[sirsimon]

Hello everyone!

I took these pics late this afternoon while out with my girlfriend.

I apologize: the camera was not on "auto" so the color came out as though I had used a blue filter. Just pretend you are looking at some European industrial art :)

The Meriwether buildings:
http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa1.jpg

OHSU, looking north:
http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa2.jpg

http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa3.jpg

This is the John Ross...at last, it emerges from the ground! :)
http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa4.jpg

http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa5.jpg

More Meriwether:
http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa6.jpg

http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa7.jpg

OHSU viewed from the north (looking south):
http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa9.jpg

Tram landing being built:
http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa10.jpg

OHSU viewed from the south (looking north):
http://secure-digital.net/SoWa/sowa11.jpg

Enjoy! :)

[mSeattle]

Awesome! Thanks for posting.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Wow, I knew it was cloudy in the Northwest, but I didn't know the skies were actually blue in Portland. ;)

[InlandEmpire]

wow, great pictures... looks like everything is moving along well.

[CalOreg]

That area will be something else when all is said and done...

[MarkDaMan]

sure will...great pics...love them in blue!

[crowdedhouse]

How long will the storage facility remain?

[dkealoha]

I was down at the discovery center a couple weeks ago and I think they said they weren't going to start removing the storage center until the summer.

[dkealoha]

I scanned this in from yesterdays Oregonian front page

http://images.snapfish.com/345496%3B523232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3238%3E765%3E3%3C2%3EWSNRCG%3D3233323394468nu0mrj

[urbanlife]

sweet picture, how can the people living up on the hill not enjoy this view?

[dkealoha]

I know! I was driving to work the morning that picture was taken and was thinking "man I wish I had a camera!" Well, apparently someone else did. Good thing!

[bgwah]

That's an amazing picture!

[crow]

the blue is nice, but how about an orange view?

http://i35.imagethrust.com/t/61202/dsc0975.jpg (http://i35.imagethrust.com/p/61202/dsc0975_jpg.html)

[crow]

the crane for OHSU block 25 RCB1 is coming down today and tomorrow.

[sirsimon]

^ Cool. I am excited to see more cranes pop up and start work down there.

[InlandEmpire]

Awesome pic.... almost surreal looking!

[mSeattle]

Wow, what a picture! I like!

[DubbaG]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

I almost passed out when I saw the paper the other day.

[dkealoha]

The John Ross is coming along pretty quickly!! Seems like all of a sudden it shot out of the ground.


https://www.binaryscience.com/swf/Images/current.jpg

[MarkDaMan]

That crane is going to have to shoot up pretty quick. I saw them working on Saturday and Presidents Day (I wasn't in the area on Sunday) but they are working on this pretty much every day from what I can tell.

[pdxstreetcar]

The Oregonian is now trying to destroy the South Waterfront:
High-rise district's price hits 9 figures
South Waterfront - The $101.5 million projected cost of public amenities is double what backers have pledged (http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1140666915170570.xml&coll=7)

[PDX City-State]

The Oregonian is now trying to destroy the South Waterfront:

Realistically is the local paper supposed to ignore these type of issues? It doesn´t look like the Oregonian--shitty as it is--is trying to destroy anything. Reporting the facts is responsible journalism. This article looks pretty void of editorial content--just facts. Steve Duin and Phil Stanford on the other hand, are full of shit. But as column writers, they can afford to be.

[MarkDaMan]

no, that article is a bunch of shit!

Why is it that they didn't post this until almost the end of the article?

"Homer Williams, one of a team of developers pioneering the project with the PDC, said tax revenue soon to rise within the project's urban renewal district will cover much of the need for public parks and affordable housing, among other things. Beginning in April, the formerly vacant industrial area will be home to condominium owners who will pay taxes on their new properties.

"We're going to start accelerating planning and initial improvements in both the parks and the greenway," Williams said. "We're going to accelerate the affordable housing program. So those are very positive things." "

I wrote this on PDX Arch about this too:

"When reading the article on the MAX this morning I was surprised the story was in the paper at all. It appears to me that Rivera doesn't understand how urban renewal districts operate. From increased taxes from new residents, new tax money is generated and spent on these improvements in the district that currently are unfunded.

That to me is the gist of what Homer was saying on the back page of the article almost 3/4 the way through. From what I can tell, Rivera thinks all the ammenities should be built now, before residents and workers move in.

