[Halifax] TD Tower Expansion | 83 m | 23 fl | Completed

[terrynorthend]

Hmm. How would these be taken down? Implosion??

[worldlyhaligonian]

Why don't they just renovate BMO... its a quality tower.

Of course the HT folks only give a shit about squat old, mostly wooden frame buildings.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by DigitalNinja

Between 50-30 years. RBC was built in 1960 (50 years), TD in 1974 (36 years) I couldn't find a date for BMO but I would say somewhere in between.

TD, CIBC and phase 1 of Maritime Centre were all built in 1976.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by Empire

TD, CIBC and phase 1 of Maritime Centre were all built in 1976.

Yeah, its totally feasible that we can have a couple office developments be built here in 2010.

I'm suprised RBC Dexia doesn't have a presence in Halifax... we probably produce more Finance grads per capita than any city in Canada.

[halifaxboyns]

I will say this - the renderings are certainly a lot nicer than the model photographs that Jono had.

I got the feeling that perhaps the model may have been a rush job for the downtown summit (I noticed some of the floors seemed a little uneven). It looks to me like the colours of each building are a little different.

The BMO building is interesting but design wise, I like the RBC one. That's just me.

I've worked in the Dominion public building 3 summers in a row in university - the inside atrium of that building is amazing. I remember watching fireworks from the 7th floor (I think) where the Regional Director of PWGSC's office was (Public Works/Government Services Canada). I worked on the ground floor on the side that faces George street. Oddly enough, my boss at the time was named George!

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by beyeas

However, there is nothing especially interesting about the RBC building, and I wouldn't be sad to see it go. It's just a building, and like many bland structures they eventually come down. I will admit that I do think that in many other cities with "normal" development pacings that this would instead retire to being low rent Class B space, but Halifax isn't normal, and given that people fight tooth and nail to keep sites from having tall buildings, it is likely easier here to just knock it down and build on the same site.

As much as I won't be sad to see the RBC building go, I am not quite so much in favour of the BMO building going. I actually like that one, and it actually has some reasonable quality building materials to it.

Funny thing. I happened to be downtown this afternoon sitting in traffic in front of these buildings and took the opportunity to look at their exteriors with a view to design. The RBC is, IMO, the better-looking exterior. It has some sort of white vertical members - not sure if they are metal, stone, or something else - with a metal filler below each window, and polished black granite on the lower level. The BMO building is just early precast concrete panels with some raised vertical sections. I grant you that BMO is taller and somewhat more impressive, but I like the RBC look better. I'm not sure a glass-clad replacement is much of a step up from a design point of view, though a bigger building would obviously be more impressive.

[spaustin]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Funny thing. I happened to be downtown this afternoon sitting in traffic in front of these buildings and took the opportunity to look at their exteriors with a view to design. The RBC is, IMO, the better-looking exterior. It has some sort of white vertical members - not sure if they are metal, stone, or something else - with a metal filler below each window, and polished black granite on the lower level. The BMO building is just early precast concrete panels with some raised vertical sections. I grant you that BMO is taller and somewhat more impressive, but I like the RBC look better. I'm not sure a glass-clad replacement is much of a step up from a design point of view, though a bigger building would obviously be more impressive.

Yeah but the RBC is the worst of the lot down at street level. It's a pretty hostile presence along Hollis Street. Just a big wall.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by spaustin

Yeah but the RBC is the worst of the lot down at street level. It's a pretty hostile presence along Hollis Street. Just a big wall.

Well it looks like the new design (rbc) will be the same big wall as well.

[spaustin]

Originally Posted by sdm

Well it looks like the new design (rbc) will be the same big wall as well.

Yeah, it depends on where the floor ends up. If the glass isn't too reflective and opaque and the floor were a little lower, you would at least see into the building as you walked by. Not great, but a little better than the wall that's currently there. They could obviously do better than that though if they're redesigning it! I was just trying to say that whether or not the RBC is the superior building in terms of material, the BMO is far better in terms of its street level. It too is a bit bland at ground level, but at least it doesn't crowd Hollis and George.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by spaustin

Yeah, it depends on where the floor ends up. If the glass isn't too reflective and opaque and the floor were a little lower, you would at least see into the building as you walked by. Not great, but a little better than the wall that's currently there. They could obviously do better than that though if they're redesigning it! I was just trying to say that whether or not the RBC is the superior building in terms of material, the BMO is far better in terms of its street level. It too is a bit bland at ground level, but at least it doesn't crowd Hollis and George.

