252 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

^ Sorry the gallery or the old pics of the plan for the terminal. If the latter than you are correct it will not happen.

[Barra]

L O V E Love it! But it will never happen. Too many old crows on council.

City Council has nothing to do with it. The landlord (GVHA) can rent to whoever they want. I think it's a great idea and will be a good draw.

[Hotel Mike]

Yes. It's a good fit. Credit to Royal Roads University for having been the incubator for the Bateman Foundation for years.

[Mike K.]

Have we seen these before?

 

These are visions for the Belleville terminal by Victoria architect Franc D'Ambrosio. More: http://fdarc.ca/proj...-waterfront.php

 

 

 

 

[Nparker]

Nothing that tall (or contemporary) will EVER be allowed on the Inner Harbour. 

[Rob Randall]

A fleet of ambulances just drove by on their way to residential James Bay to take care of the stroke, heart attack and aneurism victims of looking at those renderings. 

 

I don't know where those renderings come from. You'll have to ask Franc. I assume they are busy putting together a proposal for Ship Point at this moment, maybe Belleville was an earlier attempt at a vision for that area, something that together with Ship Point would make D'Ambrosio something of a 21st century Rattenbury. 

 

For comparison's sake, here is the rough visioning for the site done for the City by Chow Low Hammond (not an actual proposal) back in 2007. 

 

Edited by Rob Randall, 06 June 2016 - 02:48 PM.

[Rob Randall]

I really need to know what Pam thinks of that rendering because she is on record as being supportive of height if the design is site-appropriate and of suitably world-class aesthetic standards. It would be a referendum on whether she feels Franc is an architect truly worthy of Victoria or not.

 

I think there was some disagreement on whether the Admiral's Inn pyramid proposal was a worthy design.

[aastra]

That tall antenna tower (or whatever it is) mars every version. Is that supposed to be a TC array? I sure hope not.

 

I'm not crazy about anything that I'm seeing there, I have to admit.

Edited by aastra, 06 June 2016 - 03:08 PM.

[Rob Randall]

^Are you anti-spire? Or just the samples you see here?

 

I would beware of glass towers. They are spectacular in renderings, especially when you throw on some sunset reflections and healthy dollops of lens flare. But there has to be strong bones under that skin.

[RFS]

I like spires and I like strong LTE service. +1

[Baro]

The taller design and spire really reminds me of some of Frank Lloyd Rright's tower designs.  In fact if it was hand-drawn or a sketch I'd say it was straight out of some 60's futuristic design.

[Bingo]

That tall antenna tower (or whatever it is) mars every version. Is that supposed to be a TC array? I sure hope not.

 

I'm not crazy about anything that I'm seeing there, I have to admit.

 

Me neither, but then I don't aspire to be an authority on those things.

[thundergun]

When on that link that Mike posted I saw this - anyone know if Harbour Towers is up for a much needed reno?

http://fdarc.ca/proj...bour-towers.php

[Mike K.]

Those plans were drafted by D'Ambrosio Architecture but they have been put on the backburner by the hotel -- for now.

[AllseeingEye]

VV "backup" urgently required over on Facebook: the VV link shared re: the original D'ambrosio proposal is drawing the ire of the "We don't want to look like Vancouver!!!!" crowd.

 

I can't stem the tide by myself and am fighting a losing rear-guard action, lol...

 

https://www.facebook...465342725727720

[Nparker]

... the original D'ambrosio proposal is drawing the ire of the "We don't want to look like Vancouver!!!!" crowd...

Someday I'd like to hear a cogent argument explaining why the Vancouver aesthetic should in no way be emulated locally.

[aastra]

Those images show only one major new building, yes? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say one building could never make any large city look like any other large city all by itself. It's impossible. You could build an exact copy of the Empress Hotel in Toronto and Toronto still wouldn't look like Victoria. You could build an exact copy of the CN Tower in Victoria and Victoria still wouldn't look like Toronto.

[AllseeingEye]

Someday I'd like to hear a cogent argument explaining why the Vancouver aesthetic should in no way be emulated locally.

In any order you want...

 

"Not 'British' enough" - certainly the British don't give a rat's patoot....why should we?

 

"Tourists don't come here for_that!" - no they come here for the plethora of 3-story boxes that abound. That and Tent City.

 

"We'll look like any other city"   - right, because a few 20-story buildings crop up and by jiminy Marge we'll look just like Toronto!

[Nparker]

In any order you want...

 

"Not 'British' enough" - 

"Tourists don't come here for_that!"

"We'll look like any other city"   

LOL! While those are certainly arguments, I wouldn't agree than any of them are cogent. 

[aastra]

I've been thinking about this site and I'm actually wondering if something distinctively prominent just wouldn't work there, being so forward and so close to the water's edge like that. I can envision a tower relating well to the cove immediately to the west (in effect completing the semi-circular cluster of larger buildings on Laurel Point there), but then I can't really see said tower relating well to the heritage houses and the steamship terminal on the other side.

I'm actually thinking a cluster of smaller buildings of a variety of styles and shapes might work best. More of a Selkirk-esque format. Although maybe I'm just having a difficult time visualizing it because major buildings right on the water's edge* are so exceptional in Victoria. On the harbour there the Regent Hotel is the only one, isn't it?

 

*modern buildings, I mean -- obviously the old terminal building is also pretty much right on the edge

Edited by aastra, 08 June 2016 - 10:50 AM.