VANCOUVER | Trump International Hotel & Tower | 616 FT / 188 M | 63 FLOORS

[priller]

Another twisting building. Calatrava, look what you've done!

[Complex01]

Wow 2 tall new buildings right next to each other. Like the design. Very Kewl...

[raggedy13]

From today's Vancouver Sun:

Top Canadian firm gets nod to design glitzy Ritz-Carlton
Yabu Pushelberg has designed major hotel and commercial properties throughout the world


Interior designer Glenn Pushelberg, who is designing the new Ritz-Carlton, envisions a glamorous hotel with a subtle West Coast feel.
Photograph by : Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun

Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, March 08, 2008

Renowned Canadian interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg will design the upscale Ritz-Carlton hotel scheduled to open in Vancouver by 2011.

Snaring the company is considered a significant coup for the project, as the firm -- with offices in Toronto and New York -- has designed major hotel and commercial properties throughout the world.

Glenn Pushelberg, who co-founded the company with George Yabu in 1980, envisions a hotel that's "sophisticated and a little bit glamorous" with a subtle West Coast feel.

"I think there's a lot of plagiarism in the hotel world and things can get a bit trite," he said in an interview Friday. "Not that it's bad but I've told (our team) don't make it look like the Vancouver airport because that's too obvious.

"At the same time, there are materials and processes that are intrinsic to the place and feel comfortable but it should be less obvious."

The 127-room Ritz-Carlton hotel will occupy the first 20 floors of a new 60-storey, Arthur Erickson-designed twisting tower at 1133 West Georgia. The $500-million-plus hotel-condo project is being developed by the Holborn Group, controlled by Vancouver entrepreneur Simon Lim.

Yabu Pushelberg's project list is impressive. After designing the new Tiffany store on Wall Street and the W Hotel in Times Square, the company is working on six new hotel projects throughout New York.

It also designed the hyper-chic, 77-room Hazelton Hotel in Toronto -- widely touted to become that city's first-ever five-diamond-rated property.

"Toronto didn't have any glamorous hotels so we gave them something glamorous," Pushelberg said. "We saw the Hazelton as more European, with spaces that are smaller and more intimate."

The Ritz-Carlton hotel is his company's first Vancouver project since designing the Leone store in the 1980s. Pushelberg said he's excited at the chance to work with Erickson, who touted Yabu Pushelberg's abilities to the U.S. media after finding out the company designed the Leone outlet.

"We had never met him but he arranged this dinner in Toronto to introduce us to the American media," he said. "So we have always wanted to do a project with Arthur, who is an incredibly talented architect."

Pushelberg, 54, feels every hotel project needs its own "visual language" and thinks the Vancouver Ritz-Carlton tower's iconic architecture will draw people from a distance.

"We think the hotel needs to kind of segue from something iconic to something emotional because hotel experiences are emotional experiences," he said.

The unique Erickson twisting design of the building will throw more than a few curves at the Yabu Pushelberg team.

"It's a design challenge because every room is different, which forces you to make many different layouts," Pushelberg said. "From a guest point of view, it will be interesting because when you go back, you will always have a new experience."

He said hotels are very much public social spaces now so he expects the Ritz-Carlton lobby will feature contrasts, a "point of view," comfortable seating and a mix of beautiful art and unique architecture.

Pushelberg feels Ritz-Carlton is searching for the "new luxury" as it breaks out of its old "Americana" mold.

"There was a time in the 1980s when the guys that ran the show were designing for themselves," he said. "But those guys are in their 70s now and its people in their 30s to 50s who are the customers and they're looking for a new point of view in luxury."

Though not a big fan of the term "world class," Pushelberg feels Vancouver has a lot going for it now -- incredible outdoor activities, a diverse population, a great urban fabric, a good stock of architecture and a West Coast point of view.

"There are a lot of strengths here and we want to contribute to that to make a lovely hotel for Vancouver," he said.

bconstantineau@png.canwest.com


© The Vancouver Sun 2008

[SpongeG]

some not so good news

Work halted on Ritz-Carlton condo-hotel tower

Work has stopped at yet another development in Metro Vancouver. This time it's a high profile $500 million hotel and condo tower on West Georgia St., between Thurlow and Bute.


It was supposed to be home to a 60-story high rise with a swanky Ritz-Carlton hotel and million dollar condos. But work has stopped before it even began.


On Tuesday morning, work crews locked up the site, which is little more than a gaping hole.

