[Silence&Motion]

UCalgary President's house (late 60s)
View attachment 442348

Interesting: https://asc.ucalgary.ca/building/presidents-residence/

It boggles the mind to think that U of C would have considered building a large, elaborate mansion on campus as a residence for the president. People are still grumbling about Elizabeth Cannon renovating the executive offices a decade ago. If it had been built, I imagine the President's House would have become a popular spot for holding student protests (especially in the late-60s/early-70s).

Edit: I'm now reading up on university presidential houses in general. How did I not know this was a thing? It seems that most Canadian universities have gotten rid of them or converted them to other uses.

 

[darwink]

^ They're good for holding receptions, or if suitable housing is hard to find (hello Vancouver!). They can be considerably cheaper than paying relocation expenses including lawyer, realtor, moving and the big one in some provinces, land transfer taxes, for every President, plus the cost of booking other venues over the years.

Really more of a reception and dinner venue which also houses a residential component. Now, buying/renting/using an existing house, far off campus, negates many of the savings, and then it is mostly a perk.

 

[Silence&Motion]

^ They're good for holding receptions, or if suitable housing is hard to find (hello Vancouver!). They can be considerably cheaper than paying relocation expenses including lawyer, realtor, moving and the big one in some provinces, land transfer taxes, for every President, plus the cost of booking other venues over the years.

Really more of a reception and dinner venue which also houses a residential component. Now, buying/renting/using an existing house, far off campus, negates many of the savings, and then it is mostly a perk.

That makes sense, especially given that many universities do have large stocks of faculty housing for these very reasons. I guess my initial shock was just how centrally located and ostentatious this particular design was. The closest existing example I can find is the Norman MacKenzie House at UBC, which is on the outskirts of campus and hidden behind gates and a forest.

 

[Chinese_T]

...Nightmare

View attachment 442762

View attachment 442761
..

After posting that, I did some research on the towers and found this updated render on the original architect's website...

 

[Mountain Man]

Looks better, but still far too busy! Glad they never happened.

 

[YourBoy007]

Real fucking shame. This would have been on top of Lacey Court across from Central Memorial Park. 2015.

D-Talks: Building Iconomy – Formed Alliance Architecture Studio

faasarch.com

 

[CalgaryTiger]

Real fucking shame. This would have been on top of Lacey Court across from Central Memorial Park. 2015.

View attachment 444016View attachment 444017View attachment 444018View attachment 444019

D-Talks: Building Iconomy – Formed Alliance Architecture Studio

faasarch.com

I think this lot has a DP for a Child Care space.

 

[Mountain Man]

The street interaction looks awful, glad that never happened either! Across from Central Memorial Park should be retail, restaurant and patio space, not a sterile corporate lobby. It's also frustrating to see amenities on top of buildings like that, that space is always taken up almost entirely by mechanical equipment.

 

[Nimbus]

LOL, look at that dude about to destroy that burger.

 

[Mountain Man]

Does he have 3 arms? kind of confusing... Balloon guy is in the 3rd render too! haha

 

[haltcatchfire]

Why is there a guy on a horse in Chicago on a platform in the middle of the building?

 

[Mountain Man]

Also, the Stampede parade doesn't go down 12 Avenue. Were these renders even serious?

 

[Silence&Motion]

Also, the Stampede parade doesn't go down 12 Avenue. Were these renders even serious?

Obviously the building would be so beautiful that they’re reroute the parade just to walk by it.

 

[Dārayavauš]

I think Terry Wong and the seenu or association voted or protested against it, but I still don’t understand why since Chinatown really needed something like this. It’s mostly older people living here and they need to attract younger people.

Because there was concern that the older residents would be at risk from an increase in traffic as a result of *checks notes* developing a parking lot.

Terry Wong truly just sucks in all honesty.