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View Poll Results: What do you think of the design?
I love it! 156 44.70%
It's good. 134 38.40%
I don't like it. 28 8.02%
Nuke it from Orbit (waste of taxpayers dollars) 31 8.88%
Voters: 349. You may not vote on this poll

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  #61  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 8:52 PM
gorebug gorebug is offline
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Originally Posted by furrycanuck View Post
I love it, but I think it should be called the Chinese Fingertrap Bridge.

I quite like the bridge myself, but it is clearly a stent.
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  #62  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 8:56 PM
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Originally Posted by gorebug View Post
I quite like the bridge myself, but it is clearly a stent.
I was thinking the same thing, but I couldn't recall what they were called.
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  #63  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 8:59 PM
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Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary View Post
let the suburbanites wail
Count me as one suburbanite who's positively enthralled by it, and will be there on or shortly after opening day to experience it. Believe it or not, we have to have SOMEWHERE to go with our SUVs and sometimes we do bring the Hummer into downtown.

I think this is a perfect balance between style and practicality. I know some of you are disappointed about no arch, no bend, but to be honest I much prefer it this way. Straight and to the point. Wheelchair accessible, and bicycle-friendly. And it doesn't meander all over the damn place trying to look "cool".

A lot of people dislike these fancy bridges for exactly those reasons - they are a pain in the arse because you have to walk twice as far just to get somewhere, or hump over stairs, or what have you. I bet many of the folks complaining about this bridge before would have complained twice as loud if this sucker had a huge bend in the middle - so hopefully this wins over a few more fans.

I also like how it ties in with what seems to be Calgary's colours. A nice bright red is fantastic in a city composed (most months) of brown, brown, and more brown, with the occasional blue-green glass on a highrise. Plus, red against the bright blue of the Bow will look fantastic.

Two thumbs up!
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  #64  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Wooster View Post
Share your opinion on the herald comments section!

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Calgary...221/story.html
Well I added my two cents to the Herald's comment section... we'll see how they go over or if they just get lost in the roar...

Quote:
Like it or hate it, I think this bridge has accomplished what it needed to do. Great design often invokes polarized discussion, and this bridge definately does that. People may be talking about how they hate the look, but at least people are talking about it, which for me is a big step forward for this city. One other part of this story that seems to get lost is that the project cost includes $500,000 to fund a design contest for a second pedestrian bridge in the East Village, with the cost of construction paid for by CMLC. This contest will be open to all the local design firms that have boasted that they could have designed a bridge that would rival this one in appearance, and at a lower cost. The bar has now been raised for any future river crossing and it will soon be time for our local architecture firms to put up, or shut up. It challenges everybody on the next project to show that they can do better and that the decision to give the project to Calatrava was misguided. The citizens of Calgary will be the ones who ultimately benefit from this.
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  #65  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:02 PM
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^^You make some good points there Freeweed.
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  #66  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freeweed View Post
A nice bright red is fantastic in a city composed (most months) of brown, brown, and more brown, with the occasional blue-green glass on a highrise. Plus, red against the bright blue of the Bow will look fantastic.
Agreed! I've been harping about more color in this city for that exact reason!
I woudn't have minded an all white designer either, but the boost of color is definitely a nice change. If this was a local form doing it, Im sure it would've been diarrhea brown.
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  #67  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:05 PM
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1. The comments in the Herald article are pretty funny. It seems like most people honestly believe this thing will be entirely glass-covered. Great reading comprehension there, folks.

2. Dare I be the first to say it? THIS is a "world class" bridge. Not some boring concrete span. If Calgary wants to look like anything more than a big Ft. Mac (sorry folks up there) this is exactly what we need. I bet EnCana could have saved a ton of money by building a plain concrete box, too.

3. Any bets how long this takes to hit the national (or even bigger) news?
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  #68  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:07 PM
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  #69  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:07 PM
oldschoolcalgary oldschoolcalgary is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freeweed View Post
Count me as one suburbanite who's positively enthralled by it, and will be there on or shortly after opening day to experience it. Believe it or not, we have to have SOMEWHERE to go with our SUVs and sometimes we do bring the Hummer into downtown.

I think this is a perfect balance between style and practicality. I know some of you are disappointed about no arch, no bend, but to be honest I much prefer it this way. Straight and to the point. Wheelchair accessible, and bicycle-friendly. And it doesn't meander all over the damn place trying to look "cool".