They'd been told by the developer The Holborn Group that the project will be put on hold


Holborn officials were unavailable for comment and a Vancouver real estate marketing executive wasn't revealing much either.


"I can only say what an owner authorized me to say, which is right now he's re-evaluating the design of the parkade and he doesn't want to have to pay for people on site,'' said Bob Rennie of Rennie Marketing Systems.




Holborn has not said when he will begin building again. Fifty per cent of the high end condos have already been pre-sold.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson


Work has stopped at a high rise project in downtown Vancouver that was supposed to be home to the Ritz Carlton hotel. Oct. 21, 2008. (Photo credit Rennie Marketing Systems)




http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/l...shColumbiaHome

[SpongeG]

Update: Construction suspended on Ritz Carlton hotel/condo

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Construction has been halted at the massive Ritz-Carlton hotel/condo development in downtown Vancouver. But a prominent real estate promoter says the project is not falling victim to the world-wide credit crunch.

Bob Rennie says construction was halted while the developer (the Holborn Group) re-evaluates design changes to the structure and attached parkade. Right now the 58-storey, $500 million project is only a hole in the ground along Georgia (between Thurlow and Bute), as work stopped last Friday and all signage promoting the building has been removed. The sales office is open by appointment only.

The City of Vancouver says all the plans for the site were approved, and nothing has changed at their end. Speculation has questioned the financial health of the project (20 storey hotel/38 storey luxury condo), considering the recent financial downturn and squeezing of credit markets.

Rennie admits the condo project is only 50% sold, and about 50% of the foundation excavation was complete. There is no indication as to when construction work will resume. Rennie says similar concerns have been raised at other projects in the past, but there's no reason to believe the project won't go ahead.


Construction equipment left at empty work site
News1130 Photo

http://www.news1130.com/news/topstor...1_173453_22248

[rather_draconian]

Oh Spongeg, this news will keep me up at night worrying about the status of this building. I think this building is the most exciting project to grace Vancouver....EVER

[TOBoy]

The problem is that sometimes they make it sound like everything is fine, and then you realize later they had no intention of ever starting up again.

They don't want to mess with losing the Ritz Carlton as it is unlikely any other hotel company will make a commitment in the current climate. Hopefully the developer wont be stupid about this.

[DrT]

Maybe if they lowered the prices a bit on the condos, there would be more pre-sales. The asking prices here are astronomical. They need to get with reality and adjust pricing downward.

[raggedy13]

Some good news in the last couple days - work on site has recommenced.

[george]

Beautiful, sleek tower. I like the twist, curving volume & rounded corners. Hope it stays on track.

[raggedy13]

The latest news is that excavation is nearly complete and that hydro has been run to the site line.

[Complex01]

This one is back, very kewl...

[Mininari]

Any updates?
Are they still working on this?

[raggedy13]

^Work is still going on. Here is an update by awvan from Jan. 20:

Originally Posted by awvan

A fair amount of work going on-site today.

[george]

This is quite a foundation pit. Are the walls new poured concrete or some reinforced sprayed retention system?

[raggedy13]

^I think it is shotcrete-covered metal mesh, or some such thing.

[Nites]

Any new updates? It's been 5 months since the last one.

[VanTowers]

This project is back on!!

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - A downtown Vancouver condo and hotel project that was halted in the market slump could be coming back to life in a less-grand form. The developer of the 600-foot Ritz-Carlton put the project on hold in February as others were cancelled.

Holborn Group President and CEO Joo Kim Tiah says "the project is going forward", but will be different inside the spiralling tower of almost 60 storeys, designed by the late Arthur Erickson. The plan now is for a smaller hotel and more condos, with units that are smaller and more affordable to suit the current market.

Tiah adds it might not be under the same banner. The Ritz-Carlton was originally at the top of the market: one pre-sale was for $28 million. Tiah hopes construction can begin this fall, but it could be affected by the City of Vancouver wanting construction halted for the 2010 Winter Olympics. He says he doesn't want to wait until next March to begin construction.

Basically the inside of the building is being change to make the project more affordable to live in and to build, and the hotel will be much smaller. However, the outside of the building will stay the same along with the height which is what really matters here.

[Complex01]

So how tall will it be now?

[TOBoy]

Originally Posted by Complex01

So how tall will it be now?

However, the outside of the building will stay the same along with the height which is what really matters here.

The last line in Vantowers post.

I think this is great news. I think buyers from the original project should get first dibs at reduced rates if they are still interested. I know this wont happen, but it would be nice.