Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
I didn't know about it until I read NSPower's post above.
Haven't been down there in a while to know whether there's any kind of signage indicating a public-accessible cafeteria. Maybe they want to keep a low profile so as to keep its main focus as a cafeteria for their employees?
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As great as the LEED platinum certification is and as nice as the design of the building turned out (especially the interior - pretty special), I think it's pretty bad that there isn't a better interface with the boardwalk. This speaks to the comments of others above about the lack of integration with the surrounding areas. It's almost as though the design was conceived independently of the context: just the building and parking, and bit of greenery (with one small door on the harbour side... I doubt anyone will venture in in search of the cafe).
It's smack dab in the middle of one of the nicest pedestrianized areas of the city, filled with tourists in the summer, locals on weekends for the market and special events like Jazz Fest, Tall Ships, etc. The designer/architect could have easily incorporated more friendly uses at boardwalk level without compromising the building as a whole.
Also, as you can see in the aerial photo of the new building, the stretch of Morris between the Vic and Lower Water doesn't have a proper sidewalk. The parking stall pavement just blends right in with the street. It was completely redone at the same time as the upper parking area I believe, but they kept the parking configuration and didn't install a sidewalk. I noticed this the other day while walking home from the market. It's one of the only stretches of downtown street I can think of that doesn't have a sidewalk. I'm curious if this is NSP land.