Burrard Place | 168m, 112m, 56m | 54fl, 36fl, 13fl | 938,000 sqft | U/C

[trofirhen]

I agree with you that the project needs a complete re-design. The extra height (what there is of it) is great, but that "honeycomb" structure on one side is IMHO, bizarre and unsightly.

I think it should be remembered that this is not just another major tower. It is a tower that marks the entrance to the downtown core, and as such, it should be of superior (at least) architectural standard. It should make an elegant statement.

What is an elegant statement? IMHO, the Wall Centre is a good example. I'm not saying imitate that in particular, just put up something that will leave as good
an impression as WC does ... (now THERE'S a challenge)!!!!

[dreambrother808]

Everyday I walk past WC and still cringe at it's dual-glazing issue though. In terms of form, yes it's something to inspire.

[Mininari]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Great news, lovin the extra height for the location, should really pop if they can get the height... and for once I echo Hed's architectural criticisims of this thing, it is just too much of a hodge-podge disaster for me to like it at all.

Yeah, it looks like another Vancouver Condo... except stretched upward a lot.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

Everyday I walk past WC and still cringe at it's dual-glazing issue though. In terms of form, yes it's something to inspire.

I can understand the color-scheme not being to your liking. A number of people don't like that. (I do, but that's neither here nor there)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
However, yes, the form is really what I'm talking about. I'm not saying Burrard Gateway should ape WC necessarily, just that it should be elegant and striking. The color scheme can be figured out later (although I hope they choose something reflective or solid, without spandrels showing through)

Whatever the case, I hope it isn't just a tall-but-bland sterotypical Vancouver special.

[navazan]

isnt the one wall's color scheme due to a last minute decision to make the top third "blend" into the sky? twas originally all supposed to be dark. i think its not bad looking...just kinda odd. as for this burrard proposal... barf. they have been blessed with the ability to build a decent sized structure, they had better make their mark in a good way. gotta have curves.

[Spoolmak]

WC isn't even that nice. It had the right idea, but it is 2 times too short, and 2 times too thin, plus the colout scheme is a joke. Why would anyone use WC as an example. That building is only nice from far, far away. Up close it's a monstrosity

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Spoolmak

WC isn't even that nice. It had the right idea, but it is 2 times too short, and 2 times too thin, plus the colout scheme is a joke. Why would anyone use WC as an example. That building is only nice from far, far away. Up close it's a monstrosity

... which begs the question: What do you consider a good example? which building could be a "role model?"

[Spoolmak]

Bentall, or the two twin buildings at wall center, I believe the Sheraton? Those are good 'role models'

[Zassk]

Hmm... I find those Wall Center twins to be horribly generic and already dated.

[officedweller]

Interestingly (or not) I think the Trump Tower Toronto and the older Wall Centre towers have similar massing with the prow on the corner (TTT is just taller).
I do think that the prow is a dated look.

[trofirhen]

Whatever individual tastes may be, I think that the height and position of Burrard Gateway main tower call for a complete architectural overhaul, rather the way 1021 West Hastings had.

This is one of those prominent locations in the city, where the government eased up on height, and which mark the entrance to downtown in a dramatic way, coming over the Burrard Bridge.

As it is, the current design, in my opinion only, is standard Vancouver blaaaah, with a dash of trashy taste thrown in. We deserve something really classy and outstanding that will endure the test of time regarding design.

Shape? Colour? Form? Forumers can slug it out amongst themselves, but what is on the table simply isn't good enough. Not for that location, anyway.

[jlousa]

You forgot to add "in my opinion" to the end of that rant.
I can assure you while some don't like it, there are others that do.

Not a dig at you, but I'm genuinely curious do you care this much about the developments happening in Paris where you live?

[Canadian Mind]

I'm meh on the design. I like the height, and like the general concept of the design. But something besides height should be done to make it stand out. A unique glass colour and stonework, Ala HG 3, would be an awesome start.

[flight_from_kamakura]

i spent a fine pair of years going to school in paris a little while back and got so into developments there that i was going to meetings and such. the real problem is that there aren't all that many things going down - you have defence and bercy, the outer inner ring developments and one-offs like the redesign of les halles, but really very little else. so i followed vancouver news pretty avidly then, too, there was just a lot more happening. and over the past couple years, i've been living between sf and montreal, with only occasional trips back to vancouver, and still, this is the development news i follow the most, again, partly because there's not so much happening in sf and montreal (though i still follow both obsessively), and partly because there's a lot happening in vancouver. it's hard for forumers who've never really left the old vanistan there to get how neat it is to observe such radical re-development of places so well known, and in real time. so kudos to you, mr hyperbolic expatriate, keep it up!

as for the burrard 163 meter tower, i wish it were like bright blue or multi-colored or shardlike or something just completely different. we have a sense that the vision is of a real significant presence, hefty massing so that there's a real sense of entering the downtown core, but it doesn't need to be so generic. renders remind me of a cross between patina and the "georgia gateway" that is spectrum.