Agree, BMO building is a better at street level.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

If they're going to the effort of expanding, why wouldn't they make better use of the whole lot. The south side only goes up a few floors.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by isaidso

If they're going to the effort of expanding, why wouldn't they make better use of the whole lot. The south side only goes up a few floors.

I believe the south part of the lot falls under a viewplane while the rest does not.

Still don't like the roof shape and some improvements should be made at street level. Not sure how they intend to handle the Barrington and George corner exactly but right now the TD building has a lot of blank walls.

The Granville Street facades look okay, although I don't know why the corner facade has a giant cornice and is only 2 storeys:


Source

[fenwick16]

I wish that they would do a better job of restoring the remaining heritage building. In the rendering below, it appears as though there is a floor that is at midway height to the front window. I actually like the slanted glass roof on the TD tower renderings - it is a bit like the Founders Square slanted roof (maybe the TD Bank developer should add a circular window as in Founders Square)

(source: http://www.halifaxdowntown.ca/images )

[Empire]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

I wish that they would do a better job of restoring the remaining heritage building. In the rendering below, it appears as though there is a floor that is at midway height to the front window. I actually like the slanted glass roof on the TD tower renderings - it is a bit like the Founders Square slanted roof (maybe the TD Bank developer should add a circular window as in Founders Square)

(source: http://www.halifaxdowntown.ca/images )

It's the north facing roof elevation that looks Mickey Mouse. It's a shear slab facing CIBC and is out of sync with the rest of the roof.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by someone123

I believe the south part of the lot falls under a viewplane while the rest does not.

I see. Perhaps, Halifax's CBD should re-locate to Dartmouth where there are fewer restrictions to growth. I find the Halifax view plane requirement really daft; you can't see the harbour from Citadel Hill and people go to the waterfront to see the water not the Citadel. All they're accomplishing is helping Halifax stay stuck in a time warp and turning it into a colonial theme park.

Halifax needs to decide whether it wants to change/adapt/grow or become a museum.

[spaustin]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I see. Perhaps, Halifax's CBD should re-locate to Dartmouth where there are fewer restrictions to growth. I find the Halifax view plane requirement really daft; you can't see the harbour from Citadel Hill and people go to the waterfront to see the water not the Citadel. All they're accomplishing is helping Halifax stay stuck in a time warp and turning it into a colonial theme park.

Halifax needs to decide whether it wants to change/adapt/grow or become a museum.

Actually, this particular view plane is one that's rather important and worth preserving. It's not a sliver of harbour and the oil refinery, it's the view up George Street through Grande Parade to the Old Town Clock. In terms of views worth saving, forget the Citadel, it's this vista that's the most important and historically significant one that we have. To crowd it would be a mistake.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Empire

It's the north facing roof elevation that looks Mickey Mouse. It's a shear slab facing CIBC and is out of sync with the rest of the roof.

Reason for that is the fact that wall would require fire rating levels that would require either 1) a blank wall (which i will note is not allowed in HRM by design) or 2) glass with curtain wall sprinkler system.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by sdm

Reason for that is the fact that wall would require fire rating levels that would require either 1) a blank wall (which i will note is not allowed in HRM by design) or 2) glass with curtain wall sprinkler system.

The wall needs to be set back from the property line by 5ft. so that the fire rating can be waived. If the roof were pitched to match the south side it would be a work around as well.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Empire

The wall needs to be set back from the property line by 5ft. so that the fire rating can be waived. If the roof were pitched to match the south side it would be a work around as well.

Well i am not sure of the required distance, however one simple fact remains. No blank walls should be allowed, they are just so ugly.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by sdm

Well i am not sure of the required distance, however one simple fact remains. No blank walls should be allowed, they are just so ugly.

100% agree. Biggest problem with the TD and RBC buildings are the blank walls (followed by the lack of street level interaction... but the blank wall is the worst)