Reimagining Ottawa’s architecture

[Urbanarchit]

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[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by defishel

1) Because the stores aren't flushed to the street, but are instead separated by columns.

I'm not sure why that matters. The use still animates the street, and the mini-colonnade has the benefit of bringing the building as a mass to the street.

But the reason why we don't build buildings the same way we used to is because we've improved on them. I'm sure you've heard about the invention of the modern skyscraper, right?

Yip. I'm sure you've heard about the door, too, right?

And how many materials used in the past are no longer healthy to use for construction, or maybe they require too many unrenewable resources.

Fun fact: modern construction materials can be used to build buildings that function the same way they did 50, 100, 500 years ago and don't look like crap.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Have you not been toour ~Blue Glass~ district

Be respectful of the future Heritage District!

Granted most of these buildings look like crap and most non glass buildings built in the last 20 years are also crap.

A subset of the rule that 90% of everything is crap!

[Harley613]

I posted this elsewhere but it belongs here as well. I'd love to see something like 56 Leonard being built in Downtown NYC in Ottawa in 10-15 years.

[Urbanarchit]

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[J.OT13]

40 storey version of it around Catherine. That area would be a nice showcase for these kinds (along with SoBa) of out-of-the-box condo buildings.

[Urbanarchit]

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[Harley613]

I've often dreamed of having something like Potzdamer Platz in Berlin on Lebreton Flats. I've been there a couple times and it's a truly mindblowing expression of functional mixed-use development.

[J.OT13]

Now that is what I call world class, one of those places where as soon as you see it, you know it's Berlin. Now here in Ottawa, we opted for some of the most lacklustre condo buildings in the world right there at the base of these awesome cliffs. Since Le Breton Flats is bellow of the escarpment district, we could have opted for some tall architectural gems without affecting the Parliamentary precinct’s dominance of the skyline.

Anyway, I’m hoping Bayview might be redeveloped into something similar to this with the ORT rail hub at its heart. Make it a tourist destination with a new museum of Science and Tech (go all out, something even more awesome than the museum of Civilization), shops (500,000 sqft of retail), restaurants, hotels (1,500 rooms), (dare I say an NHL arena of 25,000 seats). Add in a couple million square feet of office space and a few thousand condo units.

[kevinbottawa]

I'd love to see designs like these in Westboro:

The Hazleton Hotel





The Berczy

[kevinbottawa]

I'd love to see something like the design for the Sutton Place hotel redevelopment, aka The Britt, in Ottawa. Pretty classy.

[OTSkyline]

I love both of these... Don't they already have a couple of buildings in Westboro that look like the proposal posted above? Still nice though..

And that tower, I love! I love it when there is an interesting podium and when they diversify the use of materials! (Precast/concrete podium with glass and all glass tower). It seems as if in Ottawa it can only be one or the other, either all glass (like The Mondrian) or All precast (with windows) like CP, Merrit, etc...

[J.OT13]

I like this one in, like you said, Westboro or any other traditional main street.

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

And the tower, magnificent! Great for the northern part of Centretown or Rideau Street.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I'd love to see something like the design for the Sutton Place hotel redevelopment, aka The Britt, in Ottawa. Pretty classy.

Wow! I thought that was going to be a new build but it's a total overhaul of an existing building?

[J.OT13]

One block I wish they would have kept. The RBC building built around 1960, a stunning example of mid century modernist, along with Morgan's department store (bought out by The Bay and opened as such until HBC bought out and moved to Freiman's) and other historic buildings. These buildings were raised around 1980 for the construction of the giant cube D'arcy McGee Building.







Three pictures above from http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2013/05/r...oyal-bank.html

And today;

[kevinbottawa]

Here's some older buildings I wish we still had in our city. These designs look so rich and have so much character.

[Harley613]

I love the D'arcy McGee building! One of the only truly unique buildings in Ottawa and it's like a last hurrah for modernism before postmodernism and neomodernism took over. The old buildings were cool but I wouldn't give up what's there now.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Here's some older buildings I wish we still had in our city. These designs look so rich and have so much character.

-Old post office. I too am impressed with that building, but considering it was torn down for the war memorial, the only thing I would consider to be a true monument in the city, I'm at peace with it.

-Old city hall. Similar to the original parliament. At least it wasn't demolished (although it likely would gave been for the NAC had it not burned down years earlier).

-The Rideau Club (closest to the Langevin block) burned down. Looked much better than the desolate plaza and "modernized" wall of the old info centre. The other buildings between the Victoria tower (not in picture) and that small building on the right of the picture were demolished (?) for the old US embassy (not a fan) and a parking lot. Definite losses.

As for the D'arcy McGee building, I personally preferred what was there in the 60s, but mostly I absolutely hate its Metcalf and Queen façades.

[Urbanarchit]

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[J.OT13]

I loved how the area east of Elgin were a continuation of the urban fabric. Although I like the War Memorial and even the NAC to a point, I feel that something is missing. That is partly why I was in favour of moving Rideau Station (although a fourth station would have been the ideal solution to better serve Elgin and the Escarpment district). If and when they build a new glass entrance to the NAC, it might liven up that corner of downtown somewhat.

The reason for the design of the D'Arcy McGee is likely because of light bylaws (or something to that effect) for Sparks and so they went all out for the northern façade and cheaped out on the rest.