[Halifax] Waterfront Arts District | ? m | ? fl | On hold

[Good Baklava]

KPMB Takes the cake, love the curved walkway leading to the summit. The shrubs and grasses are supposed to take on a wave breaking function in addition to their aesthetic qualities. These “nature-based solutions” don’t provide the same level of protection as grey infrastructure, but there are also not prone to complete failure if their capacity is exceeded. I think KPMB combined the capacity of grey infrastructure with the resilience of green infrastructure to create a “hybrid infrastructure” approach. The small archipelago creates new public space and a lush lagoon, while shielding the site from waves and mitigating surges. The other proposals seem to be at each opposite end of the spectrum. Architecture 49 relied solely on green infrastructure which is suited to surges, while Dialog uses the classic seawall suited against waves.

Architecture 49 looks like a fishing shanty had a child with a modernist building, what am I looking at?

Dialog is impressive and clean, but it is exactly how you expect any new art gallery to look. It certainly reflects our era but I don’t think the design would age as well as KPMB.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Summerville

Seeing the layout of all 3 proposals, I was struck at how they take up the whole site. Wasn't it originally proposed that NSCAD would share the site?...

Site plan for A49/Diller Scofidio & Renfrew identifies "Art Yard/Future Development for the southern portion of the site. I don't know what the plan is for NSCADU now, or how much footprint it would need, but this may reflect what the competing teams were told to reserve for something else.

DIALOGUE/Acre's site plan identifies the southern portion of the site as "Exhibition Grounds. It's not explicitly for future development, but looks like it might have the same sort of intent.

KPMB/Omar Gandhi's design appears to hug the north side of the site, leaving space on the south, but without labelling or other information, I don't know what the intent is (but I assume it's similar to the other two, and all three are responding to what they've been told is to be reserved for some future development).

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Summerville

Seeing the layout of all 3 proposals, I was struck at how they take up the whole site. Wasn't it originally proposed that NSCAD would share the site?

I think the future of NSCAD itself may be very much in doubt within govt circles. The ongoing debacles there both with facility decisions and Board/management/staffer intrigue might result in it being disbanded as a separate institution. Might not be a bad thing.

[alps]

I like the KPMB/Omar Gandhi design the most too. Beautiful and distinctive design that also seems like the best fit for the site/context. And the public spaces (exterior and interior) look the most convincing.

The Dialog proposal seems like they were more interested in creating an iconic building/sculpture/spacecraft than contributing to the surrounding city fabric. The Architecture49 scheme is not bad, but definitely not as unique as the KPMB design. The massing feels like a lot of other art museums around the world.

Originally Posted by Summerville

Seeing the layout of all 3 proposals, I was struck at how they take up the whole site. Wasn't it originally proposed that NSCAD would share the site?

According to the competition website, the design brief stated that: "Space in the southeast corner was meant to be left for a future development at the Arts District." So I guess this area is reserved for NSCAD.

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I think the future of NSCAD itself may be very much in doubt within govt circles. The ongoing debacles there both with facility decisions and Board/management/staffer intrigue might result in it being disbanded as a separate institution. Might not be a bad thing.

I hope it remains a separate institution. It's the only independent art school east of Toronto and definitely adds to the province.

But the reaction of the university community to the firing of the last president has been shameful. Fuelled by a lazy piece by Tim Bousquet, based entirely on hearsay and speculation, that heavily implied that the board of governors is composed of racists who are also in the pocket of big developers. Meanwhile the board members can't openly defend themselves against the onslaught of vitriol because it's actually a private personnel issue.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Good Baklava

KPMB Takes the cake, love the curved walkway leading to the summit. The shrubs and grasses are supposed to take on a wave breaking function in addition to their aesthetic qualities. These “nature-based solutions” don’t provide the same level of protection as grey infrastructure, but there are also not prone to complete failure if their capacity is exceeded. I think KPMB combined the capacity of grey infrastructure with the resilience of green infrastructure to create a “hybrid infrastructure” approach. The small archipelago creates new public space and a lush lagoon, while shielding the site from waves and mitigating surges. The other proposals seem to be at each opposite end of the spectrum. Architecture 49 relied solely on green infrastructure which is suited to surges, while Dialog uses the classic seawall suited against waves.

Architecture 49 looks like a fishing shanty had a child with a modernist building, what am I looking at?

Dialog is impressive and clean, but it is exactly how you expect any new art gallery to look. It certainly reflects our era but I don’t think the design would age as well as KPMB.