Part of building a district is putting in one block at a time. OHSU doesn't work without the tram, the parks don't happen without the condo towers, the condo towers wouldn't be going up as quickly without OHSU locating down there. The circle goes round and round and each is an intergral building block in the forming of a new district.

Part of the problem is that the developers, city, and OHSU marketed this glorious district that was going to rise, without adequately explaning to the public how each part is built in stages. I think there is an expectation that one day people were going to head into work, come around the I-5 curves and see a completed district at no cost to them.

As for the affordable housing, I say sit on it for another year. Steel prices are too high to support high rise low income housing. Since all indicators point that the majority of the US contruction booms seems to be wrapping up, I'd bet steel prices begin to drop in the near future. I'd rather get a better building and more housing at an appropriate time, than forcing the city's hand now and getting another Sitka.

The article also failed to mention that the condo buildings are going up faster than planned and at a higher price point, meaning that the tax return estimates will eventually be higher than predicted."

-It was a laaaazy article meant to stir up additional anti-tram, anti-SoWa anger because the Oregonian for whatever reason, felt the Tribune was getting a scoop and didn't want to lose out on the Portland trashing our daily and semi-weekly have been actively engaging in.

[pdxstreetcar]

i probably am being a bit overly critcal of the article but i'd like to have seen an update report about all the good stuff going on the south waterfront, its pretty easy for the media to make something look bad by just reporting article after article of the bad stuff like the cost overruns in the neighborhood, the tram issues, the "forgotten" streetcar alignment by the tram station, the alexan's issues, the loss of views etc, in the last 6 months the oregonian has not reported positively on the south waterfront like the new towers proposed or how the meriwether is opening months early or anything good coming out of the neighborhood. i find this article to be missing a key piece of information that KGW picked up and reported on, that developers plan to invest $10 billion in the south waterfront.
that said i applaud the media for exposing problems amongst public officials and public projects which is certainly a very important part of journalism but what i dont like is that they have only been telling the bad side of the story about the south waterfront lately when there is also a lot of good coming out of it

[PDX City-State]

Yeah, you guys are right. I didn´t read the end of the article--it is a bit on the misleading side. Urban renewal districts are a different type of animal.

[MarkDaMan]

beautiful day in Portland. I can't believe the John Ross's progress...Fastest I've ever seen a tower go up here!
https://www.binaryscience.com/swf/Images%5Ccurrent.jpg

[crow]

SOWA looking east at Meriwhether / john ross
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e231/kwand/DSC01034.jpg
SOWA looking north OHSU / john ross / Meriwhether
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e231/kwand/sowa-s.jpg
meriwhether
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e231/kwand/MRWTHR.jpg
various shots of ohsu - RCB1
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e231/kwand/OHSU-N.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e231/kwand/ohsu-s.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e231/kwand/ohsu-s-up.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e231/kwand/ohsu-e-up.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e231/kwand/ohsu-ATRIUM.jpg

[urbanlife]

looking more and more like vancouver, BC everyday.

[dkealoha]

I'm not a huge fan of the light colored stone they chose for the exterior on the meriwether and ohsu buildings. I just think it looks funny next to the dark colored glass. Maybe if it were a more white/gray colored stone it would match better. I guess the ohsu building looks alright though...

[urbanlife]

I agree, the stone work does look alittle weird. It might look better as it ages and as that area grows and fills in.

[PacificNW]

It appears they are using the same colored stoned work on high rises all over the Northwest. I agree with you guys....it is not a favorite of mine...I don't like it on the new Washington Mutual Tower here in Seattle either.

[zilfondel]

Interesting thing about that recatangular medical building - it will be one of the most energy efficient buildings, in the world, and will additionally recycle 99% of waste water (from toilets, etc) IN THE BUILDING, before the little waste that is left will be flushed to the sewer. Pretty cool stuff...

Those sunshades on the south-facing windows are also solar PV panels.

[urbanlife]

yeah, that is cool zilfondel. I remember them getting heat for some stupid discount they were picking up, but for being an energy efficient building, I think they deserve every kick back they get.


PacificNW I really wish they would of gone for a complete glass skin, I really like the glass that was used and the stone work seems to want to detract from the beauty of the glass.

