Jump to content

      



























Photo

Stantec expands its holdings in Victoria


  • Please log in to reply
8 replies to this topic

#1 Ms. B. Havin

Ms. B. Havin
  • Member
  • 5,052 posts

Posted 19 November 2007 - 08:58 PM

From today's T-C, by Darron Kloster: Stantec buys Moore Paterson Architects, designer of Victoria landmarks:

Moore Paterson Architects Inc., prolific designers of Victoria's urban landscape for nearly a quarter of a century, has been acquired by Stantec, one of Canada's largest engineering and project management companies.
The deal announced today adds an architecture practice and the transfer of 17 Moore Paterson employees to Stantec's Victoria office on Tyee Road. No financial details of the transaction were disclosed. "They have the reputation of being one of the innovative architecture firms in the region and they bring that talent to our Victoria office allowing us to better serve our clients on Vancouver Island," Stantec vice-president Brian Johnson said in a statement.


Founded by Thomas Moore and Dean Paterson, the firm has put its stamp on many Victoria projects over the years, including the Hotel Grand Pacific, Victoria International Airport, Saanich Commonwealth Place, Oak Bay Recreation Centre and the clubhouses at Cedar Hill and Victoria golf clubs.


Article here


When you buy a game, you buy the rules. Play happens in the space between the rules.

#2 renthefinn

renthefinn
  • Member
  • 571 posts

Posted 19 November 2007 - 10:04 PM

I thought that Stantec was bought out by Amec last year, or did that not happen?

#3 amor de cosmos

amor de cosmos

    BUILD

  • Member
  • 7,116 posts

Posted 19 November 2007 - 10:08 PM

I guess not...

#4 Holden West

Holden West

    Va va voom!

  • Member
  • 9,058 posts

Posted 19 November 2007 - 10:23 PM

Moore's Dragon Alley project was edgy and creative. I wonder if a giant engineering firm like Stantec has the guts to back future projects like that.


"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#5 spanky123

spanky123
  • Member
  • 20,971 posts

Posted 20 November 2007 - 10:03 PM

I think that Tom and Dean were smart enough to see the writing on the wall in Victoria.

#6 Holden West

Holden West

    Va va voom!

  • Member
  • 9,058 posts

Posted 20 November 2007 - 10:41 PM

Considering Tom Moore was the architect behind Castaña it's not surprising. I haven't seen anybody beat up so bad since Mussolini's last trip to Milan.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#7 spanky123

spanky123
  • Member
  • 20,971 posts

Posted 22 November 2007 - 07:00 AM

Considering Tom Moore was the architect behind Castaña it's not surprising. I haven't seen anybody beat up so bad since Mussolini's last trip to Milan.


Well they have had enough successful projects that one or two bad ones can be overlooked.

What I was suggesting is that it seems to me that a much greater percentage of local development work is now being done by firms from outside Victoria and BC. Many of these firms have their own architects and/or relationships and the opportunity for local firms is dimishing.

The "old boys club" has been very good to Tom and Dean over the years but the "old boys" are having less and less influence in Victoria.

Good time to take some money off the table then.

#8 Caramia

Caramia
  • Member
  • 3,835 posts

Posted 22 November 2007 - 11:51 AM

Moore's Dragon Alley was fantastic. Taking a subtractive approach to that block was really innovative, at a time when conventional wisdom would have gutted that mid block building and added something a story or two higher in the middle of the two heritage structures. I love the contrast between the antique outer buildings, and the more modern look of the inner courtyard. The warm butter yellow works beautifully, along with the hints of Asian influence throughout.

At the time he designed it, Moore was also on the board of Cool Aid. I had the pleasure of interviewing him for my thesis research (an interview that got derailed into a really fun discussion of Christopher Alexander) and asked him if there had been any conflict between his role with Cool Aid and his role as a developer and landlord of the nearby condos. His answer showed a lot of thought had gone into it. Unlike some developers, he didn't share that sense of entitlement where his tenants had more right to the area than the street community whose use of the area pre-dated them. His concern for the safety and comfort of his tenants was met by noninvasive techniques - the enclosed nature of the site - gated at night, permeable by day, along with intensive CPTED - anywhere you stand in or behind that development can be seen from multiple viewpoints.

My understanding is that Dragon Alley was really a personal project for Moore and his wife (this is unsubstantiated rumour) I don't know that a bigger company would back something like that, but I hope they recognise that they have acquired quite a remarkable asset in Moore's ability to think outside the box - and that they let him loose a bit.

I also actually really liked Moore's original design for the Cook St Village sites - before the neighbourhood association got the lower income stuff thrown out and the artist space nixed. My opposition to that project had nothing to do with the architecture, which was first rate - and included LEEDs standards, aging in place design, amenities, street access, and that home grown west coast contemporary style.

#9 G-Man

G-Man

    Senior Case Officer

  • Moderator
  • 13,800 posts

Posted 22 November 2007 - 12:51 PM

I really like Draon Alley too however and I am sure that some will disagree, I feel that in some ways it has failed to provide the same feeling that say Fan Tan alley does. I am not drawn to go through Dragon alley and feel that some stores that have been in there have suffered because of this.

Truly I don't think it can solved unless the lot to the West is devloped to impede people from walking through the parking lot instead.

 



0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users