91 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

Word! Down with the retail window tint.

[G-Man]

So I did the walk by today. The windows aren't tinted but I noticed something that I had not seen before. I had thought the store fronts undulated with the bits of pillars and stuff that stick but instead the fronts are a straight line behind these columns. Anyways I know fairly minor but I think they have perhaps killed small bit of the vibrancy by setting the stores behind this.

[aastra]

If we really want to make these businesses difficult to access, why not install a moat or a rope bridge or something like that?

Where on earth did Victorians get this idea that access to shops should be awkward? The streetscapes of the old city show us how things should be. Victoria provides all the examples we could ever need, and yet we improvise.

[gumgum]

Hmm. I could have sworn these windows were tinted.
I wonder if someone was reading this and took it down.

[Icebergalley]

Some of the glass that is installed in new buildings is covered in a blue poly... I saw that on the Marriott and the Astoria.. Starlite windows, a local manufacturer I think, uses that for protection during construction.. and it will get removed on completion..

Don't know how that scores with LEED - probably one gets a LEED score is if avoids using stuff like that..

[VicHockeyFan]

Some of the glass that is installed in new buildings is covered in a blue poly... I saw that on the Marriott and the Astoria.. Starlite windows, a local manufacturer I think, uses that for protection during construction.. and it will get removed on completion..

Don't know how that scores with LEED - probably one gets a LEED score is if avoids using stuff like that..

Starline, but close enough. And yes, it's a BC company - in fact BCs leading window manufacturer in terms of gross sales. Yes, on request and for a price, they will cover commercial-grade (and high-rise) windows in blue polly.

[Holden West]

Today:



Yeah, those giant pillars aren't great are they? They don't appear to do much for the street.

Duncan the kitty predicts bad luck for the retailers.



A rare shot of Vicino's backside!

[Icebergalley]

Who is the architect for Vincino?

And the Contractor?

[Holden West]

Google sez:

Vicino Residential and Commercial Development
Cielo Properties Inc. Ph: (250) 592-9953
A proposed 4-storey, 32-unit residential and commercial development
located at 225 Menzies. Apartments would be above shops and underground parking. Rezoning has been approved. Architect: Davidson Yuen Simpson Architects & John A. Neilson Architects Inc.
Status: Proposed
Start: Sep 2005
Est. Cost ($ million): 15
Finish: Fall 2006
First Entry: Jun 2004
Last Update: Jun 2005

[Ms. B. Havin]

Yeah, those giant pillars aren't great are they? They don't appear to do much for the street.

Duncan the kitty predicts bad luck for the retailers.

No kidding! They're completely awful! Looks like lurkitecture... :smt087

[G-Man]

Lurkitecture!?

I like it!

[Ms. B. Havin]

Yeah, "lurkitecture" is when you build claustrophobic, over-bricked so-called arcades that do nothing but stimulate one's imagination unpleasantly, so one imagines that there might be something or someone unpleasant lurking in the dark corners...

[gumgum]

I don't think the pillars have such a negative impact. I think they're work once we see it in action. (When the retailers move in.)

[Icebergalley]

I took a close look at Vincino yesterday afternoon..

The recent photo's make it look much "fatter", "sqautter" and less elongated than it really is....

Like may projects that are work in progress, additional elements need to be added... to the facade..

[gumgum]

Today:
















Here's a couple first shots of that assisted living building on Parry, behind Vicino. I'll leave it up to the ones in charge whether it needs its own thread.

[gumgum]

Not too much has changed on the exterior here:

[aastra]

What's the deal with that orange paint?

[Kapten Kapsell]

I think this building is now complete- interior photos have been posted on the individual MLS listings & the listings themselves now advertise 'immediate occupancy', so the occupancy permit was probably obtained.

[Mike K.]

Thanks. I'll update the thread title.

[gumgum]

They must be having trouble attracting retailers here. I walked by earlier this week and it looked as if every spot was still up for lease.