[Hydrogen]

Their window art plant life looks like its been through a weed-whacker.

 

[WaterlooInvestor]

I saw this thread so I've joined the site in order to provide an update:

October 21, 2007​

 

[alklay]

Thanks. I really like the cladding. There is nothing wrong with a little decoration and whimsy.

 

[SP!RE]

Those panels are very artistic and very gorgeous--- they look like pieces of china.

 

[WaterlooInvestor]

They are. It's definitely different and at first I didn't really like it, but as more panels go up it's starting to look kind of cool - although it's still too early for me to tell for sure. One of the Architects is Robbie/Young + Wright, who also helped to design OCAD, so it might be one of those projects that people either love or hate. Here are some renders representing the ultimate School of Pharmacy and satellite School of Medicine facility:

October 28, 2007 Update​

By the way, there's a lot of other construction going on in Waterloo Region as well (Bauer Lofts, Kaufman Lofts, Arrow Lofts, 560 Queen St Apartment, InnoTECH, UW Optometry Expansion, UW School of Accountancy, etc..) so in case you're interested in following it all, here's a new site: www.wonderfulwaterloo.com . If you are interested, please join and discuss booming KW.

 

[Edward Skira]

I drove by it yesterday and for the first time noticed the flowers in the cladding. Looks pretty good in person. Good location as well as it is starting to connect Waterloo more closely to downtown Kitchener.

 

[FutureMayor]

I love it! I always check out the site when I'm visiting Waterloo region.

This will be a great shot in the arm for downtown Kitchener at such an important gateway.

Louroz

 

[waterloowarrior]

feb 13th update

 

[urbandreamer]

It's not awful but it does heighten the fact there's so much dead parking space around Kitchener Waterloo. Behind the UW building is a very nice area with old Victorians and narrow little streets: Strange St is strangely very beautiful and I might wanna buy a house there someday (I lived nearby for a few years.)

Also, the Kaufman loft building is very interesting from a Toronto POV: While Toronto loft/condo dwellers are very snooty and self centred the Kaufman (single women) are very friendly and easy to chat up. You can catch them dog walking on weekends...

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Maybe because living Downtown Kitchener isn't by any means "chic" and really the people in there now are the pioneers and the free-spirits that make up pre-gentrified neighbourhoods. Wait a few years and that'll pass.

Uptown Waterloo is definitely a lot snootier.

 

[jn_12]

certainly not the ugliest university building in Ontario... that prize goes to Trent's Gzowski College's Swiss Cheese building that basically spits on everything Thom envisioned. It is essentially what happens when the Native Studies Dept. gets to have a lot of say in building infrastructure.

 

[urbandreamer]

There's a new (it opened in October I believe but first time I've heard of it) little coffee and pastry shop beside the Bauer Lofts development I went in last Saturday: not too bad. Yeah I'm wondering now if the true urban pioneers live west of Guelph Line--I'm bored by Toronto it seems.

Uptown may be snootier but trust me, it's still a bore....

Hadn't been to Guelph in ages either--that place is sprawling all the way to 401--insane!

 

[Archivist]

It's good to see handsome, thoughtful projects in the K-W area. (Or is it the KWC area? KWGHP? KWGHPG?). Certainly, after Toronto and Ottawa, they seem to be Ontario's third city in terms of thoughtful projects. I can't think of much in, say, Hamilton or London, that has piqued my interest - but I'd love to be proved wrong.

Anyways, I think time will tell with this building. I saw it at some point last year and thought it would be a mall or something - because I assumed the one glass panel I saw was a corporate logo that wasn't complete. I'm pleased to see that it's a daring building, and I think it will be great.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I'm getting tired of the growing popularity of using glass and steel beams in university buildings. Think of the classic, timeless university buildings you find on your travels, and you see cut stone, arches, columns and iron. And no it doesn't have to be only at 500 year old colleges in Europe, we have examples in Toronto from the last century that are IMO ideal, such as Trinity College at UofT, much of Queens University in Kingston, etc....these are the ideals that I'd like to see in today's Uni buildings.

None of these new glass and steel buildings will be considered classic in 2108, since they'll have likely fallen down already or into disrepair, while the classic stone buildings carry on.

 

[Earlscourt_Lad]

None of these new glass and steel buildings will be considered classic in 2108, since they'll have likely fallen down already or into disrepair, while the classic stone buildings carry on.

A perfect modern example would be Massey College, which is ageing with dignity that is helped by the use of traditional building materials. I suspect it will look better in 50 years than a lot of the glass and steel buildings will. It's not that this style can't be done well, there are plenty of great glass and steel buildings that have aged well (the TD centre for example), but so much of this stuff seems to be second rate.