometry echoes the soft undulations of the tower’s skin, abstracted from the surrounding landscapes.

[EdinVan]

If anything ever looked out of place, it's this

Originally Posted by chrisel

'The Butterfly' was BingThom's proposal for 99 Pender. Maybe Westbank still has plans to bring it to fruition:



Source: http://bingthomarchitects.com/project/99-pender/

[trofirhen]

But the building IMO is rather beautiful, and should go up ... somewhere. It has a sleek, "voluptuous" beauty to it that is rare (putting it mildly) in Vancouver

[Vin]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

But the building IMO is rather beautiful, and should go up ... somewhere. It has a sleek, "voluptuous" beauty to it that is rare (putting it mildly) in Vancouver

Actually, it's not really out of place. If you pan to the left of and behind this shot, you will be surrounded by many towers, notably the Woodwards and all the International Village neighbourhood condos.

Personally I think should build this thing here. Right now it's a zombie-town parking lot, and I'm afraid it will remain so for eternity if higher density isn't allowed here. No one should waste any tall-building designate lot in this neighbourhood, especially with the strict and nonosensical viewcones in place.

[jlousa]

Wow the last few comments are so on the wrong track. Has nothing to do with the old proposal for 99 W Pender. Oct 14th is close enough, I'm sure there are enough people out there that know what the butterfly is about that can speak up.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Wow the last few comments are so on the wrong track. Has nothing to do with the old proposal for 99 W Pender. Oct 14th is close enough, I'm sure there are enough people out there that know what the butterfly is about that can speak up.

I guess 1668 Alberni could be Butterfly?

https://changingcitybook.com/2017/06...lberni-street/

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

I guess we'll find out soon. But some more clues.. 99 West Pender had open breezeways as well but no gardens like Burrard/Nelson.

The First Baptist Towers have open breezeways on each floor and there are planters on each floor too.

***********

PS - I got the e-mail #fightforbeautyand I just thought it was an exhibit in benefit of breast cancer
(without reading in detail, and based on the colours used).

[Vin]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Wow the last few comments are so on the wrong track. Has nothing to do with the old proposal for 99 W Pender. Oct 14th is close enough, I'm sure there are enough people out there that know what the butterfly is about that can speak up.

I don't actually care if that building at Abbott and Pender is called the "Butterfly" or "Moth" or "Mosquito". That building looks good at that location and should have been built, just like the Baptist Church tower proposal.

Originally Posted by officedweller

The First Baptist Towers have open breezeways on each floor and there are planters on each floor too.

***********

PS - I got the e-mail #fightforbeautyand I just thought it was an exhibit in benefit of breast cancer
(without reading in detail, and based on the colours used).

Love the planters. Not sure about the breezeways: do they open up the elevator lobby of each floor then? Many apartment buildings in the tropics have open lift lobbies, but definitely a no-no here.

[officedweller]

From January 2016:

Originally Posted by officedweller

A few other choice excerpts from the DP Application:

All pics from:
http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/...rard/index.htm

Note that the "hallways" are actually open breezeways - 50 storeys up!!
That may not be nice on a cold winter's night waiting for the elevator.
Also note the BMU track winding around the curves.



******

Originally Posted by officedweller

Floorplans from:

http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/...rard/index.htm
...

Check out the open breezeways!

Some excessively large bathrooms on this floor:
Also note the funky pivoting front doors on some units.















Unit 5501 - no private elevator, no roof deck
Unit 5502 - private elevator, roof deck
Unit 5503 - private elevator, no roof deck
Unit 5504 - private elevator, roof deck, no exit from its upper (bedroom) level (---4 death trap?)



Note the BMU track.
BMU storage in in the middle between the cores.

[RDW989]

In my mail on Thursday: to Development Permit Board on Nov 27

My pix, Oct 14
[IMG]DevAppBaptist by RDWyvr, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Feathered Friend]

This piano will sit in the centre of the lobby


With models of the Kengo Kuma Alberni project




Working Telus Lanterns!!