[tworivers]

does anyone know what the status is of the rest of the sowa streetcar extension (up and down bond and moody, i believe)?
are there maps or renderings anywhere with anticipated stations?
i remember reading something months ago about how the city council wanted to lay track at the same time as they build the streets, which makes sense. haven't heard anything since though, and it seems like they'll have to finish at least a few blocks around ohsu/meriweather in the next several months.
i'm especially curious to see some plans for the temporary track sqeeze between the ohsu bldg and the tram.

[pdxstreetcar]

i think they are building the track with the streets, I believe the overhead wires will come later. the track will be squeezing between ohsu and the tram but eventually it is supposed to be re-routed thru the zidell yard.
chris smith of portland transport said the stops will be at 1) gaines & moody, 2)lowell between moody and bond, 3)lane & bond, 4)whitaker & bond
there was some issue over how the streetcar line would work with the bike lane, i think i recall that it travels on the right hand side on one direction on the left hand side the other due to this, but i am not certain and i think there were still some things to be sorted out when chris said this.

[pdxstreetcar]

block 38 is out for bid (just south of the J.R.)

[bgwah]

Looking good!

[awg]

For what its worth: the light colored stone on the Meriwether towers is actually concrete. The stone on OHSU is a thin granite. I tend to like all glass buildings as well, but that might be a tough sell to an institutional client that just built an all glass building on the other end of the tram. Plus, there's a certain dignity to a stone cladding for a university building.

[MarkDaMan]

I believe the stone was choosen as part of the effort to get the building LEED certified. I'm sure it serves a purpose as granite seems like an expensive, but beautiful up close, choice.

[crow]

the granite does not help with LEED points, but certainly gives the building some gravity. i think people are heaping their comments collectively about the Meriwhether and OHSU. if you get a chance to walk around in person you should see both projects up close. the granite on OHSU is very rich and warm, and the Meriwhether precast and glass do not go well together - i would agree with that, but i would reserve comment on OHSU until you see it in person.

[MarkDaMan]

the granite does not help with LEED points
well that just sucks. I was having an argument with someone about the OHSU building and the waste of money SoWa is, the tram...blah,blah,blah...Anyway, he told me if OHSU was so concerned about money why would they build a building out of granite and worry about the LEED crap? My natural thought was that it was probably about the LEED Platinum rating and in the long run, they both end up costing less and hold up better.

the granite on OHSU is very rich and warm

It is really spectacular up close. Very high quality!!! The building from a distance is another story...

[Last Chance]

Great pics again. It's really nice to see the progress, especially when I only make it down there every several months. Thanks!

[crow]

[QUOTE=MarkDaMan]well that just sucks. I was having an argument with someone about the OHSU building and the waste of money SoWa is, the tram...blah,blah,blah...Anyway, he told me if OHSU was so concerned about money why would they build a building out of granite and worry about the LEED crap? My natural thought was that it was probably about the LEED Platinum rating and in the long run, they both end up costing less and hold up better.

just to be clear. The granite helps with a LEED point in that it is a "local" material, because it is assembled in Gresham by Benson. As well, it goes without saying that granite is a durable material. the thrust for OHSU was to do a 100 year building. Granite definitely speaks to that objective. The austerity of the projects will diminish with the other projects popping up!

[MarkDaMan]

from OHSU's website
http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/landingpages/tramupdate/

Aerial Tram 40% complete

lower tram terminal
http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/landingpages/tramupdate/images/Lower_Station.JPG

midway tower
http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/landingpages/tramupdate/images/Tower_ex_2.JPG

http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/landingpages/tramupdate/images/Tower_3-6-06.JPG

upper terminal
http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/landingpages/tramupdate/images/Upper_Station.JPG

[MarkDaMan]

Wow, those are freaking huge pics...sorry...they weren't so big when I copied them from OHSU's website

[PacificNW]

The campus on the hill looks amazing in your pics! It will be great to see more of than down by the river.

[flux73]

More controversy @ the town hall meeting last night at PSU regarding the Tram. I'm kind of neutral on the topic myself. But I do kind of sympathize with OHSU here since they are putting up the monster share of the money and have agreed to pay for the increases up till recently (can't blame them, they've already increased their contribution by almost $30 mill). Not sure why the City Council is trying to pin the blame on them. It's kind of feeling like they need a scapegoat with all the angry Portland citizens out for blood.

