Great Canadian Suburban Skyline Thread!

[AuxTown]

Here in Kanata we have our own little skyline, part of "silicon valley North". Some decent buildings but overall very suburban. Best views are from the golf course.


https://www.bestottawaproperties.com...nata-North.jpg


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...earch_Park.JPG

[Chadillaccc]

I've always liked that Kanata skyline. I think it would be awesome if there is high rise residential development between the office towers someday, as I believe currently it's just parking lots separating the towers. The challenges for rezoning and redesigning a strictly commercial area to mixed use would be suuuuper interesting! Has it ever been done to a major office park before?

Calgary's only analog to Kanata is Quarry Park, where Imperial Oil and a few other companies are headquartered. However, I think Quarry was always meant to eventually be mixed use (3 high rise residential UC now). My main point of this inquiry I guess is how the fuck do we get rid of these humongous parking lots in places like Kanata and Quarry Park? It seems like a golden opportunity but never happens.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I've always liked that Kanata skyline. I think it would be awesome if there is high rise residential development between the office towers someday, as I believe currently it's just parking lots separating the towers. The challenges for rezoning and redesigning a strictly commercial area to mixed use would be suuuuper interesting! Has it ever been done to a major office park before?

Calgary's only analog to Kanata is Quarry Park, where Imperial Oil and a few other companies are headquartered. However, I think Quarry was always meant to eventually be mixed use (3 high rise residential UC now). My main point of this inquiry I guess is how the fuck do we get rid of these humongous parking lots in places like Kanata and Quarry Park? It seems like a golden opportunity but never happens.

Kanata North looks interesting from certain angles, but yes, all surface parking around those office buildings. No plans to make it mixed-use at this time.

Most residential density in Kanata is being built along the 417. Here's a 2017 image. I think it has developed further since.


https://www.obj.ca/article/groupe-le...ing-total-250m

The Kanata extension of the O-Train will run at the bottom of the photograph, just out of frame, but that won't be for another 10+ years.

There are plans for a BRT to Kanata North, but I think that plan (and it seems all BRT plans at this time) has been shelved, which is too bad because Kanata needs its own bus network more than any other area as opposed to the suburb-downtown service currently provided.

Gatineau's Le Plateau neighbourhood's big box area has been rezoned for mixed use. Not quite the same as it's retail and not office, but Gatineau in general has been more proactive in pushing the City towards a more sustainable direction.

Quarry Park seems a bit better than Kanata North, with a little less parking and residential closer to it. Some of the buildings also seem to have a relationship to the street as opposed to having parking in between. I believe it will be served by the Green Line, right?

[Chadillaccc]

Good info, thank you. I had no idea that Gatineau was getting in on the district redevelopment game. That is dope.

You are correct, Quarry Park will be the 2nd last station on phase 1 of the Green Line. I can definitely see what you're saying now with the differences between NK and QP. QP was zoned with office, residential, commercial, and community institutions (massive library and YMCA, new island park on Bow River). I guess they are just products of when they were planned. Definitely maaaajor room for improvement.

[Klazu]

Brentwood town center

[Maldive]

The star of the photo is the vehicle made by Big-bucksMotorWorks. Had 4 in a row of my favourite German export

[mcminsen]

Some more of Klazu's spectacular shots from his penthouse in Metrotown, Burnaby.

The panorama (third pic) shows the City of North Vancouver skyline on the extreme left (below The Lions) and the Gilmore/Brentwood skyline.

Last pic is a closeup of Brentwood.

Originally Posted by Klazu

Morning fog has again been rolling in.

Originally Posted by Klazu

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

https://www.obj.ca/article/groupe-le...ing-total-250m

Is this totalitarian block being taken down or is that what they're in the process of building?

[WhipperSnapper]

It's clearly being built. What exactly screams North Korea to you? Dumbest post of the month?

[SpongeG]

Metrotown as seen from Brentwood

IMG_20201006_155223 by snub_you, on Flickr

IMG_20201006_155229 by snub_you, on Flickr

[scryer]

I know that I put it up on the regular Skyline thread but I'm just sharing again:

Originally Posted by officedweller

From Mark Teasdale twitter:


https://twitter.com/MarksGonePublic/...89268005761024

This is Burnaby btw.

[Maldive]

Suburban Vaughn, and I'm pissed that the u/c tower in the photo is not being built downtown in the "bricky" east of the core mid-rise construction mayhem there. Would have been a perfect exclamation ! point.

Ed Skira

^^^^ this... is this (below). grrrrr...


UT

UT

[someone123]

There is a small suburban skyline developing near the Burnside area of metro Halifax. Kind of unusual since it's an industrial park but this parcel has waterfront access with a marina. Magazine Hill in the background:


Source

[SpongeG]

The Growing Lougheed Skyline in Burnaby

2020-11-05_04-55-58 by snub_you, on Flickr

City Of Lougheed
2020-10-24_05-03-18 by snub_you, on Flickr

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Is this totalitarian block being taken down or is that what they're in the process of building?

I actually go running through this area quite a bit. From the highway it (and possibly from this aerial) it looks like an awful place to be but it actually has been built with quite a nice street-level interaction. Lots of nice greenspace nearby and very pleasant place to be.

[someone123]

Bedford Basin skyline:


Source

[dleung]

Originally Posted by Maldive

^^^^ this... is this (below). grrrrr...


UT

Love this tower, can't believe it's in Vaughan. I noticed the other day that the cover of the Vaughan urban design guidelines https://www.vaughan.ca/services/busi...ive%5D-web.pdf features a midrise that is just a cropped portion of Woodwards in Vancouver lol

[scryer]

Originally Posted by someone123

Bedford Basin skyline:


Source

Reminds me of a hillier Richmond, BC but in a good way. The only time I really hate table top skylines is when they are located in the city centre (lol, Vancouver). In the suburbs, I actually don't mind them too much when they make sense.

Originally Posted by dleung

I noticed the other day that the cover of the Vaughan urban design guidelines https://www.vaughan.ca/services/busi...ive%5D-web.pdf features a midrise that is just a cropped portion of Woodwards in Vancouver lol

Someone got lazy lol... hopefully they don't get sued and fired over it.

[dleung]

Originally Posted by scryer

Someone got lazy lol... hopefully they don't get sued and fired over it.

It's pretty common to steal existing buildings as placeholders (see Concord Quantum project in Vancouver below, using Zaha Hadid's condo on the Highline), but it's funny seeing them crop so much of the building for their purposes.

[WhipperSnapper]

More importantly, who thought Radio City (?) On a cropped Woodwards " podium" looks good?!?