1287 replies to this topic

[Jacques Cadé]

The dropbox is empty.

Renderings reupped to http://bit.ly/16KP1kA.

[aastra]

I did a quick and dirty overlay in Photoshop. Suffice it to say, if the entire project is nudged to the west so that the northern wing is just a bit shy of the property line, the southern wing would still seem to be set back further than the City Centre Plaza building on the other side of Pandora. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the City Centre Plaza building the current record-holder re: the largest setback on Douglas Street downtown? I suppose it depends on how you're measuring it.)

The plaza seems to be about the same size as the existing Royal Bank building, but rotated 90 degrees.

I don't know, maybe I wouldn't have such a big problem with the large plaza & setbacks if the City Centre Plaza wasn't doing a similar thing so poorly right across the street. And if Centennial Square wasn't also right across the street. And if that old sunken plaza wasn't also already there on the very same block.

[G-Man]

^ I agree with you Aastra but as I said above if you are going over 2 storeys (I think) you cannot get any further to the west with out hitting the tower protection zone for the clock tower.

[amor de cosmos]

The right concept, although the design is bland IMO. It looks like a boxy Atrium.

First, I feel like downtown needs some colour other than grey, white and brick.

That's probably a response to victoria's climate. it's overcast here for a lot of the year so I think bright colours would clash with the cool grey sky. that's why vancouver's buildings are generally grey also. those colours also seem to work well with the kind of greenery we have around here. think of how vancouver's lead-coloured skyline looks against the rock & evergreen of the north shore mountains. brick veneer could be just to make them look older, or to make it fit in with the old-town type buildings, or just to tone down the design.

That said, Victoria is full of unfulfilled glitzy projects, at least we know this has a high probability of getting built which makes it better then any glamorous failed project. It's better then what is there now so I personally welcome this project from a good development team.

since you want to go there why isn't uvic building a carsa facility half the size. after all, wouldn't anything have been better than the parking lot & postwar portables that were there before? or why the empress has had 3 additions & a $120000000 renovation, when the original building was already so much better than the garbage dump that was there before? it all seems like overkill doesn't it

I did a quick and dirty overlay in Photoshop. Suffice it to say, if the entire project is nudged to the west so that the northern wing is just a bit shy of the property line, the southern wing would still seem to be set back further than the City Centre Plaza building on the other side of Pandora. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the City Centre Plaza building the current record-holder re: the largest setback on Douglas Street downtown? I suppose it depends on how you're measuring it.)

The plaza seems to be about the same size as the existing Royal Bank building, but rotated 90 degrees.

I don't know, maybe I wouldn't have such a big problem with the large plaza & setbacks if the City Centre Plaza wasn't doing a similar thing so poorly right across the street. And if Centennial Square wasn't also right across the street. And if that old sunken plaza wasn't also already there on the very same block.

I wonder why we don't have a rendering of what this block will look like heading south or especially north on douglas st, like this:

http://goo.gl/maps/l3UEi
http://goo.gl/maps/iCkIf

It would be good to see it in that context

[aastra]

...if you are going over 2 storeys (I think) you cannot get any further to the west with out hitting the tower protection zone for the clock tower.

I can think of a very simple way around that issue.

[amor de cosmos]

i'll guess

- move the clock tower to the west also, or
- only build to two stories on that corner

[aastra]

Quashing the stupid rule would probably be easier than moving the tower.

[Mike K.]

Thanks once again to Jacques Cade for acquiring the renderings of this project and making them available. For ease of viewing and to have the renderings displayed in this thread, I've created re-sized versions for display on the forum with a link to a larger (2000 pixel) version available by clicking on the link below each image. All renderings are of course courtesy of Jawl Properties and D'Ambrosio Architecture.



http://vibrantvictor...-Plan-large.jpg



http://vibrantvictor...-east-large.jpg



http://vibrantvictor...ndora-large.jpg



http://vibrantvictor...l-DAY-large.jpg



http://vibrantvictor...NIGHT-large.jpg



http://vibrantvictor...quare-large.jpg



http://vibrantvictor...Plaza-large.jpg



http://vibrantvictor...Plaza-large.jpg



http://vibrantvictor...cture-large.jpg

[jonny]

I don't mind the tower portion, but again, it's very bland. The little shift over is cool, but the colour and horizontal banding...blah.