[MarkDaMan]

I don't get the controversy. I haven't talked to a single person, in person, that is freaking out about the tram. The controversy seems to be brewing on the internet and the papers have thrown some gas on the fire, but overall I just don't see the Portland outcry that the Cascade Policy Institute isn't personally fueling.

[pdxstreetcar]

In the article in the Oregonian today all the quotes from people against it were Lair Hill residents. The opponents are trying make people think that 100% of the cost is being paid for by general fund money, when in fact there is no general fund money going to it, just a small amount from the PDC and 90+% of the cost is being paid for by OHSU and the SoWa landowners.

Apparently they announce tomorrow how the overruns will be paid for.

[cab]

Sam Adams is causing alot of the problems. He's playing both sides and trying to hard to humor the opposition. I think a small minority (the steve Schoops of the world) have taken over Sams blog, so Sam feels he has to suck up to them. Also Mr negative Jack bog hasn't helped. The guy is basically for stagnation and gives voice to those people who still want to go back to the their glory days of 1960's Portland. People need to talk responsibilty when a city out grows them. THey can't go around trying to stop progress just because they have stopped progressing.

[zilfondel]

They're putting in new powerlines that go over the river now to replace the old rusting towers...

[PacificNW]

The John Ross is speeding along nicely!

[MarkDaMan]

just copying the live pic over to this page...
https://www.binaryscience.com/swf/Images%5Ccurrent.jpg

speeding is right PacNW and I love it!

I've about had it with checking, almost daily, to see if the crane has jumped in height. Of course, from this pic it looks like they might have a few more floors to go, or a few weeks, before they bump it up, but in person it looks close. I can't wait to see the height compared to the Meriwether towers.

[flux73]

I was at a South Waterfront update meeting last weekend at the Discovery Center. Thought I'd fill you all in on what little I remember from the meeting.

Not sure if it's been discussed here before, but there are some interesting light fixtures that they exhibited. These would be the corner lamp posts. They have this fan shaped canopy that will shield pedestrians from the rain while they wait at the corners to cross a street. Very nice looking and also many great looking benches planned. Also they are going to be tearing out the storage sheds in a month or two and laying down grass for the preliminary park. A design for the park is still to be settled. If I recall correctly, the streetcar will begin service to the SoWa district in Sept. I THINK. There's going to be a Daily Cafe in the OHSU One Building and I think they will be starting up fairly soon. There will be a temporary waterway path, but not much more was said about that, like in regards to its length or where it will run. Atwater Place was announced and sales are starting very very soon (if not already). A conceptual drawing of the building on Block 38 was shown. I believe one of the other threads on this board showed it awhile ago. Anyhow, very interesting design. They said it was made to look like half of the building had "slipped". My understanding is that one half of the building will have all its floors be half a floor lower than the other half, or at least look like that from the outside. Not sure if the inside will maintain that half-height staggered design.

There will be an exit ramp off of I-5 North to get into the SoWa district. I asked about coming south on 405. Unfortunately, there isn't anything planned for that yet. Right now, you have to get off at 6th Ave (at the bottom of the hill from OHSU) and then go towards the Ross Island bridge before you can connect up to Macadam and finally getting into the district. Kind of a pain and I hope there are some future plans to deal with this.

They showed photos of the Tram foundations being poured. There's a stunning amount of rebar and concrete. Afterwards, Dike Dame made a funny sarcastic comment about Randy Leonard's remark that he would bring a truck and rip out the foundation himself if the project had to be halted - something like "Well, he can certainly try..."

I also asked about the powerlines - the ones that come across from Ross Island. What I was told was that they would be moved 200 feet to the north, and possibly may be run under the Ross Island Bridge itself.

Move-ins to the Meriwether start up within the next month. My parents and I have bought a place there, but we aren't planning to close until late July. We want to give the neighborhood a chance to settle in. I'm looking forward to seeing the neighborhood spring to life!

[urbanlife]

moving the power lines under the bridge would make sense.

[zilfondel]

flux73:

You didn't see the model of Atwater Place? It was in the central room in the Exploration Center - couple weeks ago they had a curtain around it, as the display wasn't finished yet. But the model was there. And its insane.

Also, last time I went on a bike ride, someone had built new transmission towers to go over the Willamette.


Wow! You're moving into the neighborhood - thats really cool. Of course, the 'settling in' period will be more like 2-5 years, and the construction won't stop for another... 10? OHSU hasn't even mentioned anything about their campus to the north, let alone a timeline.

