1740 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

Yup the 2012 design was by far the best. I remember that well at the city meeting. Have a project that meets every single one of the Heritage design guidelines and yet sent back mostly on the word of Councillor Madoff. ..

And people wonder why I think she is well past her best-before date on Council.

[Nparker]

For those who may not recall what the 2012 design proposed: http://victoriavisio...evelopment.html

[JanionGuy]

For those who may not recall what the 2012 design proposed: http://victoriavisio...evelopment.html

 

With Merrick as architect to complete the vision, it is quite likely the best we will would ever have, or, could have, seen.   Now, anything will only be 2nd, 3rd or 4th best.  um, make that 5th or 6th?

[jstovell]

VV

 

Following staff comments JSG has undergone another major redesign. The design has been shared with City Staff and the Downtown Residents Association. It has now been resubmitted to the City of Victoria. It should be on the City web site soon and we will post as well.

 

JS

[sdwright.vic]

Jeeze... sorry your going through this.

[Mike K.]

Thanks for the update, Jon.

[Citified.ca]

A fifth architectural revision for Reliance Properties' Johnson Street Gateway condominium and retail development has been submitted to the City of Victoria. The project is in its eighth year of municipal planning and design changes.

 

Fifth design for high profile Johnson Street Gateway project submitted to the City of Victoria

https://victoria.cit...ty-of-victoria/

 

Reliance Properties has submitted a fifth design revision for its mixed-use condominium and retail development proposed for the Wharf Street waterfront between Johnson and Yates streets.

 

Since 2010 the architectural concept for the Johnson Street Gateway project – which includes a heritage restoration and seismic upgrade for the aging Northern Junk buildings at the foot of the Johnson Street Bridge – has morphed from a low-rise “L”-shaped iteration with frontages along Johnson and Wharf streets, to a 12-storey tower above Johnson Street, and back to an angled low-rise frontage along Johnson and Wharf streets. A fourth design, with a similar massing to the third, was at the hands of architectural firm DIALOG following three designs by Merrick Architecture.

 

Reliance’s fifth concept, conceived by DIALOG, has changed direction once more with a significant reduction in the building’s Wharf Street frontage in favour of a footprint that places residential density along Johnson Street and within an east-west-oriented wing between Wharf Street and the harbourfront.

 

The design has a seven-storey massing as seen from Johnson and Wharf streets and an eight-storey massing when viewed from across the harbour. Exterior materials have also been refined since the prior submission to the City. [Full article]

 

 

 

 

 

[Nparker]

It just keeps getting worse. 

[RFS]

Its better than the last one. Looks like the atrium

[tiger11]

Don't mind it but it really seems like its missing something...

[Nparker]

 

Edited by Nparker, 02 March 2018 - 05:43 PM.

[Nparker]

Don't mind it but it really seems like its missing something...

It is. This:

[Nparker]

The worst part of this latest incarnation: the inclusion of that unnecessary green roof space along Wharf Street. Is this meant to re-create the historic green space that stood here when the NJ buildings were new? I am sure it will be comforting for the future residents to know they won't have to travel all the way to Reeson Park to find some grass.    

Edited by Nparker, 02 March 2018 - 06:02 PM.

[aastra]

My first reaction is that it's too large and too bulky*. No surprise there... whenever you try to stall a small project it tends to grow larger and larger until you ultimately end up with something much larger than the initial proposal.

 

Also, the old buildings seem to be standing apart rather than integrated. I hope the stinkers make an effort to understand this: in the prior version shown above, the old buildings were fully part of the development. They weren't going to be overwhelmed by the new construction, they weren't merely incidental to the new construction. They were key pieces of the puzzle, key elements of the "micro-district" that the development would have created on the site. Every successive iteration has lessened this effect. So now in this latest version the old buildings are pretty much just standing off beside the new construction, and looking very small and irrelevant, too.

 

Anyway, I'm not crazy about the massing but I'm not sure how I feel about the design itself. I think I wouldn't mind this exact same building on Dockside Green. But I'm not digging it here.

 

*I await better images that might alter my impression dramatically...

Edited by aastra, 02 March 2018 - 06:44 PM.

[aastra]

 

The worst part of this latest incarnation: the inclusion of that unnecessary green roof space along Wharf Street.

 

I get your point but it seems like that part might actually be architecturally/visually interesting? Some dramatic angles? Again, I await better images.

[aastra]

 

So now in this latest version the old buildings are pretty much just standing off beside the new construction, and looking very small and irrelevant, too.

 

This may actually score them points with the powers that be, and if so, I suppose I can't really blame them for doing it. But come on, it's just not right. Victoria, knit your orphaned old buildings back into the urban fabric, for crying out loud. I swear, some people think it's some sort of heritage-preservation accomplishment when your historic buildings are disconnected and set off by themselves.

[Nparker]

...Victoria, knit your orphaned old buildings back into the urban fabric, for crying out loud. I swear, some people think it's some sort of heritage-preservation accomplishment when your historic buildings are disconnected and set off by themselves.

[JanionGuy]

The current plan looks like a LEGO building.  I can't blame the design team, they were probably the first generation of LEGO enthusiasts, and thus have embodied the LEGO mentality into their design careers.

 

JanionGuy doesn't like the latest rendering.   It's not inviting. And if you're a tourist coming to see our new bridge. (I've been told bridge-loving tourists will come just to see the bridge), it also doesn't feel approachable, a place you'd want to wander around for the afternoon, (to support the amount of retail frontage).

[jonny]

This project is all about the streetscape and first floor. I'd love to see close-ups of the ground floor.

[G-Man]

What is that pavilion building for along Wharf Street.