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Hudson House
Uses: rental, commercial
Address: 1700 Blanshard Street
Municipality: Victoria
Region: Downtown Victoria
Storeys: 23
Hudson House is a 23-storey rental tower with a commercial component along the 1700-block of Blanshard Street ... (view full profile)
Learn more about Hudson House on Citified.ca
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[Downtown] Hudson House (Hudson Place 2) | Rentals; retail | 23-storeys | Under construction


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#81 Jackerbie

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Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:11 AM

The April 10 version was pretty good but this version has really gone backwards. They've dialed down the personality and dialed up the bland. The monotony of those plain windows just looks lame. The tower had strong lines before, if you get my meaning. Those lines are gone now. It's just flat and blah.

 

Seriously, I would take no joy in seeing that building go up.

 

It's times like these I am very curious about what the staff comments letter included. Here are some excerpts from the "summary of changes" provided by the architect in response to the comments:

  • Reduced balcony sizes. Removed alternating balcony pattern and privacy screens from corner balconies.
  • Change brick cladding to window wall with spandrel panel.
  • Deleted open frame work at roof level.
  • Window wall panels revised to raised panel on both tower elements, eastern element changed to white and western element to neutral grey.
  • Deleted stair windows.


#82 aastra

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Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:25 AM

Crikey, if those were responses to the recommendations then the folks making the recommendations must surely be nincompoops. Every one of those changes is a step backward re: visual interest and the building's distinctiveness.

 

How many times have we said it? The process should sharpen and refine a building's design, not dull it down or make it more generic. 

 

At this point I'm genuinely worried that the Hudson district's final piece might end up negating much of the good work that has been done up until now. What a ridiculous situation.


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#83 aastra

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Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:28 AM

 

Change brick cladding to window wall with spandrel panel.

 

Somebody preferred spandrel to brick? We're flipping out about the spandrel scourge and meanwhile officialdom is calling for more spandrel??

 

I'm shaking my head so hard right now it may just fall off my neck completely before the day is done.



#84 Rob Randall

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Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:34 AM

This thing has been micromanaged into Pablum.

 

The reason council OK'd rezoning for 23 storeys was the original bold and dymanic design. A skyline standout. No way it would have been approved if this was the initial submission.

 

There's no justification for the height now. It's height for height's sake.


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#85 aastra

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Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:41 AM

 

Deleted open frame work at roof level.

 

I mean, do they not understand that those frames are a recurring design element with the new buildings on the Hudson's back lot? Stripping the frames from building #3 seems utterly arbitrary. Stripping them from the top seems like cutting the building's head off.

 

"What are those frame things? Why are they there? Get rid of them! We don't want architectural design. We want watered-down generic stuff that people can complain about for decades to come."


Edited by aastra, 31 July 2019 - 09:42 AM.

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#86 Nparker

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Posted 31 July 2019 - 09:51 AM

Considering that HP2's facade is going to be more prominent that HP1 - it has a more significant street frontage - its design should be stepped-up, not stepped-down. 



#87 Brantastic

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Posted 31 July 2019 - 11:35 AM

Dang. I liked the alternating balconies on the corner before.

#88 Kapten Kapsell

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Posted 17 January 2020 - 05:32 PM

This is going to COTW on Thursday Jan 23 and updated plans are on Dev Tracker.

The plans call for 245 rental units plus ground floor commercial. 20 percent of the rental units will be rented out at ten percent below market rates per an agreement with CMHC.

New rendering:

4A2ED6D1-39BD-49BD-A158-79F1B61E5770.jpeg

Edited by Kapten Kapsell, 17 January 2020 - 05:38 PM.


#89 Nparker

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Posted 18 January 2020 - 05:06 PM

Are there any improvements in this latest rendering? Here's an April 2019 image for comparison:

HP2 update Apr 2019-1.png

It's a shame that HP2 going to obscure much of the more attractive Hudson Place 1.


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#90 Nparker

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Posted 18 January 2020 - 05:22 PM

Side-by-side for comparison.

HP2 side-by-side.JPG

April 2019                                                                                                         January 2020

The smaller windows and the loss of the staggered balconies seem like steps backwards. I don't know what's going with the top anymore.

I know we've seen the current rendering before, but I guess I was hoping there might have been some improvement since it last appeared.



#91 LJ

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Posted 18 January 2020 - 07:42 PM

Same cars parked in front tho.


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Life's a journey......so roll down the window and enjoy the breeze.

#92 Jackerbie

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 12:47 PM

Walked past a proposed ONNI development in Vancouver over the weekend and couldn't help but notice that was something very familiar about the tower....

 

IMG_20200217_143545.jpg



#93 Nparker

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 01:25 PM

That's looks exactly like HP2!

 

(before it was blanded into submission)



#94 Rob Randall

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 03:19 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong but Hudson Place is MCMP and OMNI is IBI Group?


Edited by Rob Randall, 21 February 2020 - 03:25 PM.


#95 Jackerbie

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 03:42 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong but Hudson Place is MCMP and OMNI is IBI Group?

 

I believe that's correct. The offset balconies are in vogue right now, but that combined with the black and white palette, view angle, and bare two-storey top element gave me very strong HP2 vibes.

 

Thankfully Victoria's slow crawl toward looking too much like Vancouver has been stalled once more! [/sarcasm]


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#96 Casual Kev

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Posted 09 June 2020 - 06:31 PM

With Hudson Place One virtually complete, it'll soon be time to make use of the hole dug for this one. Anyone know when they'll get started here? 



#97 tiger11

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Posted 09 June 2020 - 07:06 PM

With Hudson Place One virtually complete, it'll soon be time to make use of the hole dug for this one. Anyone know when they'll get started here? 

 

They probably have to get an approved design first...



#98 Citified.ca

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Posted 15 June 2020 - 11:33 AM

23-storey Hudson Place Two rental tower approved as final phase of The Hudson District

https://victoria.cit...udson-district/


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#99 Nparker

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Posted 15 June 2020 - 12:35 PM

It's sort of turning out like View Towers on top of a brick podium. Rather disappointing for such a high profile site. Perhaps the finished product will look better than the renderings.



#100 aastra

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Posted 15 June 2020 - 01:24 PM

I'm really not sure what the CoV could be thinking re: the excessive use of plain cladding panels on these very prominent new buildings. In the case of HP2 we're going to have plain white panels covering one of the city's tallest buildings, and only two blocks away from the plain white panels that cover one of the city's other tallest buildings. I sure hope they're not going to be the exact same panels, that would be crazy. Even if you really like this kind of panel cladding, how much would be too much? It just seems like an odd thing to be going all-in with after so many years of fretting about the architectural styles and materials that do or do not belong in Victoria.

 

Compare the tower levels of HP2 to the upper levels of 1515 Douglas.

 

pandora_douglas_4_w.png
pic from https://www.campbellconstruction.ca



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