Calgary SSP Development Listing

[rayne008]

Originally Posted by nik-

The Calatrava in Malmo is one of my favourites still.

Man, i don't know about that building.
I've seen bridges that look more attractive.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Flacker

Regarding The Orchard, are there any plans to move the bus barns from the currently location? That east tower is going to hear an awful lot of buses rolling out every morning. The lower balconies on the east side of that tower will be horrible.

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I believe that bus barn is getting moved.

Table 5 or Muta, can you confirm?

It is planned to be moved, not sure on the time frame.

Bunk?

[Muta]

I am currently preparing for the upcoming release of the Bus Barns RFP. Should be sooner rather than later. I'm not sure on what's going to happen to the current bus barns just south of the East Village (although that would be an absolutely gorgeous space for some mid-rise loft-type buildings).

[JD]

Originally Posted by nik-

The Calatrava in Malmo is one of my favourites still.

Then you must also like this one in Dubai!

I like the concept but in person it's grey, drab, and the top is just a mess.

[SebC]

I bet those towers don't have a cap of FAR 20.

[Madman]

Crane tower 2 is going up at Brookfield Place.

NSFW!

[nik-]

man ... except for that old fashioned building, that thing is going smack dab in the middle of a sea of ugly.

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by nik-

man ... except for that old fashioned building, that thing is going smack dab in the middle of a sea of ugly.

If this is that ugly to you, the horrors that are Edmonton must scar you.

[calgarygeologist]

News came yesterday that the new downtown library will not be connected to city hall via a +15 link.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...hall-1.2708018

Does anyone know if the new library and the new National Music Centre will have a +15 link? I would assume they must have a link planned because it would seem like a huge mistake not to link those two cultural landmarks. I'm quite surprised that a link to City Hall is a no go especially because it would provide a link to the underground parkade and a subsequent link to another cultural centre (Jack Singer/Epcor Centre.)

[Bigtime]

I would assume no +15 link between the two, and I am 100% ok with that.

Keep the +15 in the CBD proper, leave it out of more pedestrian designed areas like Beltline and East Village.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

News came yesterday that the new downtown library will not be connected to city hall via a +15 link.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...hall-1.2708018

Does anyone know if the new library and the new National Music Centre will have a +15 link? I would assume they must have a link planned because it would seem like a huge mistake not to link those two cultural landmarks. I'm quite surprised that a link to City Hall is a no go especially because it would provide a link to the underground parkade and a subsequent link to another cultural centre (Jack Singer/Epcor Centre.)

They will no have a link. The library is half a block away. Cool idea, but not really that necessary.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

I would assume no +15 link between the two, and I am 100% ok with that.

Keep the +15 in the CBD proper, leave it out of more pedestrian designed areas like Beltline and East Village.

Pedestrian friendly designs are great and appreciated but +15 access is fantastic during cold, winter nights. The library is supposed to have some sort of access directly to the c-train stations at City Hall. It would make sense to have +15 access linking the NMC, the Library and the c-train station.

As much as I enjoy being outdoors and walking around trendy, urban areas if I were given the option to walk outside for 4 blocks or inside via +15 on a -30 evening or a during a major rain storm I would certainly be inside.

[Bigtime]

This could quickly spiral into the debate on the pros/cons of the +15 network, short answer though is that it is extremely unlikely you will see them in East Village (beyond a possible link or two from the CBD) or Beltline (exception being connections to the CBD over the CPR tracks).

Beltline will fight them tooth and nail to go no further than the north side of 10th avenue.

[nik-]

Con: kills street life
Pro: you're not killed by an arctic blast funnelled down a chasm of office towers in the winter

[You Need a Thneed]

I personally think that a +15 across 3rd Street between city hall and the library would have been great - since the "main floor" of the library has to go above the LRT tracks anyway.

A Tiered main floor of the library which would be at the street level on the east side, and at +15 level on the West side leading into city hall would have been a best case solution. Make a +15 that doesn't feel like a +15 (it could be wide and outdoors - or have retractable walls and ceiling).

Then you renovate city hall enough to make an indoor "street" through the atrium, that connects 8th Ave through city hall, through the +15, through the library, and over the LRT tracks, then back down to 8th Ave East of the library, and on to the Riff. It should be able to be designed so that the average person doesn't feel like they are "leaving the ground".

The only drawback of that plan, is that it mostly turns it's back on 3rd Street, probably making 3rd street into a loading dock area.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by nik-

Con: kills street life
Pro: you're not killed by an arctic blast funnelled down a chasm of office towers in the winter

Less of an issue in places like East Village and Beltline, where you have more mid-rise towers, so there's less wind canyons, and more sunlight in general.

+15s are is mostly for office workers looking to grab lunch. Walking amongst skyscrapers in the winter definitely isn't very pleasant, but I think in these areas it won't be as gloomy. I don't think the amount of street life it kills in return is worth it, especially in a place that's designed to be more pedestrian friendly. The O&G guys can just put on their mink fur coats if they want to go to the library.

[lorenavedon]

+15 doesn't kill street life. That's completely BS. What kills street life is -40 degree temperatures. Without the plus 15 nobody would even leave their offices. The plus 15 I would argue, INCREASES the vibrancy of a downtown in such an inhospitable climate. During winter (8 months of the year) there's opportunity to walk around to different areas to eat, go shopping and listen to buskers, etc. Without the +15 none of that would be possible/practical.

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by lorenavedon

+15 doesn't kill street life. That's completely BS. What kills street life is -40 degree temperatures. Without the plus 15 nobody would even leave their offices. The plus 15 I would argue, INCREASES the vibrancy of a downtown in such an inhospitable climate. During winter (8 months of the year) there's opportunity to walk around to different areas to eat, go shopping and listen to buskers, etc. Without the +15 none of that would be possible/practical.

Lol. What an exaggeration. How many -40 days a year does Calgary get? Probably a week. 8 months of winter? Hahaha

Have you lived anywhere else in Canada? Saskatchewan was so cold last winter that SaskEnergy almost ran out of natural gas.

Calgary's climate is fine. Toughen up

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by ExiledFlamesFan

Lol. What an exaggeration. How many -40 days a year does Calgary get? Probably a week.

I think that is a huge exaggeration. The average number of days that hit -40 each year is way less than 1.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Calgary gets about two days a year when it gets below 30. Our averages for December and January usually sit around the -12 mark. Yeah we get cold snaps but some of you are such wussies.

This past winter sucked because of how much snow we continually got dumped on, but I don't think it was horrendously cold.