General rating of the project

  • Great

    Votes: 8 7.2%

  • Very Good

    Votes: 15 13.5%

  • Good

    Votes: 39 35.1%

  • So So

    Votes: 13 11.7%

  • Not Very Good

    Votes: 16 14.4%

  • Terrible

    Votes: 20 18.0%
  • Total voters
    111
Hi.
I have seen Comments about the chances of Commercial Space in this Complex as Such.- Stores etc. What
I have Wondered about is How it all fits in with the 3rd bldg if It Gets Built. I would Correctly Presume that the
Commercial Space would add to the Over All of the 3 Bldgs in Terms of Sales of Condos/Rentals plus the
Economics of the Project Rather then Only Two Bldgs being Built and the 3rd Tower in Limbo for a Few Years.;
This if I am Correct Happens a Lot, Yes?No?,
Tnx, Operater.
 
Was looking for Cidex projects to see if they have any good podium designs, and noticed that The Hat @ Old Strathcona is wayyyyyy better than anything else they have done. Looks to be that way because Edmonton administration forced it to be that way in there DC.

Here is the rendering:
1583346023169.png


And here is the provision in the DC that IMO forced the design to be far better:
1583346126393.png


I know i keep beating the drum that architectural controls can provide much better outcomes for podium design, but i really think this is neccessary when you look at how bad most of these Cidex (and other developers) podiums are turning out in this city.
 
And now we just get garbage spandrel and or metal panels. I would prefer brick. Always brick.
 
Mountain Man said:
Calgary mandated traditional materials and all that in East Vic Park in the early 2000's, we call it Stampitecture.
Click to expand...
Just because we have a couple dogshit examples of brick use in the early 2000's, doesn't mean we shouldn't mandate better materials on podiums today. How about if the design looks like shitty Stampitecture, they address that at UDRP.

I am more inclined to think it'll turn out more like South Bank if we require better materials at grade. Spandrel should never be acceptable as a material used at grade imo.
This is unacceptable podium materials imo:
1583348646715.png


In every way i think using warmer and heavier materials at grade looks better. Even older examples from the mid-2000s i prefer over that:
1583348976214.png
 
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Don't get me wrong, I'm not slamming brick, I am slamming the city trying to dictate it's use though. Let Architects decide what the materials are, hopefully Developers won't always Value Engineer it into easy trim and hardie panel or EIFS.
 
Mountain Man said:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not slamming brick, I am slamming the city trying to dictate it's use though. Let Architects decide what the materials are, hopefully Developers won't always Value Engineer it into easy trim and hardie panel or EIFS.
Click to expand...
But developers are doing exactly this. They are value engineering their projects and using cheaper materials to increase profits at the expense of the public realm.

I don't think the city's policies were perfect and in fact, a bit misguided, which gave rise to the Stampitecture style. However, I think it could have been effective if it stressed the importance of quality materials and design rather than enforcing the replication of traditional styles of a different era.
 
Developers will value engineer anythng, regardless of the city's position on materials and design. All the stampitecture here used the cheapest brick they could possibly get, and it looks like garbage 10 years later.
 
Mountain Man said:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not slamming brick, I am slamming the city trying to dictate it's use though. Let Architects decide what the materials are, hopefully Developers won't always Value Engineer it into easy trim and hardie panel or EIFS.
Click to expand...

I get what you're saying, but by the City not having any restrictions on materials and design at grade, we ensure heavily VE'ed projects can't be objected to at UDRP because they have no policy or plans to reference. Calgary has no standards for Form and Character guidelines for what is acceptable to submit a DP application, and because of that UDRP has little to no teeth to do anything about bad materials and design. If we set at least basic minimum standards for the design and materials (not just saying brick), we could hold developers accountable for bad designs and garbage materials on podiums, especially since we are handing out so much easy height and density everywhere on inner city Land Use Redesignation applications.
 
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It amazes me that we have no minimum standard. It's absolutely insane. I too think Stampitecture was a horrid outcome of misguided design policy but as others have mentioned we should be able to mandate minimum quality materials without dictating the design.
 
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