I would not call any of those places vibrant. I've taken people to these streets from out of town and their comments are: "what is special about this street?".
Stephen Ave during lunch is the only time that downtown/uptown Calgary is vibrant.
I agree with you that 17th, Kensington, Mission and Inglewood are not really vibrant. They are popular and trendy but they lack critical elements which would be required to make them vibrant. For a place to be vibrant it has to be a space that provides an emotional connection via human senses. It has to have the right sights and sounds and spaces to enjoy. It should be a place where someone can spend a good portion of the day exploring different elements. The trendy areas are great in Calgary for a couple hours but they don't provide hours of entertainment and enjoyment.
Stephen Ave during lunch is the only time that downtown/uptown Calgary is vibrant.
I agree with you that 17th, Kensington, Mission and Inglewood are not really vibrant. They are popular and trendy but they lack critical elements which would be required to make them vibrant. For a place to be vibrant it has to be a space that provides an emotional connection via human senses. It has to have the right sights and sounds and spaces to enjoy. It should be a place where someone can spend a good portion of the day exploring different elements. The trendy areas are great in Calgary for a couple hours but they don't provide hours of entertainment and enjoyment.
One problem is a place like 17th is that it's mostly just a collection of bars for a few blocks. More variety is really needed for different crowds than just those who want to eat and drink.
That time machine is pretty neato. I've been wondering what the house that was bulldozed to build our current one used to look like, and with this feature, I can finally see it.
This should be even better in 15-20 years considering all the changes that are happening in this city.
I'd argue that Calgary's downtown is becoming more and more vibrant every year - just not the commercial business disctrict....
Define "vibrant". Still pretty dead on weekday evenings and weekend mornings/afternoons. I had to work a few Saturdays/Sundays at the Sun Life Plaza building and walked to Eau Claire for lunch. This is not vibrant by any stretch of imagination.
On Friday I noticed that fencing was put up on the vacant site west of the Buddhist Monastery along 4th Ave. It is a small lot. Does anyone know if a construction project will finely begin there? It has sat vacant for many years. I assume it will be a pretty small commercial/office building.
Eric Giesbrecht @EGiesbrecht 49s
Design of the New Central Library #NCLinEV
Ken Lima-Coelho @KennyVLimaC 2m
There's a "rhythm" to the new Central Library. Architecture is frozen music after all. #NCLinEV
East Village @EastVillageYYC 1m
Massing model of New Central Library. #NCLinEV
Fast Forward Weekly @FFWDWeekly 1m
#NCLinEV
Fast Forward Weekly @FFWDWeekly 1m
#NCLinEV
Fast Forward Weekly @FFWDWeekly 1m
#NCLinEV
Nicholas Fuss @nfussphotos 1m
#NCLinEV entire building designed to be barrier free.. #nobarriers eh @Beakerhead @Neil_Zee ?
#yyc #newlibrary
Fast Forward Weekly @FFWDWeekly 2m
One last shot of the new library. #NCLinEV
East Village @EastVillageYYC 2m
Craig Dykers of @snohetta shows atypical facade of #YYC's New Central Library #NCLinEV
CalgaryPublicLibrary @calgarylibrary 2m
The picture you've all been waiting for: The new Central Library, view from 3rd Street SE and 9 Avenue #NCLinEV
I LOVE the way they've done the 8th ave pass-though. If I'm understanding the renderings correctly, it looks like there's going to be a continuous wood-panelled surface running the entire length of the outdoor roof space, from the north-east to southwest corners.
I was prepared to be a tiny bit underwhelmed. There's nothing underwhelming about this.
The Following User Says Thank You to octothorp For This Useful Post:
Any word on the possibility of a glass ceiling/floor for the south leg C-Train tunnel?
To (heavily) paraphrase the architect:
'We could design a viewing area for trains, or we could design a library, we decided to design a library'
The main idea was that focusing on the trains would take away from the actual purpose of the building (and add to the cost). However the design of the "point" is an overhang so you can still look at trains from inside if you want to.
The design is beautiful, but I'm a realist whose main branch is Central and who is there a couple times a week. This is far too lovely a place for the homeless to shower and masturbate in.
Yeah, watching the CTrain right now isn't really a popular pastime in Calgary.
I can't see the need to spend millions of dollars worth of materials and engineering work to be able to see them in the library when you can just walk across the street and see them going both ways all day long
