[Halifax] Hydrostone Place | 25 m | 7 fl | Completed

[Empire]

Originally Posted by sdm

EMPIRE do you hate new buildings, developers, and the world you live in?

This world is not perfect, and not everyone is going to like each building the same as the other person.

Its architecture, and subjective. Some like it, some don't.

I am sorry you don't like "progress"

I would like to see International place start immediately at 24 storeys, I supported the twisted sisters because it didn't involve demolishing built heritage and the design is top notch. I think the height in the cogswell st. interchange area should be increased. I want to see more of a Montreal approach where heritage buildings are perserved but dense towers are built in close proximity. A lot of buildings in Montreal incorporate heritage buildings but they are large enough that they don't have to be torn down and a replica facade rebuilt.

[Takeo]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Knowing Halifax and the people who are likely to want to be on such a committee, in all likelihood this sort of faux-classical crap is probably what the design committee would want.

I think you'd have to be an architect or planner to be on such a committee. No architect worth their salt would want 'faux-classical crap'. And in any case, it's better than what we have now... which is zip... nada... anything goes.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Empire

I would like to see International place start immediately at 24 storeys, I supported the twisted sisters because it didn't involve demolishing built heritage and the design is top notch. I think the height in the cogswell st. interchange area should be increased. I want to see more of a Montreal approach where heritage buildings are perserved but dense towers are built in close proximity. A lot of buildings in Montreal incorporate heritage buildings but they are large enough that they don't have to be torn down and a replica facade rebuilt.

We will never be like Montreal empire, we don't have the quality heritage buildings like they do.

But many of those large projects in montreal actually have facades approach.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Takeo

I think you'd have to be an architect or planner to be on such a committee. No architect worth their salt would want 'faux-classical crap'. And in any case, it's better than what we have now... which is zip... nada... anything goes.

Yeah, maybe, but keep in mind that it was an architect who gave us this. Actually it seems to be standard practice. I was driving downtown today and saw similar stuff on Waterfront Place and also on Renaissance Place, both of which date from about 20 years ago.

But my original thought was that the do-gooders like Bev Miller or Betty Pacey would be typical of those who would want to be on such a committee.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Yeah, maybe, but keep in mind that it was an architect who gave us this. Actually it seems to be standard practice. I was driving downtown today and saw similar stuff on Waterfront Place and also on Renaissance Place, both of which date from about 20 years ago.

But my original thought was that the do-gooders like Bev Miller or Betty Pacey would be typical of those who would want to be on such a committee.

Good point Keith P. I don't know how you would pick the committee but there should be a mix of heritage minded plus ultramodern proponents. I think some of the poor designs are not so much the choice of the architect but stem from budget concerns from the developer.

[someone123]

Yes, the reality is that architects produce this stuff, although many of them seem to have a wide range of quality in their portfolios. Something else to note is that people specifically tend to ask for tacky faux-heritage features in the public meetings, or they want to scale down features until they look fake.

I would imagine that many buildings in the city have actually come out looking worse as a result of public consultation. Most of the striking buildings constructed in other cities have some kind of strong leadership and vision behind them. As we all know, that's seriously lacking in Halifax, and what we get is lowest common denominator "design by committee".

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Empire

Good point Keith P. I don't know how you would pick the committee but there should be a mix of heritage minded plus ultramodern proponents. I think some of the poor designs are not so much the choice of the architect but stem from budget concerns from the developer.

We live in Halifax, not Montreal, not Toronto etc. The market economics’ here don't allow fancy designs and or expensive materials. Hopefully this will change over the next few decades. It is sad, but it’s the reality we face here.

Of course the designs driven by function of a budget from the developer, they are after all the investors with the money and expect a fair return.

Hopefully you know that each corner you put into a building drives the cost up. That’s why for many years you saw the square box designed apartment buildings. Now we are seeing more designs like garden crest, 5800 south, Lexington, Gladstone (of the ones built).

Further to that, the limited density/ height the city is allowing increases the costs per square foot and doesn't leave much for expensive materials and or designs.

And as for the committee i think this is a dangerous idea personally. This city needs to start acting like a publicly traded company in that they want people to invest in their city and not make it too hard to do so. Make it hard or unattractive then the investors will look else wheres.

[Takeo]

Originally Posted by sdm

We live in Halifax, not Montreal, not Toronto etc. The market economics’ here don't allow fancy designs and or expensive materials. Hopefully this will change over the next few decades. It is sad, but it’s the reality we face here.

I disagree. Expensive materials don't make an attractive building... thoughtful design does. Good design doesn't have to be "fancy" or utilize expensive materials. Some of Frank Gehry's early work used simple materials like chain link and corrugated metal. His famous 'wiggle chair' is made from cardboard. In the case of Hyrdostone Place, it would have actually cost LESS to delete the faux metal roof. And filling out the lot may have cost less since they would have had more condos to sell or maybe retail space to rent. Yes, copper, limestone, redwood, stainless steel, glass, etc, are nice... but you can still do good design without those expensive materials. The problem is bad design. Sadly, most Architects in Halifax produce pretty average work.

p.s. As long as I'm talking about Frank Gehry, here is an interesting link about how Gehry has managed to produce some of his later and amazing complex works on time and on budget:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_the_artist

[Dartman]

There's a newly renovated building on the corner of Yonge and Agricola where that Super Natural Health Products building was. The outside looks nice, and I walked in the other day and the interior is absolutely beautiful. They've added a really nice high end classy cafe serving specialty drinks and panini's that have won awards in 'The Coast'.

Anyways, I was talking to the owner and there is still alot more to come. He said that they will be added to the Hydrostone community, and they're opening upstairs for music events and spoken word stuff; there's also going to be fireplaces and fountains added in. Overall, I would say it's a nice addition to the North End and I would encourage you guys to check it out.

The Cafe is going to be named 'Humani-T'. They're having a grand-opening after Christmas but they're already started to serve customers.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Dartman

The Cafe is going to be named 'Humani-T'. They're having a grand-opening after Christmas but they're already started to serve customers.

They need to think of another name.