432 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

A colleague tells me that yes, the small windows are an energy/climate-related design function. It’s not necessarily a Step Code requirement (not knowing which code the building is designed to) but it’s an equivalent design consideration being used.

[Nparker]

A colleague tells me that yes, the small windows are an energy/climate-related design function....

There has to be a more aesthetically pleasing way to achieve the same goal.

[Mike K.]

There is, but it costs a great deal more.

[Victoria Watcher]

There has to be a more aesthetically pleasing way to achieve the same goal.

 

Beef up the insulation maybe, but then you have a thicker wall/less sq. footage inside maybe.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 29 January 2022 - 02:58 PM.

[Nparker]

There is, but it costs a great deal more.

Evidence please.

[Victoria Watcher]

The evidence is right there. They decided more desirable windows were not worth the cost.

[Nparker]

The evidence is right there. They decided more desirable windows were not worth the cost.

How do we know that cost was the deciding factor?

[Victoria Watcher]

Almost everyone would agree that small windows are less desirable, so other than cost what could drive the decision?

[Nparker]

Almost everyone would agree that small windows are less desirable, so other than cost what could drive the decision?

Energy savings and/or some sort of "climate change" rationale.

[Mike K.]

It’s cost.

Expensive condos have floor-to-ceiling windows in main areas, but the purchaser is paying for that. And we’re also seeing window size reductions in ancillary rooms where it’s more economical to reduce the window size.

[Nparker]

It's not just that the windows appear smaller on HP-2, but the cladding, as alluded to earlier by aastra, looks cheap. For such a prominent building this one is going to end up looking pretty poor.

[Mike K.]

It’s intended to serve as workforce housing. It had a federal government-backed loan to help make that happen. This is not a luxury tower.

[MarkoJ]

[Nparker]

It’s intended to serve as workforce housing. It had a federal government-backed loan to help make that happen. This is not a luxury tower.

So it's the 2022 version of View Towers.

[Mike K.]

View Towers is prime real-estate today. It’s not the building it was in the 90s, that’s for sure.

[aastra]

Very noble and generous of the federal government to put up that $100 million low-cost loan, no doubt. Unfortunately, some cynical taxpayers will never be suitably appreciative of the government's largesse.

 

I don't think this one will turn out to be an eyesore, but I also don't think it will be anywhere close to worthy of its prominence re: height and location. We all remember the original concept, and we all know how it got watered down. Whenever a development suffers such a severe case of the blandening™ I'm always left wondering what could have been if the dial had been adjusted to land somewhere in the middle between interesting and blah, instead of cranked way over to the blah side. I just don't get this "bland panels and small windows" esthetic that Victorians have recently fallen in love with. It doesn't look anything like Victoria or the west coast, but it looks a LOT like many anonymous modern apartment blocks from places like Montreal or the GTA. Considering the past agonies of innumerable development controversies in Victoria, isn't it just a bit ironic that the city is embracing this vibe with such enthusiasm? Decades of "we don't want to look like Toronto" have culminated with "Toronto all the way, baby, as long as it's not the really good stuff".

 

 

pic from vicnews.com

 

 

[Nparker]

View Towers is prime real-estate today. It’s not the building it was in the 90s, that’s for sure.

Does "prime real estate" usually sit half empty?

[2F2R]

You know what i would like to see ... is a building you heavy posters thought was great. Maybe you could start a thread of pictures of buildings in other cities that would be aceptable in your armchair arcitectual positions ... just curious 

 

I love this new building, but im working on it so ...

[Mike K.]

Doesn’t aastra have a thread going on just that topic?

aastra. Here’s your chance.

[Nparker]

You know what i would like to see ... is a building you heavy posters thought was great. ...

Easy. Hudson Place One.