Devonian Gardens - almost ready to reopen

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Muta

I am an ultra modernist, I love new and contemporary stuff... but the old Devonian Gardens hink it was the wood stumps everywhere. Really gave it an innocent, 'walking in the woods' feel.

If I had the ability to re-do the project, I'd actually make it a tropical setting, with palm trees, cactus and ponds with exotic fish. There would be nothing like it in Western Canada, and I think it would attract people to visit more - especially in the winter.

That would be crazy expensive not only to build, but to maintain. Can't happen. And they were never built to make money, the old gardens existed purely on donations and still took losses for whomever was keeping it.

The only way that idea would work would is if you take an admission, which is contrary to the idea of the park in the first place. And anything you charge would probably be too much anyway. Mr and Ms business arent going to throw even a toonie each time they want to visit.

I do agree with posters that said it's just become a 'somewhat' fancy food court. Same vibe I got.



Hey... wasnt The Bow supposed to have two levels of gardens somewhere in the middle? Anyone know what happened with that? Do they exist at all? Are they just for the professionals Iin the building (that happens too).

[calgarygeologist]

I'm pretty sure I commented about the new Devonian Gardens when it first opened. It certainly doesn't have the same charm it had before. One of the biggest screw ups with the renovation is the poor implementation of the play area for kids. The lack of anything for kids under 4 to play on is a huge oversight. It certainly isn't as attractive to families now as it was in the past.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Hey... wasnt The Bow supposed to have two levels of gardens somewhere in the middle? Anyone know what happened with that? Do they exist at all? Are they just for the professionals Iin the building (that happens too).

It exists. I would say it's less garden than the devonian...

[Bigtime]

Yes, the skygardens got substantially cut down from the original design of The Bow, there was to also be sky pods of greenery running up the entire building. If you recall in the initial design the atrium space extended from the bottom of the building right up to the top, but once the building was sold by Encana to the REIT they pushed the floorplans out almost right up to the SW curve to maximize square footage.

I love the building, but if it could have been what was originally proposed...wow it would have been amazing.

[Drummer]

It looks like Devonian Gardens has some serious problems. Trees not going to be replaced?
Man I really miss the old Devonian Gardens...

This note is posted around Devonian Gardens:

[psyang]

Sounds like all of the trees are going to be replaced, but possibly with a different species better suited for the location. Doesn't sound like the trees that are removed are going to be reused, however - just recycled.

[Drummer]

Now I really wish Devonian Gardens wasn't renovated. On July 18 it will have a "full closure" with no re-opening date - "several months" is the official wording. This is due to "warranty issues in the planter beds".

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/c...beds-1.3667197

[taco.vidal]

The reno has turned out to be a total debacle. The gardens used to be great a total urban oasis where you could get away from the rest of downtown. The reno turned it into something sterile and boring. And now this. It sounds like a warranty issue so the city shouldnt be out anymore money but this has really been a disaster.

Originally Posted by Drummer

Now I really wish Devonian Gardens wasn't renovated. On July 18 it will have a "full closure" with no re-opening date - "several months" is the official wording. This is due to "warranty issues in the planter beds".

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/c...beds-1.3667197

[nik-]

they should just put that #### out of its misery

[nik-]

Ugh, reading back through this thread makes me angry. This "renovation" is a ####ing travesty. Everyone who approved this should legitimately be ashamed of what they took out of the city to replace with this garbage.

[CliffFletcher]

Platt's article in the Sun suggests the gardens were deliberately designed to maximize revenue from weddings and corporate events. What a frickin' disgrace.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Anyone know who is the contractor for the planters that's on the hook?

[Clarkey]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Platt's article in the Sun suggests the gardens were deliberately designed to maximize revenue from weddings and corporate events. What a frickin' disgrace.

The sad thing about this is that the layout doesn't really make sense for a wedding. There is no symmetry and the wedding area has a big off centred fountain blocking the flow. They could have had a nice central focused aisle area for events and dramatic effect with little side sub areas to explore but instead they put a big obtuse round pond with little character right in the middle and pushed uninspired, sterile, narrow perimeter gardens off to the sides. Not to mention that everything is on the same horizontal plane, no wonder people are comparing it to a food court, even a few elevated decks and small bridges would have given it some depth.