Here's a recent view from the ground of the Telus Garden condo tower on Richards Street.



Sept.23 '15, my pic
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Here's a view of the tower in the late afternoon sun as seen from Howe Street.

Like a number of our bigger buildings in downtown Vancouver, this one's upper shape had to conform to fit into a view cone. The view cone policy at city hall restricts downtown towers from impeding the view of the north shore mountains from several vantage points. The setback with the curved floors near the top of this tower is an example. Where the corner gets cut back is where the height limit is for this part of the downtown skyline. The rest of the tower that goes higher was possible because it falls in the foreshadow of the Scotiabank Tower right behind it. The Scotiabank Tower predated the view cone policy so the Telus Garden Condo Tower is allowed to fill in the space in front of it with no net loss of view.


Nov.17 '15, my pic
 
Here's a pic of the Telus Garden condo tower with it's neighbours as seen from Georgia Street near Homer.

From left to right, L'Hermitage Hotel & Residences, Telus Garden condo tower, Telus office tower, Soctiabank Tower.


Nov.18 '15, my pic
 
Thanks for the explanation about the shape of the tower, @mcminsen. I knew Vancouver had some kind of restrictions to preserve the views, but it is actually interesting to see how it translates in reality and how it influences the design of these towers.
 
Here's a pic from a few minutes ago. Just two more floors to go with the glass on the Richards Street side. The last three floors have extra high ceilings. Also, the crane on the side closest to the office tower was dismantled and removed this past weekend.


Nov.23 '15, my pic
 
Thanks for the update, @mcminsen! On the renderings we see that the tower has orange and brown columns. Are these actually going to happen?
 
Thanks for the update, @mcminsen! On the renderings we see that the tower has orange and brown columns. Are these actually going to happen?

I don't think so, much to the consternation of a lot of us locals that have been watching this tower go up. We were expecting more colour and contrast, especially on that Richards Street side that I see from my apartment. It is regarded as another example of the bland sea foam green glass that there is too much of around here already.

Of course, the tower's not finished yet and there could be some more interesting lighting features to be seen so I'm reserving judgement for now. It's frustrating to see something go up and not look like what the renderings promised. Sometimes it's value engineering in the late phases or just inexplicable changes made by the architects/designers.
 

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