[Halifax] The Vuze at South Village (Fenwick) | 106 m | 36/10/8 fl | U/C

[someone123]

This thread is for discussion of the renovations and new buildings planned for Fenwick Tower and adjacent lands.

Location: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...08041&t=h&z=18

Old thread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=152348

[Ramako]

I was at the open house for this yesterday (my gf lives in Fenwick) and the NIMBYism seemed amazingly restrained. I think most of the neighbours were slightly concerned by the increase density and massing, but appreciated how much of an improvement this would be over the current state of affairs.

The developer did a good job of explaining the though process that went into the various design elements, such as the curved roof.

[hfx_chris]

Would have been beter to have moved the thread, rather than create a new one and cross-link back to the old one.

[Jonovision]

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

Would have been beter to have moved the thread, rather than create a new one and cross-link back to the old one.

I would agree. It's a pain to have to repost the images again, and I can't even copy the txt from the previous thread.

[Jonovision]

Oh and in response to a question regarding the basement Joe sent me this to post:

hey jon.. just saw on skyscraper that someone was asking about the structure and basement.. fyi we're already in the process (since july) of a 2 million$ hydro demolition and re shoring the entire 3 underground levels of parking, by this spring the 3 underground levels will be completely brand new concrete structures with new re-inforced rebar slabs and columns (no additional columns the concrete is basically being blasted down to the rebar, and new rebar is being installed, and then the columns and slabs are all being re poured).. we already have about 25% of the underground parking upgraded..

thanks




And in talking with lots of the people there I was surprised the the amount of people who knew about this page. All of Napiers people were talking to me about it. They said they were reading here and liked the critiques and feedback. So don't think that we go unnoticed here.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

Oh and in response to a question regarding the basement Joe sent me this to post:

hey jon.. just saw on skyscraper that someone was asking about the structure and basement.. fyi we're already in the process (since july) of a 2 million$ hydro demolition and re shoring the entire 3 underground levels of parking, by this spring the 3 underground levels will be completely brand new concrete structures with new re-inforced rebar slabs and columns (no additional columns the concrete is basically being blasted down to the rebar, and new rebar is being installed, and then the columns and slabs are all being re poured).. we already have about 25% of the underground parking upgraded..

thanks




And in talking with lots of the people there I was surprised the the amount of people who knew about this page. All of Napiers people were talking to me about it. They said they were reading here and liked the critiques and feedback. So don't think that we go unnoticed here.

That is a good point. Maybe this link should be sent to all the developers if someone were to be so inclined?

[Keith P.]

It's a shame that the writing on the sketches is so illegible.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

It's a shame that the writing on the sketches is so illegible.

Yah it looks like my mom's handwriting (and shes a doctor).

I quite like the full rendering. With the new slanted roof perhaps added a bit of height Halifax could have a 100m+ building in the future (King's Wharf pending).

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

It's a shame that the writing on the sketches is so illegible.

That's writing??
I thought they were just trying to be artsy...

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

Oh and in response to a question regarding the basement Joe sent me this to post:

hey jon.. just saw on skyscraper that someone was asking about the structure and basement.. fyi we're already in the process (since july) of a 2 million$ hydro demolition and re shoring the entire 3 underground levels of parking, by this spring the 3 underground levels will be completely brand new concrete structures with new re-inforced rebar slabs and columns (no additional columns the concrete is basically being blasted down to the rebar, and new rebar is being installed, and then the columns and slabs are all being re poured).. we already have about 25% of the underground parking upgraded..

thanks

Thanks for the information. I had to read your post a couple of times and refer to Wikipedia before I understood that "hydro demolition" was a method of removing old concrete. Maybe this is common knowledge in the construction industry but for those who have not heard of it, here is the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodemolition .

[Takeo]

With regards to making the tower bigger (the build-out on the Fenwick Street side)... I was speaking to one of the Architects involved and she pointed out that the existing south wall is a big ugly blank concrete face. So the idea there is to take advantage of the south light and views by designing a glass clad addition. Not to mention presenting a much lighter and more "human" face to the street. This bump out adds more interesting detail and breaks up the verticality of the tower since it won't be the full height of the building. It's a good thing. The sketches also suggest perhaps a rooftop garden / lookout on top of this addition. Lots of great ideas.