Agreed. The more I mull these, the more I have that feeling that a) the A49 is a hot mess of differing pieces that just don't go together well in spite of some individual aspects being interesting, b) the Dialog proposal is certainly an interesting building that, as you say, looks like what one might imagine an art gallery in 2020 to look like, but c) the KPMB proposal is the one that brings it all together with a building that is in equal parts modern and yet has a vibe that fits with Nova Scotia. To me it has a "coastal" vibe that A49 was going for but unsuccessfully, with the KPMB one looking like it could equally be at home as a gallery on the coast of Sweden (which, ever since I was sailing around the archipelago 10 years ago, I have felt like one could transplant someone from NS onto the Swedish coastline and fishing villages and they wouldn't be able to tell the difference). It looks modern and clean, but with a Scandinavian aesthetic that suits Nova Scotia's rugged coastal feel.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by alps

But the reaction of the university community to the firing of the last president has been shameful. Fuelled by a lazy piece by Tim Bousquet, based entirely on hearsay and speculation, that heavily implied that the board of governors is composed of racists who are also in the pocket of big developers. Meanwhile the board members can't openly defend themselves against the onslaught of vitriol because it's actually a private personnel issue.

Well that's how Tim rolls. I cannot understand how people praise him and his site.

I honestly don't know why he hasn't been banned from Twitter. He makes about 10 spam posts begging people to subscribe or even just give him money for every one that actually contains anything of interest. Unreal.

[Citizen_Bane]

I recall a certain amount of griping on this site in regards to how renderings often don't resemble final product. I understand a design concept is not meant to be an actual or exact rendering of what is to be built and I understand that this is a design competition where images are used sell. I believe the KPMB submission is the most dishonest of the three submissions by way of portraying the impossible. When viewing their submission start by removing everything beyond the now existing boardwalk...all that Disney-ish resort stuff. There is no tree species that will grow in that environment to the extent illustrated. Is that little treed island meant to float up and down with the tides? The swimming pool too? Fast ferries and both industrial and recreational harbour traffic create slosh in the harbour beyond that which would allow this to exist. The illustration of the folks standing around in the old growth forest leaves me perplexed. Clearly this is impossible so why is it included in the submission? What's that flowery vine clinging to the arched stairway growing in? Regarding the main building, the many wooden posts to a great job of obscuring the view as well as creating shadows throughout the interior too. In the resort theme, this submission looks like it's lifted off the Yucatan peninsula and I don't think it belongs on the Halifax peninsula.

[MonctonRad]

In my brief earlier comment that I preferred the KPMB proposal, but found it "busy", I was referring specifically to the landscaping features outside.

I still prefer this project because I find the architectural design of the building to be a good fit for the neighbourhood, and I like the design of the interior spaces of the building. I'm sure they can come up with impressive external landscaping features for the lot which might be a little less grandiose and over the top than what they have included in their initial submission. Given the location of this building on the boardwalk, great care will have to be taken to integrate it appropriately into it's surroundings. This building will ultimately be iconic for the city, and will end up being closely associated with the city's identity, especially through all the photographs that the cruise ship passengers passing by will take. Not to engage in excess hyperbole, but this building could end up being Halifax's version of the Sydney Opera House. It needs to be done right.

I wonder what the relative costs of all three proposals are. I'm sure this will be a big factor in deciding who the winner will be.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

... I wonder what the relative costs of all three proposals are. I'm sure this will be a big factor in deciding who the winner will be.

My understanding is that all the proposals must fit within the confines of a pre-determined budget, so should all cost the same. Of course, I can't find anything to back that statement up right now, so I may have fabricated it, LOL.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

My understanding is that all the proposals must fit within the confines of a pre-determined budget, so should all cost the same. Of course, I can't find anything to back that statement up right now, so I may have fabricated it, LOL.

I seem to recall there was a predetermined budget too. I think it was $150M or so. The library was in the ballpark of $60M.

[Nouvellecosse]

I think I'll cast my vote behind KPMB as well now that I've seen more detailed renderings. In the national proposal thread I was leaning toward Dialog but I enjoy how KPMB makes use of more natural materials such as the wood beams which I think works for the waterfront setting. I also like the landscaping the most.

[someone123]

One complaint I have about the exterior aesthetics of these proposals is that they don't fit the location much. Right next to this for example we have the brewery with its stone facade and arches. That Halifax-waterfront-specific theme could have been carried through in a big way in a project like this. A solid-looking masonry wall or form, maybe along Lower Water, would have made me like the proposals a lot more.

The KMPB material is full of woo like the mentions of "ways of knowing"; maybe their design was inspired by telepathy or communication with the supernatural beings instead of the usual architectural design process.

Bishop's Landing next door is also kind of unfortunate. The north elevation of Bishop's is basically treated like an alley and is basically a 100 m+ long blank wall. One solution to this would be to build some interesting stuff as close to that blank wall as possible and treat that as the southern end of whatever public space gets put on the AGNS site.

[PortaPetee]

Originally Posted by someone123

One complaint I have about the exterior aesthetics of these proposals is that they don't fit the location much. Right next to this for example we have the brewery with its stone facade and arches. That Halifax-waterfront-specific theme could have been carried through in a big way in a project like this. A solid-looking masonry wall or form, maybe along Lower Water, would have made me like the proposals a lot more.

