[New West] The Shops at New West (Plaza 88) | Completed

[BodomReaper]

Dear lord. I knew it would be an ungainly beast from outside, but it seems as if they went out of their way to contrive the most hideous structure possible. Give me Fukushima any day!

Imagining this in 30 years...

[officedweller]

As stadium style theatres go - when perched alotop a podium - they are similar to the former Tinseltown Theatres at International Village in scale, but the finishing is better at International Village.

[s211]

Originally Posted by Pinion

Wow, that is worse-than-Sears awful.

Edmonton-worthy!

[NewfBC]

They should have built a 'fake' building front on there.. something to blend with the character of the area.. brick, nice windows (doesn't have to be anything behind them ), etc. What they've done is just plain nasty.

Ron.

[mezzanine]

I'm guessing those views are from columbia st...

I view this complex eastbound from the skytrain; for the most part, it actually does look impressive, as from the train you can see the different retail levels.

there is a cheezy mural coming from the quay overpass though. it's a shame that they cheap-assed some relatively inexpensive details.

[agrant]

If you look at it in terms of a parking facility, it's beautiful.

[SpongeG]

i like it - i must be in the minority

[invisibleairwaves]

Yeah, that Columbia side is pretty ugly. A lot of people seemed to dislike the Carnarvon facade but even that would be an improvement IMO. There's so many good ideas to this project but they were executed so poorly.

[McPaul]

From a resident perspective, I love it. I think it integrates quite well with the square across columbia and they are working to improve it i think it integrates well with carnarvon st as well once the tim hortons entrance is complete Every suburban theater has that sort of gaudy colorful back wall so if you don't like that, you don't like theaters.

If you look at the constraints they had: rail, truck route along Columbia, could not build the 8 story parade below grade, poor design of macinness overpass, i think they did a damn good job.

Sorry for using Calgary examples. As I have not seen a movie in a theater yet in Vancouver, this is all I know, but I think if you were to build a theater over top of an above ground parade, this is typical of what it would look like.

Chinook
http://maps.google.com/?ll=50.995081...p=12,93.2,,0,0
 
Collesium
http://maps.google.com/?ll=50.908269...p=12,84.7,,0,0
 
Westhills
http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.015172...28.07,,0,-2.26
 
Country Hills
http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.155857...=12,89.83,,0,0
 
Crowfoot
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=movie+...147.5,,2,-3.75
 

[invisibleairwaves]

Originally Posted by McPaul

From a resident perspective, I love it. I think it integrates quite well with the square across columbia and they are working to improve it i think it integrates well with carnarvon st as well once the tim hortons entrance is complete Every suburban theater has that sort of gaudy colorful back wall so if you don't like that, you don't like theaters.

If you look at the constraints they had: rail, truck route along Columbia, could not build the 8 story parade below grade, poor design of macinness overpass, i think they did a damn good job.

Sorry for using Calgary examples. As I have not seen a movie in a theater yet in Vancouver, this is all I know, but I think if you were to build a theater over top of an above ground parade, this is typical of what it would look like.

Chinook
http://maps.google.com/?ll=50.995081...p=12,93.2,,0,0
 
Collesium
http://maps.google.com/?ll=50.908269...p=12,84.7,,0,0
 
Westhills
http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.015172...28.07,,0,-2.26
 
Country Hills
http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.155857...=12,89.83,,0,0
 
Crowfoot
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=movie+...147.5,,2,-3.75
 

I think the the difference here is that the colours aren't an integral part of the theatre's branding, they're just a tacky attempt to spruce up a very unimaginative blank concrete wall. Totally avoidable had they chosen to go the extra mile and do something interesting with that very prominent side of the building. And that's the other problem; unlike the other theatres, this isn't a forgettable building in the middle of a giant parking lot in the middle of suburban nowhere, it's a massive urban project in a historic downtown area.

I agree about the integration and what they had to work around...I think some of the pedestrian-related concerns were a little overblown. But from an aesthetic perspective, it's really underwhelming and probably won't age well at all.

[SpongeG]

i love the colour blocks - reminds me of europe for some reason

[vanman]

Greenwalls, banners, a couple of setbacks, fake windows, and lots of brick would've made a world of difference.

[SpongeG]

but than they just look like fake windows

it is what it is a big box theatre on top of parking no matter how you try to pretty it up

its not even the main facade - the only people who are even going to see it are those who live in the towers across the tracks and people crossing the overpass - people zipping by on columbia street won't even notice it

i like it cause its different who needs more faux heritage - thats just tacky

[agrant]

I see some mural opportunity... with the unpainted concrete.

[dleung]

A developing country could have executed this better

[giallo]

^ They have.
Shanghai is just finishing up the ICC building on Huaihai Rd.(office, retail, hotel and residence) which is built on top of two subway lines, and it looks a million times better. The new Jing An Kerry Centre (office, Shangri-La hotel, residence and a HUGE four floor F&B and retail mall spanning one city block, is also built on top of two subway lines, and without a doubt will look better. It won't be finished until the end of the year, but you can already tell that the quality at street level is high.

I'll snap some photos of the ICC and Kerry for comparison.

[vansky]

Originally Posted by giallo

^ They have.
Shanghai is just finishing up the ICC building on Huaihai Rd.(office, retail, hotel and residence) which is built on top of two subway lines, and it looks a million times better. The new Jing An Kerry Centre (office, Shangri-La hotel, residence and a HUGE four floor F&B and retail mall spanning one city block, is also built on top of two subway lines, and without a doubt will look better. It won't be finished until the end of the year, but you can already tell that the quality at street level is high.

I'll snap some photos of the ICC and Kerry for comparison.

really? i'm in sh, i'm gona go take a look later , hahaha.

[giallo]

^ Go for it! It's a beautiful day to do so.

[SpongeG]

we have to look at the tenants

dollar stores, nail salons, sandwich shops and low end retail, a grocery store some coffee shops and a movie theatre

its not high end and therefore a high end product is not really warranted

its not like its housing hermes, louis vuitton, gucci, or even the gap or H&M

its a downmarket commuter convenience strip mall and that seems to have been the developers aim - they could have never tried to open and house a high end luxury mall in new west

if this one were to be home to a shangrila hotel than yeah maybe a higher end would be justified but its a safeway and a shoppers drug mart and a movie theatre basically

[dleung]

It's definitely no Berlin Hauptbahnhof, but the issue here isn't money but design. Resources were wasted on trying to "diversify" the various surfaces and facades, which ended up looking super tacky. A glass awning would be brighter and cheaper than the big soffit overhang they have over the lower mall.

Hauptbahnhof:

http://www.lagunabeachbikini.com/ama...e/DSC_2437.jpg