Dream LeBreton [665 Albert St] | 105+120m | 31+36f | Excavation - Page 5

Matt1 · #81 Posted **May 17, 2022, 12:50 PM**

Much better than charcoal brick and white cladding but I have a feeling that this will not age well. It's imposing and heavy looking. I'd prefer a glass tower, something we don't have a lot of in Ottawa

flavour_town · #82 Posted **May 17, 2022, 12:57 PM**

I am grateful it's not another RLA / Hobin style tower. It's nice to see something different.

OTownandDown · #83 Posted **May 17, 2022, 1:04 PM**

These are awesome. Good on them for having creative use of.. brick? Is this brick?

All-glass is not a sustainable solution in today's day and age, unless you're a condo and want to sell more units and download the lifecycle cost of all-glass onto the new owner.

Its about time we got a gradient building! And I like the brutal-esque podiums.

You can't fault them for over-use of colour re:public housing. Its not like a rainbow of spandrel panels.

AND omg there's ZERO bar-code design in the cladding? Won't somebody please think of the children!?

The only issue I can see is operating that podium. If the podiums are constructed as-is, we have a poor city track record of animating an above-grade podium. Heaven help us if this becomes 2x2' patio stones and some wind-swept leaves from last year.

flavour_town · #84 Posted **May 17, 2022, 1:07 PM**

The coloured elements in the elevations are aluminum panel.

Harley613 · #85 Posted **May 17, 2022, 1:39 PM**

Now we're talking! This looks awesome! I get Rotterdam vibes from it, not Ottawa vibes, and that's a good thing. I love the clean angles on the roof with no mechanicals. These will add interesting shapes and materials to The Extended Great Clump, if not interesting heights.

OTSkyline · #86 Posted **May 17, 2022, 1:40 PM**

I like the height, the gradient/ombre colour design, the angular rooflines and the landscaping (wide sidewalks, plaza/parkette, etc)

I don't like the brutalist brown podium, reminds me of a mix of cold-war bunker and the Lester Building on Sussex. I would have much preferred the podium to continue the red theme like with the red bricks so prevalent in Centretown or that part of town. I also don't like how very little windows there are. I know it shouldn't necessarily be an all-glass tower but the lack of windows make them look old and uninvited. Plus if the cladding ends up looking like sh*t, then there's no hiding it, if there were more or bigger windows, the cladding could be a bit more forgiving.

Coho · #87 Posted **May 17, 2022, 2:25 PM**

They look like office towers..

Matt1 · #88 Posted **May 17, 2022, 2:38 PM**

After looking at it more closely, the colour gradient does look nice. I initially thought it was just poor image compression and that it would be one solid colour. Maybe it will inspire other architects to add more colours or different patterns/materials to their buildings...

But I agree with the small windows, they should be bigger or have more of them. On the floor plans, it looks like they will have door-like window openings but no balconies?

RuralCitizen · #89 Posted **May 17, 2022, 2:49 PM**

They do look like office towers!

But I think they are still fun, and since we have nothing else like it in the city, they will become iconic, a Landmark. Something doesn't need to be amazing, grandiose or complicated to be iconic. I like them!

We just need some architectural diversity, and this will be unique however simple the architectural language is.

originalmuffins · #90 Posted **May 17, 2022, 2:54 PM**

At first I wasn't too excited for it based on the initial proposal, and yeah they stand out a lot - but I really like them. Adds some variety to the skyline, I hope they start soon on them! Would've been nice if it were 40 and 38 stories but can't have everything. Looks great to me.

Uhuniau · #91 Posted **May 17, 2022, 4:15 PM**

Setbacks, setbacks, setbacks. And the turning radius on that "street" could accommodate a medium-sized navy ship.

Harley613 · #92 Posted **May 17, 2022, 4:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RuralCitizen

They do look like office towers!

But I think they are still fun, and since we have nothing else like it in the city, they will become iconic, a Landmark. Something doesn't need to be amazing, grandiose or complicated to be iconic. I like them!

We just need some architectural diversity, and this will be unique however simple the architectural language is.

Totally agree. It's just too bad that, while tall, the escarpment will make them just another row in The Great Clump.

McDonald's Racoon · #93 Posted **May 17, 2022, 7:10 PM**

Now this is what I like to see! I think the use of colour is perfect if well executed. Roof lines and general shape is good. I actually like the podium, it reminds me more of a Frank Lloyd Wright MCM building then anything brutalist.

I just hope the cladding comes out nicely...

Admiral Nelson · #94 Posted **May 17, 2022, 9:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Setbacks, setbacks, setbacks. And the turning radius on that "street" could accommodate a medium-sized navy ship.

I take the point about the turning radius, but what's the problem with the setback? The podium/tower format is generally preferred by the public at large, especially compared to downtown-style lot line to lot line developments. These towers would look stumpier if they were fatter, anyway. I think it looks pretty nice!

Harley613 · #95 Posted **May 17, 2022, 9:48 PM**

A bigger screencap from the proposal:

J.OT13 · #96 Posted **May 17, 2022, 10:06 PM**

My wife says that it looks like PdV and Place Bell had a kid on a podium of Place du Portage and Pearson.

But yeah, loving this one. I was disappointed when we saw the original concept last month, but wow, these will be stand-out towers in our skyline. Love the multi leveld podiums and terraces. Just wish it had a slightly better connection to Pimisi Station.

Harley613 · #97 Posted **May 17, 2022, 10:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13

My wife says that it looks like PdV and Place Bell had a kid on a podium of Place du Portage and Pearson.

But yeah, loving this one. I was disappointed when we saw the original concept last month, but wow, these will be stand-out towers in our skyline. Love the multi leveld podiums and terraces. Just wish it had a slightly better connection to Pimisi Station.

I like her interpretation a lot. The Lester B. Pearson building was what I thought instantly when I saw the podium.

Uhuniau · #98 Posted **May 17, 2022, 11:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Admiral Nelson

I take the point about the turning radius, but what's the problem with the setback? The podium/tower format is generally preferred by the public at large, especially compared to downtown-style lot line to lot line developments. These towers would look stumpier if they were fatter, anyway. I think it looks pretty nice!

The towers don't need to be thicc, but the podium portions could be tighter to the streets. The morphology is way more suburban than urban. And a better orientation to and relationship with the street could, for example, make pedestrian access to and from Pimisi station more comfortable by providing protection against the elements, winter and summer.

We don't value the sense of enclosure very much in Ottawa, then wonder why the city isn't more EuRoPEaN.

AuxTown · #99 Posted **May 17, 2022, 11:48 PM**

This proposal looks awesome and unique from an Ottawa perspective. At 120.2m it's going to look big regardless of the escarpment.

It is 8m taller than PDVC's 112m height and there is a less than a 20m elevation difference between the two sites. Taking into account the relative distance from most vantages west, this is gonna be beast mode.

J.OT13 · #**100** Posted **May 18, 2022, 1:07 PM**

Posted by Pat on Rail Fans Discord. Winter rendering and floor plans. Love the retro, but not necessarily outdated, look of this one.