383 replies to this topic

[Scaper]

Wow very nice.....

Once I move and get my computer back in operation :-D I can start to use photoshop.... :razz:


Beautiful job!!!!

There is a panshot section coming up....I think this would be a good one for it

[Oxford Sutherland]

Another one from Sunday

[G-Man]

Developer aims high in Songhees
High-end condo towers, park, clubhouse, cafes to add a new sense of 'community' to area
Andrew A. Duffy, Times Colonist
Published: Tuesday, October 24, 2006

The principal of the Bayview development --
a massive community under construction on
3.2 hectares on the Songhees lands
overlooking the Inner Harbour --
says that spending millions before
he sees his first dime on what will
eventually be a $1-billion project is all par for the course.

[...]

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2006

[aastra]

It hasn't become a bit sterile, it was built sterile right out of the box.

[Nparker]

It's funny but the Songhees (pre-Shutters in any case) has always had a post-apocolyptic feel. With the exception of a few joggers a strollers along the waterfront, the entire development is as lifeless as the Ross Bay Cemetary... and a whole lot less pretty!

[aastra]

Some would say that dead vibe affords "quiet enjoyment".

Seriously. Some would say that.

[Mike K.]

The website for this project is now live, at http://www.bayviewvictoria.com

Here's the rendering of the entire project (the first phase is the massive one behind the two more slender towers).

[m0nkyman]

I'm trying to see the slender towers and failing...

[Galvanized]

Ya, they look kinda stubby.

[aastra]

The wide building looks better in the advertisement. I like the clash of red surfaces (brick?) with blue glass and also the fact that there's some variation from one floor to the next (something that worries me about the Falls is the sea of identical balconies on the Douglas Street side).

Anyway, if it wasn't a mile wide it would be quite a nice building. The rooftops of all three buildings need some variation, in my opinion. I wish the other two buildings weren't going to be the same height.

[Scaper]

Just a behemoth!!!

That's what the building should be called.

The Behemoth!!!

[aastra]

If it's going to look like that image I posted then I think it will be pretty sharp (except for the massive width of the thing, which some critics have likened to the proverbial behemoth).

Should have been a big cut-out between the two sections. The spot is obvious, I need not do a Photoshop muck-up.

[Scaper]

I was going to do one on ms paint...but I back off because I had a funny feeling you were going to jump in and do this....photoshop is much better!!!



I am waiting......

[aastra]

There was a picture in the community paper of the guys standing behind the three models of the buildings. The models didn't look so hot. But there was also an ad in the TC for the first building. The rendering in the ad is what I posted. I think it looks nice, save for the fatscraperishness.

The text in the ad seemed to emphasize the resort aspect of this development. Songhees needs to stop trying to be a resort and start being a real place.

The Juliet brochure is really good. I like the tone of it. Some typographical errors, but all in all I think Mr. Chard is representing the real Victoria better than anybody these days.

[Scaper]

Yes, I agree. Though I have huge hope for the Crystal Courts site too. I feel David Chard has such an amazing parcel of Land on Michigan too. I would like to see a tower there instead of what he proposed this year. Time will tell I guess.

Also Townline's proposal is pretty hot too. These are the ones that are and could be the new tone for Victoria.

[G-Man]

They should had a cut out ala The Aria though deeper and raised the towers a bit. TO me this building is going to dominate the skyline for the next fifty years and when looking West and I think that this may turn out to be the View Towers of the 2020s and 2030s. Also are they putting anything on the roof? It should have some gardens or something.

[aastra]

So whose fault is it? I remember the city kept saying there was nothing they could do, their hands were tied by the zoning or some such nonsense. What, they couldn't suggest a cut-out? I'm sure their hands WERE tied re: preventing these buildings from being built, but that's totally missing the point. The goal here shouldn't be to prevent new buildings from being built but rather to make sure the buildings that DO get built are as good as they can possibly be. Just break up the massing a bit and it's a thousand times better.

[Mike K.]

I'm trying to see the slender towers and failing...

Note I said "more" slender. Standing beside that massive first building, they're barely visible :?

[G-Man]

Exactly and it would have been to the developers advantage if the city had made another deal say we will let you increase your FSR if you let the project be judged by the ADP. I am sure based on the prices that the finishing should be fairly good but let us not forget that the old ugly Songhees buildings were the super luxury condos of the late 80s and 90s

[aastra]