320 Granville St |115m | 32Fl | Completed

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by phesto

Correct. That's why I suggested that people shouldn't worry too much about the bland design, as it is likely just a placeholder. Chances look good that another architect would get involved after the rezoning.

Good to know!! At any rate, almost anything's better than that cheap ugly parkade.

[TwoFace]

Interesting to see this new boom in commercial office space construction in the last while.
With the current unemployment rate at 7.6% and on the rise, makes you wonder how many of these will come to fruition and more importantly, if they do, will they be competing with each other for "existing" downtown clients or did the forecasters/swamis assume that there is going to be a huge transfer of corporate businesses to downtown Vancouver from other less expensive lease locations on the lower mainland or other parts of Canada?.

[PaperTiger]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Hmm, yeah. I thought the propaganda was that nobody drives downtown to work anymore?

And who said that exactly?

Facts are there are fewer trips downtown by car and parking lot vacancies are up. Thats just the reality of the situation.

[PaperTiger]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

Interesting to see this new boom in commercial office space construction in the last while.
With the current unemployment rate at 7.6% and on the rise, makes you wonder how many of these will come to fruition and more importantly, if they do, will they be competing with each other for "existing" downtown clients or did the forecasters/swamis assume that there is going to be a huge transfer of corporate businesses to downtown Vancouver from other less expensive lease locations on the lower mainland or other parts of Canada?.

I don't believe all of these will be built this cycle , but the more the merrier IMO. There doesn't need to be a mass influx of businesses, there is natural growth of smaller firms moving up and needing more space as well as companies that may choose to move downtown to attract better workers (like Microsoft) or move into Vancouver form elsewhere (Pixar) You will see a trickle up effect in the leasing market. The A list firms will take the new triple A space. Other firms will move into their space in the slightly older buildings and so on.

I don’t think we are going to see a massive head office relocating to Vancouver and time soon. These relocations are incredible rare. If you want big head offices the most likely way is to grow them from your medium size head offices. Having space open up throughout the office market will allow more of these companies to do that downtown rather than looking to a suburban campus when they need more space.

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by PaperTiger

The A list firms will take the new triple A space. Other firms will move into their space in the slightly older buildings and so on.

I don’t think we are going to see a massive head office relocating to Vancouver and time soon. These relocations are incredible rare. If you want big head offices the most likely way is to grow them from your medium size head offices. Having space open up throughout the office market will allow more of these companies to do that downtown rather than looking to a suburban campus when they need more space.

That's what I'm thinking as well.
Probably a delicate shuffle between existing tenants moving up from C - B - A direction or maybe even downsizing to B - C. Should make for a very competitive leasehold environment.

[jlousa]

To revive the thread.

OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULED:
Thursday, July 12, 2012
5 - 8 pm
The Landing (Atrium), 375 Water Street

[LeftCoaster]

Interesting, I'm sure they aren't planning on moving forward with this thing any time soon but I wonder if we will be getting a better idea of the design.

[jlousa]

I think as others have hinted at that this might just be a rezoning proposal to get the zoning inline in order to be able to proceed quickly at a later date and not a specific proposal that they plan on building. Guess we'll know soon enough.

[Built Form]

This project is still very active and went to the UDP Aug 29th and was almost unanimously defeated. They originally pitched a unique concept of a organic twisting form then the office 'experts' dumbed it down to better accommodate office requirements. i.e. more corners
There were also objections to the encroachment of the tower to their property line thereby hemming in their neighbours.

Here's the rejected model.


























all pix by Built Form

[Dylan Leblanc]

Thanks BF!

[trofirhen]

Yikes. If that's the rejected model, then what does the "dumbed-down" version look like? The original model (in the pictures) is already rather undramatic and bland as is. The dumbed-down version must be as bland as they come. I'm almost afraid to see it. It sounds like infill, nothing more.

[Pinion]

It should be a daring design considering it is right next to the Harbour Centre lookout and right in the middle of tourist ground zero. That model is decent for Vancouver but still too blah.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Pinion

It should be a daring design considering it is right next to the Harbour Centre lookout and right in the middle of tourist ground zero. That model is decent for Vancouver but still too blah.

Try telling that to the UDP and other Presbyterian-minded burghers who run this town.

[vansky]

u know, business ppl

f%$$ think in squares, or else money.

there was a chance for creativty, and it's done, right there...

[red-paladin]

Should be retail at the base Even tiny retail units.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by vansky

u know, business ppl

f%$$ think in squares, or else money.

there was a chance for creativty, and it's done, right there...

Originally Posted by red-paladin

Should be retail at the base Even tiny retail units.

Given the prominent location of the planned building, isn't there some way to bring this to the larger scope of public attention by raising a ruckus over it, disturbing some shit? (there must be some way; this is too good a location to trash on a shoe box)

[s211]

Originally Posted by vansky

u know, business ppl

f%$$ think in squares, or else money.

Um, English please? We're not all ADD here.

[vansky]

Originally Posted by s211

Um, English please? We're not all ADD here.

s211,

anyways, since you've made a point, I should still clarify things.

You cannot expect investors to invest in shits that do not give them some kind of a maximum profit in return, because all they care about is money. Designers always want sth creative, but clients want something cheap. it's a war, and clients win, but people should open themselves up for creativity. they usually do not, we are the guys who are stuck inside our creative drive,since when will this world ever care more about creativity?

[itinerant]

I think what Built Form may have meant is that the dumbed-down version is what we see in the model. The pivot concept shown in the studies seems to have been filtered almost completely out of existence in the version put to the UDP, and they seem to have responded accordingly.

I tend to agree that the version in this model does block out the adjacent buildings. The proposal could be set back in the tower portion by about 20 feet (6 meters), with added height to compensate for the reduced size of the floorplate.

Gven its proximity to the 1920's buildings around it, I'd think the developers should step up their game and offer a premium product--which on the surface, this is not.

[s211]

Originally Posted by vansky

s211,

anyways, since you've made a point, I should still clarify things.

You cannot expect investors to invest in shits that do not give them some kind of a maximum profit in return, because all they care about is money. Designers always want sth creative, but clients want something cheap. it's a war, and clients win, but people should open themselves up for creativity. they usually do not, we are the guys who are stuck inside our creative drive,since when will this world ever care more about creativity?

Thanks for explaining. Sorry if I was catty.