[flux73]

flux73:

You didn't see the model of Atwater Place? It was in the central room in the Exploration Center - couple weeks ago they had a curtain around it, as the display wasn't finished yet. But the model was there. And its insane.

Also, last time I went on a bike ride, someone had built new transmission towers to go over the Willamette.

Wow! You're moving into the neighborhood - thats really cool. Of course, the 'settling in' period will be more like 2-5 years, and the construction won't stop for another... 10? OHSU hasn't even mentioned anything about their campus to the north, let alone a timeline.
I did see the model of Atwater Place. The one I was talking about above though was the building for Block 38. It hasn't been named yet. Very interesting architecture though.

And my plans aren't settled yet about whether I'll be moving into the neighborhood. I live in the Pearl right now and it's convenient. We'll be renting out the place first. When I say settled, I just meant having a basic park put in, a waterway path built, the Streetcar running, and a few cafes open. In other words, just enough to make it livable. But yes, I imagine it'll be at least 4 or 5 years before it really develops a community feel.

[MarkDaMan]

thanks for the update Flux73, I can't wait to see the street lamps!

[MarkDaMan]

In Oregonian's real estate transactions.

GHS has purchased a 38,736-square-foot office building on 2.77 acres at 3030 S.W. Moody Ave. for $7.475 million from Swinerton Real Estate Inc. George Marandas, Hadley Stevens Marandas, represented the buyer; David Hill and Eric Haskins, Grubb & Ellis, represented the seller.


anyone have further information about this?

[CouvScott]

^ nothing on Geriatric Healthcare Survey's website about the purchase. But just possibly positioning themselves near a new client, OHSU or maybe some mysterious Biomed company ready to move to the area.

[MOPIdaho]

I think the new SoWa lamp posts sound really cool, but I beleive in consistancy and don't think there's anything wrong with the 1920's ones that are in use now.
I hate to beat a dead horse but have you noticed the fancy light posts in the auditorium district. They don't look so modern anymore.

[pdxstreetcar]

i think that building that was sold was the brick office park-looking building just north of the ross island bridge.

mopidaho: do you mean the 1960s cobra lights, the new ones installed with the streetcar line or other ones?

[MOPIdaho]

I like the ones on the streetcar line, it's the the ones with the globes that I have the beef with.

[pdxstreetcar]

oh yeah those globe lights are more 60s than woodstock

[flux73]

The ones I saw (though I'm not sure they were finalized), were cylindrical. Very modern looking. But at the same time, I don't think they'll ever go out of style.

[MarkDaMan]

I think this:

They have this fan shaped canopy that will shield pedestrians from the rain while they wait at the corners to cross a street.

is innovative and brilliant!

[pdxstreetcar]

SoWa update, taken April 1, 2006:
http://static.flickr.com/38/123546821_e97f015675_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/42/123547582_498808e9c7_o.jpg

[sirsimon]

^^^^ Great pictures! :)

[MarkDaMan]

the clouds look amazing...glad to see spring is finally here!

[PacificNW]

I like that the Meriwether Towers are not identical.

[South-by-West]

I was down there just yesterday, didn't take any pics, but I can say things are coming along quite nicely. The streetcar tracks have been extended to SW Gibbs as of now - and the first station is already in place.

[flux73]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/hahn73/pano2.jpg

Hey, just dropped by SoWa to check out the progress. Curry St hasn't opened yet, but it looks about ready for move in. Anyhow, here's a photo from my short visit. Took it with my new Digital Rebel XT which I unfortunately don't have any Canon lenses for yet, so I dropped in one of my manual Nikkor lenses with an adaptor. Unfortunately, it's a bitch to focus because it focuses past infinity. Anyhow, I took a bunch and stitched it together with this cool free program called "autostitch". Voila! The photo was just taken for fun since not much has changed other than the John Ross going up a few more stories.

[sactivity]

COME VISIT MY GALLERY THREAD

MY LAS VEGAS VACATION WITH GRAND CANYON, ROUTE 66 (AZ), HOOVER AND DEATH VALLEY

56K BEWARE -- OVER 150 PICS

CLICK HERE...

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=103750

[South-by-West]

James Bond! This guy needs to be reminded of forum 'ethics'.

NO promo threads or posts!!!

