[RyLucky]

There are good things happening architecturally all over Canadian cities right now. I wouldn't be too quick to throw either Vancouver or Toronto to the top of the pile though. Where both those cities do excel is in single family homes - and I am (earnestly) talking about high-design and thoughtful architectural taste. There are dozens of neighbourhoods in both cities that give Mount Royal a run for its money. When it comes to multifamily, both Van and TO have a lot to offer, but only very rarely does a private development truly raise the bar of what is expected in the market. It's the Vancouver convention centre, the Canada Line Stations, the new rec centres, and the Sea Wall that give Vancouver its architectural merit - not condos. For Toronto, it is its heritage preservation - including sites like the Distillery District and MARS that contribute the most to architectural character. Private developments are just the engine that pulls the cart. There's almost nothing inherent about the market that drives true taste. /endsnobrant

Calgary is right to be proud of its little music centre, riverwalk, and library. We steered the cart well... and that's a good thing because our cart keeps trying to build strip malls by the ring road instead.

 

[AJX]

I'm happy with the direction Calgary has been going, and I thin Calgary can hold its head high even compared to the bigger cities when it comes to individual projects like Studio Bell, The Bow, the library, the Peace Bridge, etc.. I'm happy with the evolution of inner city Calgary, and the level of design in our inner city neighborhoods. Maxwell bates in Mission, Lido in Kensington, Steps in Bridgeland, are examples of the bar being raised .

 

[AJX]

Even though I think there are plenty of other individual examples, you want to know what the iconic Vancouver building is? Look at any modern condo tower or new high rise district in in Canada. The only reason people are bored with Vancouver design is because it's been co-opted (or via Vancouver architects expanding their reach) to become the standard look across the country. What's happening in the East Village in Calgary, or the waterfront of Toronto, Vancouver has been doing for 3+ decades now. And it's not just condos. I look at the new YYC terminal, and it looks like something you saw at YVR in the 90s.

And even if you're not a fan of that look, the architecture and design in Vancouver has had a regional stamp to it unlike any other larger Canadian city. They forged that particular Pacific-look that combines glass, bare concrete, and timber in a way that I think is quite lovely for their surroundings. Yes, they're running with one type of aesthetic, but I think it's a particularly good one.

And is it really that bad that things look consistent? Personally I find the cohesion much more pleasant then what we see in Calgary, where it's a giant mish-mash of styles from block to block. I mean what's our distinct look? We just jump from trend to trend, whether it be historicism, or pixelated spandrel, or brown stucco...and then bulldoze it all down in 40 years. Even our recent architectural gems (NMC, The Bow, Telus Sky, Library etc) don't really share anything that you could point to and say "yeah, you know that says Calgary". They are all designs that could easily live elsewhere..and in many cases, already do.

Consistency, especially when it's of high quality, is not a bad thing when it comes to city building.

I agree with some of your points DiscoStu, and I tend to like consistency too, but not in the case of Vancouver. It's a personal preference, but I prefer consistency in the context of European cities or even older eastern NA cities like New York or Washington. High quality or not I find Vancouver's consistency monotonous. I liked the look of Vancouver better 15 years ago when they had a better mix of styles. As Oddball pointed out, as good as many of the buildings are, few if any would stand out in other large cities. I'm not sure any other than Vancouver House would even stand out in Calgary (general looks wise, not quality)

 

[UrbanWarrior]

I didn't know the original spandrel was white, that's a shame because, yes it would've been better. It would've been a very light airy looking building in amongst all the dark gray buildings . Thankfully they didn't go with gray and at least went with black .

Yeah this is what the original proposal looked like...

 

[Always_Biking]

Damn, kind of like that white spandrel. I think the black will still be good though.

 

[UrbanWarrior]

I think this tower would still be amazing with shit brown spandrel. The black will look sleek and dramatic, and that is something we need in our city. The LEDs at night will also make this tower a god damn showstopper, especially during Pride Week, and during NHL Playoffs whenever the Flames are in them.

 

[Spudski]

Well damn. I didn't know about these LEDs. That's gonna look unbelievably cool.

 

[Patrick.1980]

Those alternating LED lights are totally 'Asian'. I like it, though some might not.

 

[UrbanWarrior]

Just imagine how Telus Sky, with its LEDs, will look in the night skyline with City Centre's LED rooftop and the spectacular lighting feature currently being constructed in the crown of Brookfield Place. Calgary will look positively "Asian"

 

[maestro]

This is probably the best modern LED scheme I've seen for a high rise in Canada but, the stuff being done in Asia is spectacular. They have whales swimming on supertalls. City Centre's is just meh. Brookfield's should exudes quality. The lightbox concept however is about as common a lighting scheme out there. Several towers in Calgary have it.

 

[Alex_YYC]

It would be cool if the lights lit up starting at the bottom and worked their way up to the top

 

[UrbanWarrior]

Maybe that will be one of the functions. We'll see in a couple of years

 

[Surrealplaces]

 

[Surrealplaces]

Maybe that will be one of the functions. We'll see in a couple of years

Could be. With the programmable technology around nowadays I could see that.

 

[DiscoStu]

The cynic in me is wanting to see how the LED's hold up to Calgary's weather in the long-term before getting too excited with the light shows. Here's hoping the technology has come a long ways since the Arriva days.