A lot of people dislike these fancy bridges for exactly those reasons - they are a pain in the arse because you have to walk twice as far just to get somewhere, or hump over stairs, or what have you. I bet many of the folks complaining about this bridge before would have complained twice as loud if this sucker had a huge bend in the middle - so hopefully this wins over a few more fans.

I also like how it ties in with what seems to be Calgary's colours. A nice bright red is fantastic in a city composed (most months) of brown, brown, and more brown, with the occasional blue-green glass on a highrise. Plus, red against the bright blue of the Bow will look fantastic.

Two thumbs up!
sorry, i know that a lot of people on this board do live in the suburbs, but really appreciate architecture as well...my generalization is just that...

i am hopeful that the bridge, once built (knock on wood), will change people's minds...
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  #70  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:09 PM
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I think it's pretty sweet. A lot better than the bridge recently proposed for False Creek in Vancouver...
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  #71  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freeweed View Post

3. Any bets how long this takes to hit the national (or even bigger) news?
I don't know I live in E-town still, they usually censor this kind of stuff

OOoooooo

k I'm joking

national news-within a week??
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  #72  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freeweed View Post
1. The comments in the Herald article are pretty funny. It seems like most people honestly believe this thing will be entirely glass-covered. Great reading comprehension there, folks.

2. Dare I be the first to say it? THIS is a "world class" bridge. Not some boring concrete span. If Calgary wants to look like anything more than a big Ft. Mac (sorry folks up there) this is exactly what we need. I bet EnCana could have saved a ton of money by building a plain concrete box, too.

3. Any bets how long this takes to hit the national (or even bigger) news?
Define "world class"?

To me, world class means being one of the best in the world and I don't think this bridge cuts it. It's a nice bridge, but far from world class.
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  #73  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:30 PM
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Looks interesting enough. Love the red, which is nice to see after being bombarded with "Banff Beige" all these years. Should be named "The Blinky Bridge" though.
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  #74  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian View Post
Define "world class"?
I've mostly given up on the semantics game, because it's a meaningless term for the most part, but here goes:

You know when you visit major cities, and there are certain things everyone takes pictures of? That everyone who's been there talks about? That can show up in a movie shot and you instantly know where you are? That tend to dominate your memories of a place, even though there's tons of boring mundane crap in every city - but that stuff just doesn't "stick" in your mind, and you only remember the highlights?

The Calgary Tower was "world class" in its day. As is the CN today. Or the cathedral in Montreal. Or the Expo pier in Vancouver. Maybe "iconic" is more what I'm thinking of.

I just see this bridge as something you'd easily find in a European or Asian city. As opposed to just about every other bridge in this country, which tends to be flat, grey, and overall uninspired. This bridge, any city would be happy to have. The rest? Yay, another bridge just like the 15 we already have.

While this bridge may not have quite the impact on the skyline that I'm thinking of, considering the constraints I think it does an admirable job of completely changing the view into downtown. I honestly would place this on par with the Bow in terms of appearance.
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  #75  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:36 PM
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I like the bridge. Whatever your opinion of it, you have to agree that it's going to be the subject of many photographers, especially when lit up at night.
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  #76  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:39 PM
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I wonder what the other bridge he was supposed to design but hasn't been funded for construction will/does look like... or was that part of the project squashed?
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  #77  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:43 PM
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Originally Posted by mooky View Post
I wonder what the other bridge he was supposed to design but hasn't been funded for construction will/does look like... or was that part of the project squashed?
He was never going to design that bridge.
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  #78  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:48 PM
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love it.
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  #79  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:48 PM
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Oh. Perhaps I misremember. Was is just in the original budget for a design of the second bridge, but not specifically by him then? Cause in the past I thought all the talk was off two bridges being planned, but only the first was funded for construction.

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Originally Posted by You Need A Thneed View Post
He was never going to design that bridge.
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  #80  
Old Posted Jul 28, 2009, 9:52 PM
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Originally Posted by mooky View Post
Oh. Perhaps I misremember. Was is just in the original budget for a design of the second bridge, but not specifically by him then? Cause in the past I thought all the talk was off two bridges being planned, but only the first was funded for construction.
No, the original budget had a number included for the design of the second bridge (by the east village), to be designed by someone else (likely a design competition), and funded by the CMLC. So, the second bridge is funded, just not by the city.
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