Watch it sactivity

[Ptown]

im a night owl sorry but!
latest of SoWa
https://www.binaryscience.com/swf/Images/current.jpg

And here are my predictions for september!
http://images.snapfish.com/346849334%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3255%3E%3A%3C8%3E27%3A%3EWSNRCG%3D3233663682396nu0mrj

thanks Portlanders and OHSU

[MarkDaMan]

I love the topped out John Ross! The white crane might need to be raised a bit and those ugly PS building will be gone by then ;-)

That's pretty cool, thanks!

[Ptown]

i did that in photoshop

[zilfondel]

I have a whole bunch of pics I took, but I'm having internet troubles. Here's #1:

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/2716/sowa15sl.jpg

[zilfondel]

And the rest!


http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/7968/sowa25rm.jpg


http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/139/sowa37zm.jpg


http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7455/sowa108fb.jpg


http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/7259/sowa46fr.jpg


http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7751/sowa53hp.jpg


http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5513/sowa81sz.jpg


http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/1331/sowa97es.jpg


http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/660/sowa68uy.jpg


http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9562/sowa76cb.jpg


I apologize for some of the curving, my camera sucks (Nikon 2100), and I may have been off kilter a little bit on some of the shots. Also, I had to stitch one pic together to get the entire thing.

[urbanlife]

the detail to those towers is looking much nicer.

[sirsimon]

I agree. I was initially not very impressed with the Meriwether towers (especially the color) but now that they have most of the glass in they are starting to look pretty clean.

[PacificNW]

Nice...I wasn't aware there was as much glass on the condo towers. I like.

[sirsimon]

When were these pics taken, Zilfondel?

[zilfondel]

Wednesday, 4/19 - at around 3 pm.

[cab]

I was down there yesterday. The buildings are coming along nice, but I was shocked at how much concrete is being used in the public areas. That stuff may look cool new and that cold modernist look always attracts rich people, but it does NOT age well. Within a few months you get cracks and it just looks shotty. Why not use brick pavers or cobble stone, or just materials that age well. The south Auditoriam area is a perfect example of concrete aging horribly. The parks in the area would be local attractions if they had been built with cobble stone, instead they look worn out.

[pdxstreetcar]

i wonder if we are going to see more of the yaletown skinny towers in the south waterfront, all the new tower proposals have larger floor plates than the meriwether (john ross, atwater, 38, 41, alexan)

[zilfondel]

I'm curious if there was as much emphasis on each building in Vancouver's development like we are seeing in SOWA? Meriwether, John Ross, Atwater... the buildings in Vancouver seem to blend together more and work as a team, instead of each being a 'look at me! I'm special!' kind of marketing campaign they are doing here in Portland.

[pdxstreetcar]

yaletown seems to have lighter toned glass that i wish was used in the meriwether, the windows in the meriwether are quite dark.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f5/Yaletown1.jpg/800px-Yaletown1.jpg

[awg]

The majority of buildings in Vancouver are green glass and have little to no reflectivity. They also have a different energy code and can "afford" clearer glass. I think the John Ross may actually be using a green glass. The Atwater will have the same glass as the OHSU building in SOWA.

And its not just Yaletown that has the skinny floor plates. Almost every residential tower in Vancouver is between 6000-8000 sf floor plates and between 300' and 400' tall. SOWA towers are allowed between 250' and 325' and floor plates from 10,000-12,500 sf for residential.

[MarkDaMan]

Great pics zilfondel! When I see people taking pics around town, especially SoWa, I have been tempted on occasion to ask if they blog here, haven't brought myself to ask yet though.

I appreciate the materials they are using in SoWa as it defines the buildings better, I think, as opposed to Yaletown, though I would like to see smaller floorplates and taller buildings. This far into the development and I just don't think SoWa isn't going to be that skinny. I haven't seen a single proposal, even far out proposals, that are 325' with a 8000sq/ft floorplate. Downtown seems to be our best chance of getting the smaller tallers.

[asher519]

:previous: "smaller tallers"

I'm going to steal that phrase, if you don't mind :D

[pdxstreetcar]

maybe when the benson tower is finished the developer will build more of his "smaller tallers" elsewhere in town like in the sowa

[CouvScott]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/sowanc3d2.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/sowanc3d3.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/sowanc3d1.jpg

[cab]

The smaller floor plate of the Vancouver buildings makes a big difference. The PDX stuff looks sorta stocky and hard. The BC buildings are slim and feel softer, less intimidating.

