151 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

...Generally speaking curved facades are problematic for residents. They simply don’t function well and finding furniture to fit along the panes can be a real problem.

I'd argue that isn't really much of a deterrent. Curved walls seem to function quite well even in the few instances where they exist in Victoria, especially with the options for smaller scale furniture that is available for condo living today.

[LJ]

Everybody wants interesting and exciting buildings - that will be bought by somebody else. Sure it is nice to have these buildings to walk by and admire but if you are looking for accommodation would you only look at interesting buildings. The people that are buying condo's want quality construction and efficient modern layouts and appliances. They don't care what the building looks like, they want value for their dollars. Would you take an extra 100 sq. ft. in your condo or would you rather they put a curved front on the building? 

[Nparker]

...Would you take an extra 100 sq. ft. in your condo or would you rather they put a curved front on the building? 

Why can't I have both? Why does one preclude the other? The examples I show above prove that designs other than 90-degree angles can be built and be both efficient and affordable. I strongly believe that a function of architecture is to be pleasing to those who have to live among it and not just in it. I also think you are wrong that people don't care what their residence looks like from the outside. If that were the case why doesn't everyone just live in underground bunkers?

[LJ]

^No problem, you can have both. You will just have to pay for both. Would you pay $50k extra for your condo because it had a curved front on the building?

Or would you buy the equivalent condo next door that was 100 sq. ft. bigger?

I know which one I would buy, and I would sit out on my balcony all day staring at that nice looking condo across the street.

[Nparker]

...I know which one I would buy, and I would sit out on my balcony all day staring at that nice looking condo across the street.

Except of course, if everyone thought like you, the condo across the street wouldn't look nice.

[LJ]

Then I could just loll around in my spacious condo.

[Mike K.]

The Westbank guys told me once upon a time that the Pallisades in Vancouver were hated by residents shortly after they moved in thanks to the curved class curtain wall.

That Janion interior photo looks terrible, IMO. The furniture is just ...there. It doesn’t complement the space at all and gives it a doctor’s office vibe.

Believe me, if there a market for wild and adventurous stuff beyond a token building or two developers would be all over them. And why not? Build what the buyer wants and make life easy for yourself.

[Nparker]

...That Janion interior photo looks terrible, IMO. The furniture is just ...there. It doesn’t complement the space at all and gives it a doctor’s office vibe.

Bad furniture choices on the part of the resident/owner are hardly the fault of the building's design. I could open an IKEA catalogue to just about any page and supply dozens of better options for that Janion curved wall space, but why should I bother?

 

I remain unconvinced that boxy designs aren't mostly a choice made by developers because they know there is a better chance of getting them approved by the local decision makers. Victoria is simply not a market where architectural innovation and risk-taking are encouraged or rewarded.

 

This thread is veering decidedly off topic, and I am not prepared to derail it any further by continuing this argument.

[Mike K.]

But we have plenty of buildings with curved facades. We’re going in circles now, I think.

Heck, even the latest version of Northern Junk is curved and most agree it’s not a good design.

[aastra]

 

Believe me, if there a market for wild and adventurous stuff...

 

I'm not talking about goofytastic for the sake of being goofytastic. I'll pass on all of that. I'm talking about highrise equivalents of some of the more interesting lowrise buildings. The argument that it can't be done in Victoria even though it can be done absolutely everywhere else is ridiculous ("Only not in Victoria, you say?"). Such buildings have been proposed several times. They get turned down. Again, I recall that Aria was originally supposed to be 19 stories. That's exactly the sort of thing that I'm talking about. The rejected tower beside the Capitol 6 was another one. The art gallery tower was another one. The rejected tower for the apex site was another one. Heck, the flatiron-shaped mini-tower at Northern Junk was yet another one. Such buildings are conspicuous for their absence, is my point.

[Nparker]

...Such buildings are conspicuous for their absence...

This. 

[jonny]

Circling back to the original question from gstc84: 

 

Yeesh. Just like the '70s in Victoria had virtually identical four-storey buildings going up everywhere, so the 2010s have virtually identical twelve-story buildings. Were it not for the auction house next door I would swear that image was cut and pasted from half a dozen other threads on this forum.

 

It's a valid point, but after thinking on this for a few days, I must say we are a long ways off from having an issue with cookie cutter mid-rise buildings downtown and in Harris Green. 10 additional buildings that look like 930 Fort or 989 Johnson could potentially be an issue, but that's not a present day problem. That's a potential future issue.

 

If you take the area around the Atrium as an example, the Atrium, Juliet, 834, Wave, Yello, Vivid and Yates on Yates all look pretty damn different to me. 

[G-Man]

James Bay pyramid is another example of an interesting design that we missed out on.

[Nparker]

Any updates on this proposal?

[Jackerbie]

Plans were revised end of December, no movement on the dev tracker since. Interior changes it looks like, nothing significant on the outside

[Nparker]

Plans were revised end of December, no movement on the dev tracker since. Interior changes it looks like, nothing significant on the outside

That's more or less what I got from Development Tracker. It sure seems like a long time from initial proposal to finished product. How does the CoV compare with Vancouver in this regard?

[Jackerbie]

That's more or less what I got from Development Tracker. It sure seems like a long time from initial proposal to finished product. How does the CoV compare with Vancouver in this regard?

 

Word on the street is that CoVancouver is hiring up to 100 people in the planning and building departments to deal with the sheer backlog of projects. So... not too much better.

[Nparker]

Any chance Victoria will do the same, or has that budget been used up by poet laureates?

[AllseeingEye]

An update on this proposal from yesterday's VicNews: 

https://www.vicnews....or-fort-street/

[Kapten Kapsell]

This goes to CotW on Thursday June 28; city staff are in favour if moving this forward to a public hearing.