All of them so far have been really bad except Cube.

I am hopeful for the Fina and Barron buildings though. As well as the one near the Calgary Tower currently underway.
 
IMHO I don’t think any of the projects to date or the future have a mandate to be eye catching buildings. The purpose is to turn empty office buildings into much needed housing (affordable). I’m sure the vast majority of taxpayers would be happy that their $$$ aren’t going to vanity projects. End of the day lower costs result in more projects and ultimately more tax revenue for the CofC
 
A desire for nice buildings isn't vanity as it doesn't have to cost much more. Unlike Cidex, most of these are replacing all of the existing facades and adding balconies in the floor plan. That's an additional expense.

Ugly is ugly. We shouldn't see new construction any different from beauty challenged 1970s towers we wish to be demolished but, we do lower our standards for new construction.

Cladding is superficial to living space. A developer cheaping out on cladding is also going to cut corners on interior layout and finishes. It's in the hands of buyers and renters to demand better either by not buying or renting garbage or putting pressure on national building/energy codes with more substance.
 
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IMHO I don’t think any of the projects to date or the future have a mandate to be eye catching buildings. The purpose is to turn empty office buildings into much needed housing (affordable). I’m sure the vast majority of taxpayers would be happy that their $$$ aren’t going to vanity projects. End of the day lower costs result in more projects and ultimately more tax revenue for the CofC
No one is asking for eye catching...if anything, going for a simpler color palette on this one rather than the blue spandrel that clashes with the brown exterior would be a huge help. On the other nearly completed conversion a few blocks away, simply choosing a material other than siding would have sufficed.
 
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That can’t be finished can it? Are they missing white panels? It looks like it’s got protective film or something on the grey sections.
 
They'll probably paint the concrete. In my experience, dark grey is far and away the most popular choice.for these brown concrete renos in North America. I prefer white.

As it stands now, the one and only prominent change to the original design still looks like shit.
 

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