[adamyyc]

View attachment 408904

I think this going to turn out pretty well. It’s already better than the renders since they removed all the stairs up and down and opened up half of the retaining wall.

 

[Surrealplaces]

I cycled through Marda loop (Altadore side) on Sunday and noticed quite a few nice little developments in the area. It's an area of Calgary that has flown under the radar for most Calgarians...even myself who passes through there a fair bit. I've been up and down 33rd and 34th, but haven't spent much time exploring the rest of the area. It's a neighborhood that's really on the move.

 

[artvandelay]

Wildly overstating it's importance.

It's almost 150m back from the edge of the bluff, and in fact the ground slopes down towards it so it's around 10m below the edge of the bluff. You could probably build eight stories here before it's even visible from 30th Ave in Roxboro, and that's ignoring the plentiful mature tree canopy. From the Elbow River at 26th Ave in Mission, in theory you could see anything above around five stories built here, but in reality the large houses in Roxboro and the trees mean you typically can't even see the bluff. In fact, here's Mission Road heading southbound approaching 30th Avenue. If you look on the horizon just to the right of the dangerous and meaningless "share the road" sign, you might see that the horizon is a little flat. That? Is an eight storey apartment building; actually one of a complex of four, built right on the edge of the bluff -- not well back from it. And note this is without leaves on the deciduous trees. If someone were to propose 30 stories here? Sure, that's a big building that will stick out. But anything that is feasible will be basically invisible until you turn the corner halfway up Mission Road (or turn off Macleod), but if we start worrying about people being able to see buildings when they're within a block of them, then we've got a lot of buildings to rip down.

View attachment 408694

It's not on a busy road, it's on Mission Road, which is about as quiet as a road can be and still actually connect places in the inner city. The last count just south of here had around 8,000 vehicles a day, two-way. Of course, this is a road in a long standing community and so I would hope that the long standing character of the community should be acknowledged -- Mission Road had 11,000 vehicles a day in 1987, so it could handle almost a 50% increase and still be within long standing community traffic volumes. The traffic flow maps put out by the City don't label roads with volumes this low, so it's hard to find a direct comparison, but Memorial Drive in Sunnyside has high-end residential along it and four times the daily traffic volume of Mission Road. 5th St and 8th St both have higher volumes south of 17th Ave than Mission Road; Elbow Dr has twice the volume.

"The welcome mat to Mission?" Get over yourself. Let's just say I'm shocked that you revealed this potential development site is In Your Back Yard.

Why you heff to be mad?

Calgary Housing has built some crap projects as of late (I realize they are putting up affordable housing but that's no excuse for Hardiepanel + Easy Trim) so I think Mull is right to be concerned as it is a very prominent site. A project similar to Mission34 would work nicely on this site.

 

[Alex_YYC]

Bridgeland 1st ave

 

[Silence&Motion]

 

[haltcatchfire]

Someone has seen Brooklyn's clocktower penthouse.

 

[adamyyc]

I was wondering if the intention of the clock is as a window when I walked by today.

 

[Silence&Motion]

The view of the strip mall across the street is not quite as picturesque as the East River.

It's a shame the clock doesn't line up directly with the view terminus down 19 st. The proportions are a little off as well. Nonetheless, points for doing something quirky and interesting.

BTW: In case you're wondering why they've planted and added patio furniture before the building is finished, it's because there was a street festival in front of the building on Friday. I overheard one of the builders say they were trying to dress it up to give people an idea of what to expect.

 

[zagox]

This one got refused by CPC yesterday. Required 18 (I think) substantial relaxations from the M-CG rules (the zoning for the property), that planning commission felt was just too much.

The Terrigno's are appealing this one, board report is here

Among other reasons, Terrigno says the appeal is on account of the City "accepting late written submissions of alleged members of the local community"

A nice quote from CPC: "With 18 relaxations across 7 major rule categories, the contextual rules are being completely ignored and circumvented. The encroachments into the bylawed height chamfer are shocking and there is honestly not a single circumstance that I can think of where having an elevator core in a front yard would be an appropriate contextual response."

Terry Wong was the only vote for it at CPC, interesting that he was also the only member of CPC to get a campaign donation from Mike Terrigno...

 

[CalgaryTiger]

Someone else is trying to build an apartment in Marda Loop... See if this one gets the requested land use change. Like the other rejected locations this is a pretty good location for this. Close to 14th and the River Park. Fairly new architect (SPHERE), no website but looks like they incorporated in March 2021.
DMAP

 

[Silence&Motion]

 

[Surrealplaces]

Kind of an odd looking form, but I like the function.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

View attachment 421355

Say what you want, that's a Glow Up!

 

[Silence&Motion]

The proportions are all off. Makes you realize how difficult the Beaux-Arts tradition of architecture actually was. It was more than "slap some ornamentation on a box". It was, "make sure the building's layout, structure, and ornamentation all cohere into a harmonious totality". It probably would have been better if they just made this building modern and minimalist.

 

[CBBarnett]

The proportions are all off. Makes you realize how difficult the Beaux-Arts tradition of architecture actually was. It was more than "slap some ornamentation on a box". It was, "make sure the building's layout, structure, and ornamentation all cohere into a harmonious totality". It probably would have been better if they just made this building modern and minimalist.

One thing that's kind of unique about this Marda Loop development is that the builders really are trying something very intentionally, particularly at the ground level and exterior. I don't recall many construction sites that plant their garden and clean up the sidewalk prior to even finishing the structure.

The overall architecture is kind of a strange mis-mash of proportions and styles, but it is a rare case where the front pedestrian access and garden were clearly a priority all along, rather than something compromised for the building itself or completely ignored.

Overall I don't like the look, but the function and intention is good and will work with the context and the similar building next door. Creates a strange (for Calgary) but ultimately enjoyable off-main street pedestrian and retail experience. More of this approach should be everywhere.