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UNDER CONSTRUCTION
TELUS Ocean
Uses: office, commercial
Address: 767 Douglas Street
Municipality: Victoria
Region: Downtown Victoria
Storeys: 10
The Apex Site property on Douglas Street at Humboldt Street in downtown Victoria, also known as the 'Budget Lo... (view full profile)
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[Downtown] TELUS Ocean - Apex Site | TELUS and Aryze Developments


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#341 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 08:55 AM

if we are worried about what something looks like behind a waterfront hotel we are really being silly.  sure the empress is neat but it's just a commercial hotel.  no different than the laurel point or the grande pacific.  who cares what is behind it?   it's old.  big deal.


Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 August 2020 - 08:55 AM.


#342 aastra

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 09:04 AM

From straight-on my main concern would be the sheer width of it. The drop to the right/south should be steeper.



#343 Mike K.

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 09:24 AM

The current situation is not good. The tops of the buildings behind the Empress are unimaginative with their biggest features being bland elevator mechanical rooms. 

Here's the look. It's not pretty. In fact, it's downright ugly.

 

empress.jpg


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#344 Rob Randall

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 09:25 AM

From straight-on my main concern would be the sheer width of it. The drop to the right/south should be steeper.

 

 

I agree, it would make for a more dramatic silhouette. But it would also cut into the already slim floorplate on many floors. 

 

At first I thought a slim shard would be the way to go but I'm growing on this design and think it's probably the best response to the space. Cutting five storeys off the top is not going to make it a better building. It would preserve the current view of the Empress but we're not convinced that's a problem that needs solving. 


Edited by Rob Randall, 19 August 2020 - 09:26 AM.


#345 aastra

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 09:28 AM

It's funny how that 1980s tower of the Empress Hotel itself is the worst offender re: modern construction blocking the view.

 

empress-hotel-victoria.jpg

pic from https://philistineto...ional-landmarks

 

*****

 

post-3-0-67939600-1597857880.jpg


Edited by aastra, 19 August 2020 - 09:29 AM.


#346 zoomer

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 09:39 AM

Victoria Architecture Critic Fundamentals 101: If you dont understand architecture, and the building isn't a point form podium building, just call it a "modern day view towers" and move on.


Your last two posts were snarky comments while you choose to ignore questions or points raised. Will Aryze publicly commit to individualized view perspectives for residents of Aria and The Falls or was that a throw away line in your meeting with Humboldt residents?

Come on PPPdev, I’d like to think you’re better than this, that your company is better than this. I assume (but perhaps not) that you’re permitted to speak for Aryze, is this really the communication and engagement strategy you want to employ? Attacking members of the public who don’t agree with you as uninformed, NIMBY, unwashed masses who clearly can’t see the greater wisdom of yourself and industry experts? The View Towers comment refers to the negative wall effect this building will have and the public backlash that may result and last decades as well - just as occurred with VT.

I have no new comments on this building - I’ll share those with City Hall as I’ve said my piece and no need to be repetitive or ruin the thread for others. Be better Aryze, I’m just a random dude on the internet, we’ll always be asking hard questions, making comments you feel are unfair, uninformed or unjustified and yanking your chain. While we can be jerks, it’s not a good look when a publicly identifiable company does the same. Learn to respect and better interact with the public - something Aryze buildings also struggle with for some reason - hmmm.
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#347 aastra

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 10:06 AM

 

The current situation is not good. The tops of the buildings behind the Empress are unimaginative with their biggest features being bland elevator mechanical rooms.

 

Dude, you're always playing the angles. Too bad the Telus people can't come up with a clever way to block the hardware on top of the Executive House & Chateau Victoria. I'd say the Falls looks great, Belvedere looks great, and Astoria looks fine although very conventional.

 

Pics from Hotel Grand Pacific:



#348 Mike K.

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 10:09 AM

The Falls won’t be blocked by the Telus in those shots you linked to, and neither will Astoria or Belvedere, so they’ll continue looking fine from that vantage point.

But the Chateau and Executive (Hilton) will be blocked, and that’s after looming over the Empress for what, only 50-years?

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#349 aastra

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 10:10 AM

Renderings from different angles would be informative, methinks.

 

I don't know... maybe Victoria Watcher is right and it's no big deal. Nobody ever lost sleep about the impact of Executive House or Chateau Victoria, whether before the ugly rooftop hardware was added or after. People did worry like crazy about the Falls, and it was all unjustified.



