Saskatoon | Escala | ?m | 7 Floors | U/C

[prairieguy]

That is the backside of the building. The side and "front" along University drive has granite/field stone on the first 2 stories (townhouse units). It looks quite attractive. As you can see from picture, most of the other wall space (except for south facing side) is almost all floor to ceiling windows.

[Ricopedra]

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[scotty c]

Originally Posted by Ricopedra

The backside of the building? The side investors pay the biggest bucks for? And the side everyone in town sees from the riverbanks? Okay. Nice pr attempt, though. I want to give it to them, too. One of the better local developers, so hey, cut them some slack. But...Meh!

Those pictures are from the alley, same reason you see the power poles. None of that is facing the river just the neighbors.

[Ricopedra]

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[Ricopedra]

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[alt_center]

June 20 Pics



^^^ Escala Entrance (bonus -> Nutrien Tower crane in the background)



^^^ The 2 storey "poduim" treatment somewhat hides the "squished" first floor

[prairieguy]

Thanks...those pics give a great perspective of what the finished product will look like...and looks great from all "street sides" ( I will leave the alley debate alone)

[Ricopedra]

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[prairieguy]

Don't disagree that a wall of stucco is a bit of a let down, but I think building overall is pretty good!

[Crisis]

Originally Posted by alt_center

June 20 Pics



^^^ The 2 storey "poduim" treatment somewhat hides the "squished" first floor

Does anyone else think that the stonework in the two photos above looks terrible? I realize that it is mostly due to the time of day that the photos were taken, when the sun is parallel to the face of the wall causing "shadowlines". It's why you never want an architect inspecting your masonry work when the sun alings with the wall. It certainly appears that this is manufactured stone meant to have some texture but I assume the joints should still align. Hopefully, it won't be noticeable in other light but I don't think it looks very good in those photos.

[alt_center]

Originally Posted by Crisis

Does anyone else think that the stonework in the two photos above looks terrible? I realize that it is mostly due to the time of day that the photos were taken, when the sun is parallel to the face of the wall causing "shadowlines". It's why you never want an architect inspecting your masonry work when the sun alings with the wall. It certainly appears that this is manufactured stone meant to have some texture but I assume the joints should still align. Hopefully, it won't be noticeable in other light but I don't think it looks very good in those photos.

Here are a couple of full res. closeups from the above pictures, which were taken around 1 PM. I walked by again today (before I saw your comment) and they appeared to be grouting the stone work on the north end.

One thing I don't care for is the seam up the corners. And, if they are going for a "rough" look, some of the "imperfections" are very large compared to the others.

[SaskE30]

Originally Posted by Crisis

Does anyone else think that the stonework in the two photos above looks terrible? I realize that it is mostly due to the time of day that the photos were taken, when the sun is parallel to the face of the wall causing "shadowlines". It's why you never want an architect inspecting your masonry work when the sun alings with the wall. It certainly appears that this is manufactured stone meant to have some texture but I assume the joints should still align. Hopefully, it won't be noticeable in other light but I don't think it looks very good in those photos.

Exactly, the relevant CSA masonry standard states that masonry should be inspected under diffused light conditions from a distance of at least 6m away.

The reason this stone looks this way is due to the variation in thickness between the units. This is disappointing because these are manufactured units so you would think there would be tighter quality control from the manufacturer. Additionally, the masonry contractor can not hide the variation between stones because this veneer is adhered directly to the backing wall. If this facade was designed as a cavity wall with full bed masonry, then a skilled mason could use the backing cavity to hide the variation in stone thickness.

[NotToScale]

hmm either this was the intention or it was suppose to be a more refined look and the issues arose as mentioned above. If it wasn't intended, it may have been missed/not shown like this in the mockup before the wall was finished. When i saw the photos the shadow lines immediately stood out to me as something off.

[Crisis]

The hi-res photos illustrate that this is really more of a tile than a full depth fake stone. As noted above, without a proper mortar bed, but instead just a thin application of adhesive to the back of the tile, it's likely very difficult to get a smooth surface if working with an imperfect substrate. I'd be surprised if it was intentional, but who knows?

This is one of those things that most people will never notice, but once you see it, it can't be unseen.

[Ricopedra]

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[Brutopian]

From Meridian's Facebook page, here is a neat time-lapse of Saskatoon's skyline from the vantage point of Escala.

[canuck10]

Originally Posted by Crisis

The hi-res photos illustrate that this is really more of a tile than a full depth fake stone. As noted above, without a proper mortar bed, but instead just a thin application of adhesive to the back of the tile, it's likely very difficult to get a smooth surface if working with an imperfect substrate. I'd be surprised if it was intentional, but who knows?

This is one of those things that most people will never notice, but once you see it, it can't be unseen.

I think most people will notice it. I certainly did shortly after the blocks started going up. I think it is terrible workmanship.

Surely it wasn't done intentionally to give it a rough stone look?? If that is the case it just didn't work. If it isn't intentional the developer should be justified in calling for a redo. However, given how obvious it is they should have sorted it out with the subcontractor long before it reached this stage.

[alt_center]

I walked past Escala today and noticed one of the townhouse units is furnished. They must be preparing to open a show suite. The bed is in front of a floor to ceiling window! I could almost read the "DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENALTY OF LAW" tags on the pillows from the sidewalk!

[prairieguy]

Is that a good thing or bad thing from your perspective? I guess it depends who buys it!

[alt_center]

July 30 Pictures:

Weird window in upper right hand corner of entry alcove. I have to say, the podium treatment has totally masked the "squished first floor".