This fellow took the keys and impressed the attendees


Early Concepts


The abstract model






The rational for the name- from an aerial view, the tower looks like a butterfly




With the Bing Thom exhibit in the Fairmont Pacific


I went down the Fight for Beauty event today, braving the overwhelming scent of burnt cedar candles so not all will suffer as I have. The exhibit was actually decent though, and could be described as a walk down Westbank's greatest hits with a bunch of the models from previous projects. There is some info about the new Blood Alley project, as well as projects in Tokyo and Toronto. The whole thing is linked up to an audio-tour narrated by Ian Gillespie. I'll post more from the event in the general photography section later.

More related to this thread, between the materials provided, the audio tour, and in speaking with four staff members, everything indicates that the First Baptist project and "The Butterfly" are one in the same.

[jollyburger]

They had one down in Seattle with the Boeing 747 (?) airframe brought into the building and turned into some kind of space on one of those tablet displays.

[Feathered Friend]

http://vancouver.ca/your-government/...ign-panel.aspx

THAT the Panel RESUBMISSION of the project with the following recommendations to be reviewed by City Staff:

• Clarify and simplify the architectural ideas in the overall scheme
• Activate the lane with more physical connections and porosity
• Design development to the podium open spaces: the courtyard on Nelson is too small and could be reconsidered as a unifying space including a common entrance for both buildings, and the heritage courtyard needs more attention due to its’ small size and location, including consideration of afterhours gating
• The rental building needs to be given the same degree of design attention as the tower including the facades and space planning particularly at the entry
• Provide improved sense of entries to the buildings
• Re-consider the glass enclosure of the swimming pool
• Ensure a respectful relationship between the podium and the church and provide sufficient spacing so the podium does not compete with the church
• Simplify or re-size the organ pipe cut-outs so they do not compete with the church and work more in scale with the street and podium
• Consider passive energy conservation methods for the building
• Consider the public art to ensure it does not negatively impact residential units

Related Commentary: The panel generally agreed that the tower design was well developed and iconic, but there was a loss of quality in the design development to the podium and open spaces since rezoning. The Panel noted the clarity of the three elements (church, tower and midrise) at rezoning and the importance of the podium as a fourth element and a connecting piece. It was felt in particular that the lane elevation had suffered, and the proximity and connection of the podium to the church was not an improvement. There were questions about the height at the lane in relation to the other elements (church and midrise). It was felt that the setback at the lane was not adequate to support the proposed landscape. It was suggested that the book ends of the pool need a different treatment. It was suggested that the pool be open air, instead of enclosed to reduce the height at the lane. It was also noted that this would improve solar/daylight access for the childcare outdoor amenity space, which was seen to be needed. The Panel noted that the relocation of the midrise reduced the size of Nelson Plaza such that it was reading as cramped and needed to be rethought. It was suggested that the plaza be more of a unifying space and provide a common entry for both the tower and midrise; one member suggested enclosure of the plaza as an atrium noting its’ reduced size. It was noted that the connection to the lane should be more than just a visual connection as proposed; a pedestrian connection through the plaza to the lane was recommended. It was noted that further activation of the lane through active uses and entries was needed. Some members had concerns about energy loss at the open breezeways in the tower versus the benefits of social interaction that they would provide. It was noted that insulation was not needed in the guardrails. There were concerns that the public art is not in the right place in the glass structure as it may impact livability of adjacent units. Some suggested that the scallops for the ‘organ pipes’ were out of scale and distract from the overall form.

Applicant’s Response: The applicant team for the comments and noted they hoped to create an opening through the podium. The courtyard was meant to be more intimate. The rental building was not intended as an afterthought, but rather a back drop.

Talk about a big swing, going from 9 - 0 in support for the rezoning application to recommending re-submission on the development application. Though the panel might want more refinement to the details, at least they still support the height and tower.