Waterfront Hub v2.0

[logan5]

Vancouver is getting close to the 3 million mark, so maybe this a time around, an actual waterfront hub will develop. Interesting concept that befits a large city.



https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/wate...er-transit-hub

[Klazu]

Massing is completely off on that vision. Not liking it.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Also still a conversation piece, not an actual proposal. It'll continue to be a glorified office complex until 3.0 comes around and there's a Hastings Line and something else to justify a hub.

Kudos for ditching the bus loop though, that one never really made sense. The walkway looking down into the railyard is actually kind of cool (unless it's just the lighting?).

[Changing City]

I wonder what Cadillac Fairview will think about having their two existing office buildings demolished, (one only 20 years old) and losing the site of the potential tower to the east, and getting a new structure that supposedly could house a 500,000 sq ft civic/cultural hub. Doesn't seem like a great bargain for them. They don't own the tracks or the land to the north of the tracks, so there's no benefit to CF if they are developed.

[mcj]

The transit concourse in the 2009 proposal was much more realistic. I doubt CPR is willing to completely reconfigure their yard to accommodate this. I'd like to see the following implemented in a revision of this proposal:

• Scale down the transit concourse to something similar to the 2009 proposal for the initial phases. Keep the structure ready for if we ever see another heavy rail line to Waterfront station (likely HSR if anything, but that will likely be tunneled within the downtown peninsula so build the structure such that a large area below could be excavated for this).
• Expand the Skytrain concourse to be the primary transit focal point, including adding a connection between Expo and Canada Lines, with either a third track or small Skytrain yard to accommodate a future Hastings line.
• Break up the massing of the office towers. This is Vancouver, wide and tall buildings aren't going to blend well into the point towers behind them.
• Add some nightlife & entertainment presence, places like Rogue and Steamworks do well at this location currently, we should expand on that. As well with this being at the foot of Granville Street and the edge of Gastown it would serve well to link the two main nightlife districts of the city.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Keeping in mind how the '09 version also covered up the rail yard under a street grid and added a bus loop. Neither is exactly practical.

[officedweller]

You can see the bias in the design:
- demolishing the only remnant of Project 200 and favouring lots of glass
- massings set far away from the heritage station

Comments:
- the waterfront office building forms a massive wall (and probably still breaches the view cone!)
- the office buildings are remote from the rest of downtown and there doesn't look to be much retail frontage
- the foot of Granville isn't opened up because the roof will still block street-end views
- the massive roof will be expensive to maintain - think of all the seagull poop and remember that the Plaza of Nationa roof was demolished at maybe 25 years old.
- the eastern park is probably the site of Phase 3 of the Vancouver Convention Centre and the office block blocks connectivity with the other convention halls.

The office block sort of looks like The Well:


https://curiocity.com/the-well-toronto/

[Migrant_Coconut]

Maybe if the glass roof were limited to the south concourse and slanted down toward the park (so it can "self-clean" during a rainstorm?). It's an interesting premise with bad execution.

[jollyburger]

What about the heliport?

[ilikeredheads]

lol that glass roof will be a maintenance nightmare. It's highly impractical and inefficient use of space. The tower should be above the rail tracks, like in the 2009 concept.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

What about the heliport?

Pfff, helicopters are so last century. Welcome to the future, we autonomous droneport now!

(The platform at the very top)


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/wate...er-transit-hub

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by ilikeredheads

... The tower should be above the rail tracks, like in the 2009 concept.

Same problem as the Whitecaps stadium: CP's transporting too many hazmats under it.

[ericmacm]

I like it. The massing is obviously more conceptual than anything at this point and it will certainly be refined down into something more practical. Dedicating tons of space to a wide-open rail station with integration into the SeaBus terminal is the right way forward. The office tower designs need to be refined into something more realistic, but I am sure it will look great in the end. I wish it were possible to build some towers over the tracks, but it makes sense to prohibit that for safety purposes.

I am not a big fan of the demolition of the two existing towers. If those towers absolutely have to go, the city should finally let CF build at 555 W Cordova.

[djmk]

I'll wait for Hub 3.0 to reach the north shore before I get excited about this seagul poop glass monstrosity

[MIPS]

Demolishing two towers for that is a pretty damn hard sell. That looks more arranged for an ultra-dense heavy rail hub that we can't feed.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by djmk

I'll wait for Hub 3.0 to reach the north shore before I get excited about this seagull poop glass monstrosity

Originally Posted by MIPS

Demolishing two towers for that is a pretty damn hard sell. That looks more arranged for an ultra-dense heavy rail hub that we can't feed.

FWIW, I agree with both of the above statements. First off, IMHO, it is singularly ugly, in and of itself. Secondly, those trains underneath look as if they are in a big city
with a lot of commuter rail. Redesign the whole thing, make it elegant, and let's not get into delusions of grandeur.

[Changing City]

Some other random thoughts...

It would be interesting to see the SeaBus operate with single side loading.

I'm not sure what year this is meant to be, but I'm surprised they chose to move the hospital's Pattison Pavilion eight blocks to the east. And I see Concord still haven't built NEFC; I wonder if the viaducts are still standing?

It's great to see they found the money to build the HSR. I wonder where all the freight went? Not to mention the dangerous cargoes that was one of the unresolvable problems for the Whitecaps stadium.

Richard Rogers retired this summer - it looks like he's been doodling in his retirement.

[jollyburger]

I was going to ask if they could move the heliport to the top of a building

I wonder if there's any issues with that. They banned them in NYC because of accidents.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

I was going to ask if they could move the heliport to the top of a building

I wonder if there's any issues with that. They banned them in NYC because of accidents.

I think that'll be OK. This is, after all, a fantasy thread set quite some way in the future if the HSR is running.

[Sheba]

I wonder how many of you read the article...

It should be strongly emphasized that Perkins&Will’s concept is not an actual proposal — its design was created as a case study to ignite public interest and discourse on the forthcoming discussions on the future of Waterfront Station. Such a concept would certainly carry a multi-billion dollar construction cost.