[tworivers]

Public Storage demolition appears to be well under way.

That makes me happy.

Whenever I look at pictures of Vancouver, let alone visit, I just feel envious. Yaletown in particular looks much lighter, more airy, and somehow more cosmopolitan than the future SoWa represented in those architectural-smorgasbord projected-buildout renderings.

[zilfondel]

No kidding. Like glassy brutalism, particularly the Atwater.

That's part of the problem, tho... the marketing and architecture are working together to create high-end 'exclusive' type addresses. Indeed, I'm getting the feeling of 'gated communities in the sky.'

I wonder if part of the reason these towers are being designed this way (bigger floor plates) is because of the preexisting block size: can't really cram more towers into such a small 40k block size.

[awg]

My understanding of the SOWA (but I admittedly haven't read the zoning code down there for a long time):
The developers are doing what the zoning code allows. Its not any more or any less than that. Initially the code allowed 10,000 sf floor plates (for residential) and that is what the Meriwether has. The John Ross petitioned for 12,500 sf floor plates, design review accepted if it is "high quality design" and that is what the John Ross, the Atwater, and the as yet named Block 38 are deemed. Note: that a proposal the design review does not feel is high quality will be only allowed to build a 10,000 sf plate--so be careful what we wish for.
Smaller floorplates will happen (I think) given two criteria--the site demands it (a quarter block site or less is all that's available to build on) or zoning code changes. That's it. What would be the incentive? If bigger more efficient buildings are profitable, why would a developer steer away from the strategy?
Petition the planners; not the architects.

[MarkDaMan]

Whenever I look at pictures of Vancouver, let alone visit, I just feel envious. Yaletown in particular looks much lighter, more airy, and somehow more cosmopolitan than the future SoWa represented in those architectural-smorgasbord projected-buildout renderings.

I personally have never been to Yaletown, or Vancouver BC. I do plan on visiting and I hold absolutely no prejudices toward the city. I just don't see what everyone else sees in those Vancouver towers. They almost look third world to me. Although I don't find those specific renderings posted of SoWa by CouvScott to be all that appealing, the lack of variety in Vancouver's towers bother me. Too much glass with no woods, stone, or metals is fine for a building or two, but a whole neighborhood? Meriwether and OHSU H&H have beautiful skin. When the district is built those towers will be framed nicely. I tend to think the trend of nice skin will be prevelant in newer towers too. I don't see any frame in the Yaletown towers. Hell, I can barely tell which ones are under construction and which ones are finished.

What is more important to me is how the towers interact with the street. I'm grateful that SoWa is going to have so many plazas. For all the Atwater's faults, the garden they are going to build is going to cascade onto a ped only road. The towers on the waterfront will open up to a park, the tram will gently lift into the air, and the streetcar will swoosh by. I think Portland is really building and incredible district and I don't buy into the gated community in the sky theory. The massive amounts of required retail, a university, affordable housing, the streetcar and the rebirth of the lower Macadam district with their smaller (and more affordable) condo projects will turn this neighborhood into a better Pearl...

[awg]

The most interesting aspect of Vancouver is not Yaletown so much as the density of tall--and very skinny--housing towers. There are literally over a hundred in the city. It is rather striking to see in person. But to your comment on the quality of the skins in BC vs the quality of the skins in SOWA, you're exactly right (though there are a handful of very expensive high rises in Vancouver I can think of off the top of my head).
Take a look at the Benson tower (typical of the kind of quality in BC) and then take a look right next door at the Elliot. Its a big difference. But that's the trade-off.

[zilfondel]

Mark, buddy, its time for a road trip! You have to go. If you're young, in you're 20s, go stay at the Hostel in downtown, walk around town, take the bus, see the waterfront.

Must go to Granville Island market, as you have a perfect perspective on the city from there. Take the little seabus ferry. That area is ground-zero for VERY high density compared to P-town.
Go to the park on the north side. I always forget what its called. you have a great view of the city.

Where's my vacation pics?!

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7339/couvnorth5hb.jpg

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5923/couvdowntown23cq.jpg

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6210/couvfalsecreek3au.jpg

http://img290.imageshack.us/img290/5285/couvfalsecreek22bz.jpg

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/4864/couvdowntown44vk.jpg

Please don't kill me for posting BC shots in a... NW thread? nm. >:-)