I think the beams of this proposal complement the grey stone of nearby buildings nicely. Natural materials on a grand scale, contrasting with the more modern glass and spandrel buildings that are mixed in with it. It add variety without clashing like some of older (and cheaper looking) styles like the Maritime Museum do.

I feel like Halifax has begun to develop in a more European direction and that's a good thing.- and this proposal adds to the feeling

The detractors of development worry that we are trying to imitate Toronto or something by aiming for modernity, but we are NOT building endless monotonous swaths of plain glass with no street life. We're sticking with medium rise development for now and mixing in buildings with a human feel and purpose - avoiding the sterile wasteland feel that downtown Calgary has.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by PortaPetee

The detractors of development worry that we are trying to imitate Toronto or something by aiming for modernity, but we are NOT building endless monotonous swaths of plain glass with no street life. We're sticking with medium rise development for now and mixing in buildings with a human feel and purpose - avoiding the sterile wasteland feel that downtown Calgary has.

In years past were a lot of "this isn't Toronto!" folks who seemed to have gripes about development or capitalism or change in general while offering little to no constructive feedback.

My sense is that the bad attitude is waning and that there are more people out there who will like a new art gallery than complain about it. But I no longer live in the city and I am not in touch with that.

I think all of these proposals could be nice and will be a big step up from the parking wasteland that's existed on this site for many decades. There is also a need to stitch the small neighbourhood south of downtown in with the rest of it, and to create waterfront attractions worth visiting year-round. There's a dead zone created by the Burial Ground (no pun indended), Maritime Centre, MetroPark, and all the empty lots.

[PortaPetee]

Originally Posted by someone123

There is also a need to stitch the small neighbourhood south of downtown in with the rest of it, and to create waterfront attractions worth visiting year-round. There's a dead zone created by the Burial Ground (no pun indended), Maritime Centre, MetroPark, and all the empty lots.

Of course the Barrington St. Superstore doesn't help, nor does the inability to cross from Inglis / Barrington to the piers without going around the Westin. I hope "they" can figure out how to knit those pieces back together.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by PortaPetee

Of course the Barrington St. Superstore doesn't help, nor does the inability to cross from Inglis / Barrington to the piers without going around the Westin. I hope "they" can figure out how to knit those pieces back together.

Reminds me of this:

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

USA 2.0

I think it's just meant to be an abstract massing type diagram. But wow does that ever change the appearance of that area by defining the square properly and making Barrington more consistently built up. It is mostly a nice neighbourhood with a good scale, with one particularly bad planning mistake. Halifax is full of "almost great" areas. In many cities the streets sloping up from the Westin would have been turned into a heritage conservation district long ago.

[PortaPetee]

Originally Posted by someone123

Reminds me of this:



I think it's just meant to be an abstract massing type diagram. But wow does that ever change the appearance of that area by defining the square properly and making Barrington more consistently built up. It is mostly a nice neighbourhood with a good scale, with one particularly bad planning mistake. Halifax is full of "almost great" areas. In many cities the streets sloping up from the Westin would have been turned into a heritage conservation district long ago.

Yup, we really need developers to stop putting big developments behind parking lots (Gladstone comes to mind.) What ever happened to "parking at rear"?

[someone123]

A picture of the KPMB model:


Source

I've always liked architectural models. It's nice that they are still made today even in the era of easy 3D computer modeling. Or maybe this is just a convincing 3D model of a wood model.

It's amazing how much this one building changes this space. With a parking lot you get one empty wasteland and maybe a couple of marginal walking paths on the perimeter. With the gallery building there are half a dozen or so distinct outdoor spaces. I think this complexity is part of what defines a good or bad urban area, and even makes places feel bigger (not just larger spatially but more complex) or smaller (simple).

[PortaPetee]

Originally Posted by someone123

A picture of the KPMB model:


Source

This model makes me love it even more. And the appearance of the water interface seems much more reasonable than some of the drawings made it appear. Part of it already exists (the boardwalk that goes out around the shoreline instead of over land.) The add-ons further out into the water are not so large and messy after all. I want to see this thing built!

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by PortaPetee

This model makes me love it even more. And the appearance of the water interface seems much more reasonable than some of the drawings made it appear. Part of it already exists (the boardwalk that goes out around the shoreline instead of over land.) The add-ons further out into the water are not so large and messy after all. I want to see this thing built!

I agree. This just reconfirms my opinion that KPMB is the best option. The scale of the building suits the space and the style is pleasing to the eye. This building would fit into the Halifax panorama like a silk glove. There is a lot of potential for the public space on the waterfront as well. The public space may require some tweaking, but this is my only concern. I would give this one a 9.5/10.