[officedweller]

The aspect of the design that I find disappointing is that it's meant to be a landmark when viewed from Burrard Bridge - yet the side seen from the bridge is really the back and side of the taller tower. It could better "address" the bridge.

[mr.x]

If someone can find the original 1133 West Georgia rendering for the overhaul of the infamous skeleton, the Burrard Gateway design has its similarities with that concept.

[giallo]

I'm the same way, yet I live in a city that is building a ton of stuff.
Vancouver development just interests me more than Shanghai development. It's a way for me to connect with home I guess.
Having said that, my opinion might change when the Shanghai Tower really starts taking off ( I have an almost-unobstructed view of it from my bedroom window ).

Originally Posted by flight_from_kamakura

i spent a fine pair of years going to school in paris a little while back and got so into developments there that i was going to meetings and such. the real problem is that there aren't all that many things going down - you have defence and bercy, the outer inner ring developments and one-offs like the redesign of les halles, but really very little else. so i followed vancouver news pretty avidly then, too, there was just a lot more happening. and over the past couple years, i've been living between sf and montreal, with only occasional trips back to vancouver, and still, this is the development news i follow the most, again, partly because there's not so much happening in sf and montreal (though i still follow both obsessively), and partly because there's a lot happening in vancouver. it's hard for forumers who've never really left the old vanistan there to get how neat it is to observe such radical re-development of places so well known, and in real time. so kudos to you, mr hyperbolic expatriate, keep it up!

as for the burrard 163 meter tower, i wish it were like bright blue or multi-colored or shardlike or something just completely different. we have a sense that the vision is of a real significant presence, hefty massing so that there's a real sense of entering the downtown core, but it doesn't need to be so generic. renders remind me of a cross between patina and the "georgia gateway" that is spectrum.

[peters]

http://www.straight.com/article-3794...benefit-planet


The urban jungle that more than eight million New Yorkers call home is the greenest city in America......

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by jlousa

You forgot to add "in my opinion" to the end of that rant.
I can assure you while some don't like it, there are others that do.

Not a dig at you, but I'm genuinely curious do you care this much about the developments happening in Paris where you live?

Here it's rather different. Paris "intra muros" that is, within the Périphérique expressway, undergoes fairly little change. The areas of Paris that DO undergo change are in the suburbs, where office parks spring up. Also, new buildings are going up at La Défense, across the Seine, in Courbevoie, but that's not within the city, where I live.

Perhaps the most interesting infrastructural project here is the "Supermétro," which, when finished, will outsize and out perform just about any other rapid rail system in the world, although that's not for a couple of decades off.
*
You might say I have one foot in Europe, and one foot back in Vancouver.
*(p.s: I did add "in my opinion." It's in the third sentence of my rant)

[jlousa]

Like all of the higher buildings this will be subject to a panel to ensure architectural excellence.
The panel has been announced it'll be

Mr. Jack Diamond is the founding Principal of Diamond and Schmitt Architects, which has received numerous national and international awards for design and sustainability. He is a Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medalist and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He is a member of the Order of Ontario and an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Mr. Rick Cook is a partner at Cook + Fox Architects. This New York based firm is well known for combining innovative and beautiful designs with the highest standard of environmental responsibility. Its work includes three LEED® Platinum projects in New York City, including the new Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, the second tallest tower in Manhattan.

Mr. Bing Thom has earned an international reputation for innovative responses to integrating a range of commercial, residential and cultural uses to create a vibrant and sustainable whole. His distinguished career has been recognized with membership in the Order of Canada for his contributions to architecture.

Mr. Richard Henriquez is a highly regarded local architect who is responsible for a number of prominent high rise buildings in Downtown Vancouver. Mr. Henriquez has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

This is scheduled to occur in April and if things go well this could be approved by early this fall.

The only other projects that have gone thru this process are...

1120 W. Georgia – (“Shangri-La”)
550 Bute – (“The Melville”)
1133 W. Georgia – (“Vancouver’s Turn”).

so hopefully this will give some comfort to the those that still aren't sold on the design.