Renaissance Ottawa [395 Slater St] | 118m | 35f | U/C

[ponyboycurtis]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Very much agree. Quite the transformation of the west skyline, which used to mostly just be a big wall along the east side of Lyon. It's giving Place de Ville C some competition for the first time since it was built.

Reminds me of around 2012 when the Elgin skyline had a big update with the James Flaherty Building and Performance Court, along with the Merit and Tribeca (to a lesser extent because it's a bit tucked behind the CBD).

Performance Court wasn't very well received. I rather liked it. Just sticks out because it doesn't match its surroundings maybe. Definitely a design that would have done better with an extra couple floors.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

Performance Court wasn't very well received. I rather liked it. Just sticks out because it doesn't match its surroundings maybe. Definitely a design that would have done better with an extra couple floors.

I always liked it because it stood out from the rest. The glassiness offered a great contrast to the very heavy Place Bell and the stone church on the other side. I wish it was a bit more modern instead of PoMo, but overall its very nice and it offers some good community benefits like the Council of Art that always has public art in the lobby and the accessible terrace on the 8th (?) floor.

And of course, full heritage retention of Grant House.

[J.OT13]

Up to the 7th floor. Windows going up on the ground floor and 4th floor.

[AuxTown]

Where do they make those pre-case/window/spandrel panels? Pretty cool way to skin a building. I didn't watch closely with the other towers and assumed that those panels were all installed on site individually.

Hopefully, the pace will pick up now that just tower mode.

[J.OT13]

From Cobalt RFC Community Discord. Looks like an extra floor and more windows since last Thursday.

[SL123]

^I have to say, I might be more of a fan of the material used on Renaissance than on Releve, at least from what little we see so far on that pic. I havent been in person to see it in quite sometimes so might look sligtly different in person.

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

Where do they make those pre-case/window/spandrel panels? Pretty cool way to skin a building. I didn't watch closely with the other towers and assumed that those panels were all installed on site individually.

Hopefully, the pace will pick up now that just tower mode.

I don't know where they are made, but I have seen the special trailers they sometimes use to haul the extra-tall panels:

https://temisko.com/floorless/air-suspension/

They used to pass heading West on Hunt Club at Bank, I assumed heading to Barrhaven a few years back. I've passed the same trailers (made in Quebec) on the interstate heading into NYC with wall panels as well.

[OTownandDown]

Was precast concrete always the plan for the third tower? Why the change in materials?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Was precast concrete always the plan for the third tower? Why the change in materials?

M+M bought the entire site around 2019. They submitted a proposal designed by IBI for three towers and got approval in 2020 (after a slight reduction in height).

M+M sold the site and plans for the tallest tower to Rimap in 2021-2022, and Rimap went ahead and hired an architect, GeigerHuot, to put their own spin on the M+M/IBI design.

[SL123]

Progress update! I think the precast looks great

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Catenary

I don't know where they are made, but I have seen the special trailers they sometimes use to haul the extra-tall panels:

https://temisko.com/floorless/air-suspension/

They used to pass heading West on Hunt Club at Bank, I assumed heading to Barrhaven a few years back. I've passed the same trailers (made in Quebec) on the interstate heading into NYC with wall panels as well.

It looks like they were using these for the Moxy Marriott build, captured here.

[J.OT13]

From yesterday.

[phil235]

I walk by here everyday, and there has been very little upward progress in weeks. It's almost as if they are focusing on completing the hotel portion and leaving the tower for later. Wondering if someone (Bluejay?) has any insight on that.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by phil235

I walk by here everyday, and there has been very little upward progress in weeks. It's almost as if they are focusing on completing the hotel portion and leaving the tower for later. Wondering if someone (Bluejay?) has any insight on that.

It's a floor higher than it was two weeks ago. They seem to be building two floors per month. Not breakneck speed like Odenak, but steady progress.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

It's a floor higher than it was two weeks ago. They seem to be building two floors per month. Not breakneck speed like Odenak, but steady progress.

I see you are correct. It just seems like there are long stretches when the cranes aren't working, but maybe that's just when I happen by.

[OTownandDown]

Originally Posted by phil235

I see you are correct. It just seems like there are long stretches when the cranes aren't working, but maybe that's just when I happen by.

IF one were focused on quality, one would find it difficult to form and pour a slab in -20C weather. So I don't particularly mind that this is a bit slower in the winter. As a society we need to get back to quality

[AuxTown]

Quick sketchup to see what final height Renaissance will look like from this vantage:


(original image borrowed from SL123 :-))

It is 6 floors higher and I added 7 just due to it being 1 block closer from this angle. It's not the great clump buster we want....but it's the clump buster we deserve.

[SL123]

^ Great work!!! Fun to see

[J.OT13]

Very nice work AuxTown!

[BlueJay]

Originally Posted by phil235

I walk by here everyday, and there has been very little upward progress in weeks. It's almost as if they are focusing on completing the hotel portion and leaving the tower for later. Wondering if someone (Bluejay?) has any insight on that.

Sorry for the late insight to your comment above. Here is my insights on the questions/comments for this project....

Yes, the focus is on completing the hotel portion first as that is the norm for these mixed-use projects however, that is not why there has been slow progress on this project. As I mentioned before, the constraints on executing this project is one of the most challenging I have experienced due to City of Ottawa lane use time restrictions, daily local resident complaints that are just outrageous, the choice of using precast panels on a site that has zero real estate to use as a staging and installation area and many more reasons that I won't get into at this time.

While I am a fan of the different exterior design with the use of the precast panels for Tower C, the constraints of this location was an oversight during pre-construction planning. As I also mentioned before, the precast cost and quality is substantially higher than the cladding that is on Tower A & B but the installation is much more difficult.

The other main factor in the slow progress was the choice of tower crane and the placement of the tower crane. The forming contractor decided the change the original plans of using the conventional hammer head crane placed within the building footprint to the current luffer crane located outside of the building footprint. Long story short, that luffer will be replaced by the end of May back to a hammer head but at the current location. It will provide a more efficient work methodology.

As for current progress, floor slabs are now being poured on a 7 day cycle and have been for the past four levels.

That's it for now!