785 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

Drove up Johnson yesterday and saw they have begun installing some sharp looking glass walls (panels?) on the second storey....

I noticed this a few days ago myself and was pleasantly surprised. Although it's a "widescraper", this project looks like it is going to blow Hudson Place 2 out of the water.

[aastra]

JohnnyJayEh on flickr posted some pictures two weeks ago:

 

[aastra]

At first it seemed like an abundance of glazing on those podium levels, which would make sense since it's north-facing on a shaded block (thanks to this building itself). But a lot of the glass is frosted. And what's all that wood framing behind the clear glass? Is that temporary during construction only? It would be insane to block the clear glass.

[Nparker]

Updated photos or it didn't happen aastra. 

[aastra]

The day this message board starts relying on me for pics is the day I stop wasting my time on this message board. Unless we like lo-res & out-of-focus photos, upside down, with more than one artistic effect applied. I know some of you like that stuff a lot, but it's not my thing.

[aastra]

Too bad Mike K. can't find the time to get off his duff and snap a few pics around town.

[Sparky]

^ His flip phone doesn’t take very good pictures.

[Nparker]

A few pics from today. 

For some reason this project seems a lot taller than 12 storeys.

For aastra: there seems to be no pattern to the clear vs. opaque glass on the podium.

 

[Victoria Watcher]

If you have the enigma machine you can break the code.

[aastra]

I'm just saying the amount of clear glass is actually less than it might seem to a casual* observer. And I'm wondering what the deal is with the wood framing behind some of the clear glass. If shelving or other obstructions go up behind the clear glass then I'll classify that as some hardcore Victoria-style craziness.

 

*VV forumers tend to dress up when they go scrutinize a construction site

[aastra]

pic by thegreatscaper...

 

Seriously though, if the very premise of design reviews are ever going to have any legitimacy in Victoria, this has got to be the end of the plain panel fetish. From this point forward it should be a non-starter if any large development ever proposes to have large amounts of plain panel cladding in standard-issue beige, grey, white, or brown. There's already way too much of it, and on several of the largest and/or most prominent new buildings.

Edited by aastra, 31 July 2022 - 07:43 PM.

[Nparker]

Nothing built now within a 3 block radius of the new firehall should be allowed to have the plain panel look. 

[ventilatte]

pic by thegreatscaper...

 

Seriously though, if the very premise of design reviews are ever going to have any legitimacy in Victoria, this has got to be the end of the plain panel fetish. From this point forward it should be a non-starter if any large development ever proposes to have large amounts of plain panel cladding in standard-issue beige, grey, white, or brown. There's already way too much of it, and on several of the largest and/or most prominent new buildings.

 

And what is with all of the tiny windows on everything? Vivid, Yates on Yates, Hudson Place 2, and now this building all seem to have tiny little windows mixed with boring cladding.

 

I'm glad that a lot of projects are being approved, but a lot of them are turning out really ugly which is very disappointing. 

[lanforod]

So… plain panels out, sea foam spandrel back in? 😂

[Victoria Watcher]

Tiny windows has to do with energy code.

The Step Code means Victoria buildings must be 20% more efficient than the general building code:

https://www.victoria...-buildings.html

Smaller windows is one of the easiest( (cheapest) ways to achieve the goal.

Every other solution impacts square footage of the units (thicker exterior walls).

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 31 July 2022 - 10:30 PM.

[Nparker]

There have to be ways to utilize smaller windows that don't create such gawd awful looking exteriors. Presumably, the buildings currently under construction at Dockside Green are being built under the same local codes and their facades are significantly more attractive.

[ventilatte]

There have to be ways to utilize smaller windows that don't create such gawd awful looking exteriors. Presumably, the buildings currently under construction at Dockside Green are being built under the same local codes and their facades are significantly more attractive.

Also 989 Johnson and the Beacon were built around the same time as the other buildings I mentioned, and they both appear to have decent sized windows and look 10x better. 

[spanky123]

There have to be ways to utilize smaller windows that don't create such gawd awful looking exteriors. Presumably, the buildings currently under construction at Dockside Green are being built under the same local codes and their facades are significantly more attractive.

 

Isn't this going to be 'affordable' housing. If so I am sure that nobody cares what it looks like as long as it doesn't cost much to build.

[Victoria Watcher]

Also 989 Johnson and the Beacon were built around the same time as the other buildings I mentioned, and they both appear to have decent sized windows and look 10x better. 

 

Well, as I say, it can be done (larger windows).  It just costs more, as you now have to save energy elsewhere.

[Nparker]

Isn't this going to be 'affordable' housing. If so, I am sure that nobody cares what it looks like as long as it doesn't cost much to build.

I will probably have to look at this building for the rest of my life, so I care what it looks like. Affordable or not, there is no excuse for ugly architecture. Visually appealing doesn't have to be expensive, but it does require some imagination on the part of the developer and the city in regards to design approvals.

For the record, I actually think the firehall building is considerably more attractive than Hudson Place 2.