The logical question would be, why not just reclad the south wall as is? I did not think to ask that question... but my GUESS is that this might be a shear wall. If that's the case... it's structural. The west and east walls are clearly just concrete curtain walls that can be re-clad at will. But the north and south walls may be shear walls.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Takeo

With regards to making the tower bigger (the build-out on the Fenwick Street side)... I was speaking to one of the Architects involved and she pointed out that the existing south wall is a big ugly blank concrete face. So the idea there is to take advantage of the south light and views by designing a glass clad addition. Not to mention presenting a much lighter and more "human" face to the street. This bump out adds more interesting detail and breaks up the verticality of the tower since it won't be the full height of the building. It's a good thing. The sketches also suggest perhaps a rooftop garden / lookout on top of this addition. Lots of great ideas.

The logical question would be, why not just reclad the south wall as is? I did not think to ask that question... but my GUESS is that this might be a shear wall. If that's the case... it's structural. The west and east walls are clearly just concrete curtain walls that can be re-clad at will. But the north and south walls may be shear walls.

From the information that I have read on this forum, a stairwell will be added to this section to add a second fire route. However, maybe I misunderstood.

[Jonovision]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

From the information that I have read on this forum, a stairwell will be added to this section to add a second fire route. However, maybe I misunderstood.

You are correct. I'm pretty sure there is only one stairwell in the building now, so a new one will be added.

[JET]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Thanks for the information. I had to read your post a couple of times and refer to Wikipedia before I understood that "hydro demolition" was a method of removing old concrete. Maybe this is common knowledge in the construction industry but for those who have not heard of it, here is the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodemolition .

The blasting: this week there's been 3 loud toots on a horn, followed by a boom. I can feel my desk shake on the 6th floor of the VG hospital !
Must be something to be right next door to fenwick. Got to love that bedrock. JET

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by JET

The blasting: this week there's been 3 loud toots on a horn, followed by a boom. I can feel my desk shake on the 6th floor of the VG hospital !
Must be something right next door to fenwick. Got to love that bedrock. JET

oh THAT'S what that is! I could hear the horn from my backyard on Walnut street, and had no idea what it was for (because I am too far away to feel the rumble afterwards).

[fenwick16]

It sounds like hydro-demolition is similar to a very high pressure water spray. I wouldn't think that it would make much noise or any load booms unless something gave way. I know that very high pressure water can be used for cutting through inch-thick metal (water jet cutting). Hydro-demolition might be a similar type of process.

[Takeo]

Not sure why we need a new thread, but here are my pics again... taken at the Open House last night. These are much higher resolution than what's on the Facebook Group. There were a ton of boards so I just shot a few of the more representative ones.

To orient yourself, the townhouses are on Fenwick St. The arced roof over the mechanical penthouse "opens" towards South St.

- First sketch is looking from Fenwick Street.
- Second is looking from South Street.
- Third is from Fenwick again (note the townhouses).
- Forth is just an interesting early sketch. A small thumbnail from a larger board (macro mode is your friend... as is a point and shoot camera with a bright enough lens to shoot indoors without a flash).

[kph06]

Originally Posted by Takeo

This drawing shows the sloped roof, the high side which appears to be all glass is on the Citadel Hill side. It probably just comes down to personal preference, but my first impression when I saw this was it looked backwards. The architecture school has a similar roofline, and it points out to sea. This building will stand out on the skyline, so I think it is awkward if it looks like it has its back to the ocean, the Iconic tower at King's Wharf will look out the harbour entrance.

The flip side of this however is the restaurant, that was originally the plan for the top floor would have a nice view of the city. So again, probably just personal preference.

[RyeJay]

Do you also feel that the VIC's roof is backwards?

[kph06]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

Do you also feel that the VIC's roof is backwards?

No, I get that design, I like it. I just would have done Fenwick the opposite as it is, but I'm not the architect or the developer.