[jonny]

That's probably a response to victoria's climate. it's overcast here for a lot of the year so I think bright colours would clash with the cool grey sky. that's why vancouver's buildings are generally grey also. those colours also seem to work well with the kind of greenery we have around here. think of how vancouver's lead-coloured skyline looks against the rock & evergreen of the north shore mountains. brick veneer could be just to make them look older, or to make it fit in with the old-town type buildings, or just to tone down the design.

See, if it were me, I'd want to introduce more colour because of the grey climate. I love contrast and variety though. I think this would be a good location for a building that really stands out and shifts the balance of power from Sussex/CIBC a bit northward, so to speak.

I agree that in most cities buildings are built to fit in. Vancouver has lots of blue buildings, black buildings, some buildings that look almost green and buildings with colourful accents. I just think we could use some variety.

[SamCB]

The similarity to the Atrium is stunning. Could this be the beginning of a "victoria style" office building? At very least it is a "D'ambrosio style!"

[G-Man]

So I am not an architect but can someone explain to me why you would slant the rotunda skylight to the North? Why wouldn't you slant it to the south to increase the amount of sun that would come in? Heat issue or perhaps it would bring too much sun into inside offices? Any thoughts?

[amor de cosmos]

The similarity to the Atrium is stunning. Could this be the beginning of a "victoria style" office building? At very least it is a "D'ambrosio style!"

maybe it could be exported to vancouver

[aastra]

I just can't root for that configuration along the Douglas Street sidewalk. It doesn't belong in downtown Victoria. Downtown Saanich, maybe.

A street wall is the part of a building that faces the street, but it generally refers to how and where several buildings line up to define a proper walking environment. At the most basic level, buildings should be set back an equal distance so that facades are even for as far as a pedestrian can see. An ideal street wall offers a sense of formality and includes a continuous variety of first floor businesses.

A well-defined street wall is considered essential for walkable neighborhoods because it forms a protected and uninterrupted pedestrian zone. The Washington DC planning department, for instance, recommends "a continuous and active street wall of development” to improve walkability.

From
http://streetswiki.w...com/Street Wall

[amor de cosmos]

I wonder if they're expecting enough people on that block so that corner will be occupied in some way most of the time. atrium doesn't go all the way to the yates st side.

[Mike K.]

I don't really mind the Douglas frontage especially with the Pandora side looking like it does.

The Douglas frontage will receive a lot of sun throughout the day and the space is intended for patio seating and benches. This is not something we currently have along Douglas, and I can see the right tenants attracting volumes of people to their outdoor seating.

In Chicago you see public plazas and open spaces like this. Along one frontage the building will rise 40 floors straight up and along another it will expose a large public outdoor area. It works.

[jaylow]

According to the City of Victoria's interactive zoning map, there has been a rezoning application on October 1 :
"Folder Number: REZ00427
Type: Rezoning
Subject: 1501, 1509, 1517 Douglas St and 750 Pandora Ave
Purpose: pre-CALUC
Application Date: 10/1/2013 12:00:00 AM"

[2F2R]

Wow, what a beautiful concept ... If it was up to me I would say, get the shovels in the ground next week. I find it so distressing when a concept like this comes along … and I know what’s next ... here we go again.

[Mike K.]

I don't think it'll be that much of a struggle. The most recent proposal on that site included a 19-storey residential tower and was making headway at City Hall. The 13-storey office phase of this project falls well within that height. Jawl and D'ambrosio have done their homework and are going for a slam dunk here.

[Baro]

If the open space on the corner of Douglas was all at grade I think it could work, but they have it all in sections and different heights that make it almost useless for cutting through and hard to use for street vendors or anything interested. It's just going to be a boring fairly lifeless "open space" for open space's sake. A very busy cafe or restaurant might be able to fill the space with people at certain times, but unlike The Atrium's extra wide sidewalk it doesn't feel like a natural extension of the public realm. It feels very much like a strictly delineated private space that is only for office workers at the building to use to enter and exit the building, all other uses prohibited.