#350 PPPdev

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 10:10 AM

Your last two posts were snarky comments while you choose to ignore questions or points raised. Will Aryze publicly commit to individualized view perspectives for residents of Aria and The Falls or was that a throw away line in your meeting with Humboldt residents?

Come on PPPdev, I’d like to think you’re better than this, that your company is better than this. I assume (but perhaps not) that you’re permitted to speak for Aryze, is this really the communication and engagement strategy you want to employ? Attacking members of the public who don’t agree with you as uninformed, NIMBY, unwashed masses who clearly can’t see the greater wisdom of yourself and industry experts? The View Towers comment refers to the negative wall effect this building will have and the public backlash that may result and last decades as well - just as occurred with VT.

I have no new comments on this building - I’ll share those with City Hall as I’ve said my piece and no need to be repetitive or ruin the thread for others. Be better Aryze, I’m just a random dude on the internet, we’ll always be asking hard questions, making comments you feel are unfair, uninformed or unjustified and yanking your chain. While we can be jerks, it’s not a good look when a publicly identifiable company does the same. Learn to respect and better interact with the public - something Aryze buildings also struggle with for some reason - hmmm.

 

 

Fair points, I'll stop comment on your posts, my apologies



#351 amor de cosmos

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 01:15 PM

From straight-on my main concern would be the sheer width of it. The drop to the right/south should be steeper.


first I noticed that the parapet a) on an angle to reference the roofline of the Empress, & b) is a nice clean line which looks more refined, then I noticed that the text clearly says so:
 

TELUS Ocean creates a uniform and unimposing backdrop to highlight this important landmark, while also referencing The Empress' roofline as seen from the water.


telus.jpg
 

The current situation is not good. The tops of the buildings behind the Empress are unimaginative with their biggest features being bland elevator mechanical rooms. 

Here's the look. It's not pretty. In fact, it's downright ugly.


those buildings could do a similar thing. a higher parapet would clean up the roofline and if it were made of made of glass it could also function as a windscreen for a rooftop terrace, like this:

Living_Shangri-La_from_One_Wall_Centre.j


Edited by amor de cosmos, 19 August 2020 - 01:16 PM.

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#352 aastra

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 02:24 PM

 

TELUS Ocean creates a uniform and unimposing backdrop to highlight this important landmark, while also referencing The Empress' roofline as seen from the water.

 

FYI: we've been debating the validity of this premise for the past ~75 pages of this thread.

 

Edit: I'm exaggerating. The debate started on August 4.


Edited by aastra, 19 August 2020 - 02:26 PM.


#353 Mike K.

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Posted 19 August 2020 - 02:37 PM

Amor, nice catch!

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#354 Kapten Kapsell

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 06:21 PM

This project went to ADP yesterday; did anyone attend the meeting?

 

The staff report prepared for the ADP was not positive:  https://www.victoria...attachments.pdf



#355 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 06:29 PM

staff negative about proposal negotiated between staff and proponent.

what a world we live in.

#356 spanky123

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 07:09 PM

Not a surprise. If I was guessing, closing of the purchase is contingent on rezoning and the development plan being accepted.

I would think that given office conditions for the foreseeable future Telus isn’t in a rush to move forward.

#357 zoomer

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 08:06 PM

While it would be nice for those reports to be written in plain language instead of bs elitist language they pretty much came to the same observations I did in previous posts - fancy that Aryze. 

 

It's unfortunate if Spanky is right (and I think he is) because if the City had selected another bid it would be under construction right now. Trying to fit in an office on that site was dumb to start with.  Maybe Telus purposely put forward a dog of a proposal they knew would have no chance of succeeding, with the goal of convincing the city to allow a switch to condos (after they won with the Ocean Dream idea) - which if approved they will resell to another developer.  How's that for a conspiracy theory.  Let's check back in ten years.



#358 PPPdev

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 09:14 PM

That’s funny Zoomer consider ADP voted to support the application and felt it was an excellent design that will be a landmark for Victoria 🤔
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#359 zoomer

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Posted 24 September 2020 - 09:21 PM

Huh, so they totally ignored the staff report? Gotta say I'm shocked because that report was pretty harsh, and no I didn't write it. ;) Do you have a record of the ADP review you can share? Congrats for getting this far..
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#360 Mike K.

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Posted 25 September 2020 - 05:47 AM

That’s funny Zoomer consider ADP voted to support the application and felt it was an excellent design that will be a landmark for Victoria 🤔

Congratulations, that’s good.

Not everyone will fall in love with a daring design, but Victoria needs something to shake up the norm, even if the proposal is shorter than I would have liked for a landmark office tower but obviously working behind the Empress has its limitations.

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