Canadian City Proposals

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by someone123

It's not a very large town but they have a basic blob of neighbourhood level suburban shopping with Wal-Mart or Mark's and if that's what you want there's no point in driving on.

Bridgewater shows how strange the economic regions are in NS. This is not one ER. Most of the area in between is picturesque coastline that will likely fill up with development to the extent that it is allowed. You can see the highway twinning construction in this satellite photo:

Overall Bridgewater is sort of the modern retail/service hub for that part of the province with the most national chains (which people moving from the ROC might already have memberships etc with), compared with the surrounding towns like Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, Chester, Hubbards, Shelburne, Liverpool, etc. Those have historically been more touristy and less mainstream retail type places. Bridgewater also has a large Michelin factory and I think the main hospital for the region is there. Yarmouth also has most of these same things but is more of a focal point for the most western parts of the province. In heavy traffic it would be a pretty brutal commute to Downtown Halifax or nearby areas but it would be manageable if you could avoid rush hours. I could see it growing rapidly over the next few years.

[Tone]

Rimouski - New UQAR pavillion (Rimouski University) slated for summer 2025 opening


Îlot Sainte-Agnès - demolition of the 60s heritageless church is pretty much completed

[hipster duck]

None of the St. Lawrence centre redesigns really grab me.

Do all of them have a footbridge connecting the St. Lawrence centre to the Hummingbird (or whatever it's called) centre next door? I think that's a poor design choice.

To be honest, I never liked the look of the St. Lawrence Centre. As brutalism goes, it's not offensive, but it's pretty run of the mill and squat and it's hard to add an addition to the top without throwing off the scale.

[J.OT13]

UQAR building looks nice. University seems pretty big for such a small city; 6700 students for a town of 49k. Of course, it serves more than Rimouski, but still. UQO in Gatineau has fewer students for a city of 300k. Then they wonder why Gatineau students go to Ottawa to study.

[Tone]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

UQAR building looks nice. University seems pretty big for such a small city; 6700 students for a town of 49k. Of course, it serves more than Rimouski, but still. UQO in Gatineau has fewer students for a city of 300k. Then they wonder why Gatineau students go to Ottawa to study.

Wow I had no idea it had half as much students, many are probably part time but yes still! We also have the IMQ among others. (Quebec's maritime academy and the largest in Canada supposedly)

Neat mural on the IMQ

[vanatox]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

UQAR building looks nice. University seems pretty big for such a small city; 6700 students for a town of 49k. Of course, it serves more than Rimouski, but still. UQO in Gatineau has fewer students for a city of 300k. Then they wonder why Gatineau students go to Ottawa to study.

UQO has a bit more than 7000 students in total. But I agree that the University should be bigger. Not enough programs. While many Gatineau students will decide to go to U Ottawa even though it is much more expensive, many will leave for Montreal, Sherbrooke, Quebec and often they will not come back in the region.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Brook McIlroy's looks too residential, IMO. Reads more as luxury condo addition than public theatre.

I like the way Hariri Pontarini's opens it up and activates the street frontage. RDHA's is good too. The outdoor rooftop theatre would be a nice touch to Zeidler's otherwise forgettable entry; and Diamond Schmitt's already looks dated.

100% agree with all you said here.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

None of the St. Lawrence centre redesigns really grab me.

Do all of them have a footbridge connecting the St. Lawrence centre to the Hummingbird (or whatever it's called) centre next door? I think that's a poor design choice.

To be honest, I never liked the look of the St. Lawrence Centre. As brutalism goes, it's not offensive, but it's pretty run of the mill and squat and it's hard to add an addition to the top without throwing off the scale.

Yeah, I don't understand the desire to preserve the existing facade. It is what it is. Brook McIlroy design standard is the safest; a complimentary addition on the original Brutalism. The addition has, by far, the worst massing overpowering the original element.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

From urbantoronto.ca

Five Proposals Shortlisted for St Lawrence Centre for the Arts Redevelopment

Diamond Schmitt, Smoke Architecture, and MVVA


Hariri Pontarini, LMN Architects, Tawaw Collective, Smoke Architecture, and SLA


RDHA, Mecanoo, Two Row Architect, and NAK Design Strategies


Brook McIlroy, Trahan Architects, and Hood Design Studio


Zeidler Architecture, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Two Row Architect, and PLANT Architect

For those who don't know, here it is today:


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/st-lawrence-centre-arts-building-plan-1.6447825

[TorontoDrew]

I always forget it's there, even when I walk past it. In it's current form it doesn't engage with the street very well.

[Maldive]

Studio Hub (in Markham) | ?m | ?s | Ryan Reynolds/Maximum Effort l possible construction start this year (?)

Ryan Reynolds and ‘Maximum Effort’ along with Markham-based Watford Group are replacing a (fallow) smaller studio proposal known as First Studio City, with a much more ambitious 1.2 million square foot studio complex in Markham. Construction is supposedly scheduled to begin sooner rather later (demand is much greater than supply).

Developers say it will be the largest film and TV production hub in Canada (not sure that's true).

Story: https://variety.com/2023/film/news/ryan-reynolds-maximum-effort-studio-toronto-1235531885/

No renderings yet - below is an old rendering of the much smaller First Studio City project originally proposed by Remington Group:

UT


2400 Dundas Street West l ?m l 36s l Fora l Giannone Petricone l pre-construction

Three mixed-use towers @ 36, 25 and 18 storeys… with some colour! for a change. 1000 sq metres of POPs/park, a grocery store and other retail uses.


carrythezero

carrythezero


250 King East | 139.5m | 43s | Emblem Developments | IBI Group l pre-construction

Now named “Allure”, some new pics of this one which is quite tall for its site east of Sherbourne.

Editor's Note ;-): the transformation of downtown east of Jarvis, including the West Don Lands and new projects sprouting in and around the Distillery District, continues to be rather astonishing… when the dust settles this former industrial wasteland will be one of the city’s most livable (and likeable) neighbourhoods imo. It’s already pretty great (thanks in part to the Danish architecture invasion) but destined to be greater... with the notable exception Pemberbum's monolithic "Time + Space"


AlbertC

Elevations

3D

AlbertC


401 Dundas East | 39.65m | 10s | Plaza Partners | BDP Quadrangle l pre-construction

New renderings of a nice BDPQ mid-rise on Dundas East.


UT

UT

[J.OT13]

Why is the future owner of the Sens building a film studio in Markham? Oh yeah, his partners at Remington!

[MonkeyRonin]

Lovely little midrise proposed in the Junction - 2760 Dundas West:


https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2023/02/mid...e-destroyed-peacock-hotel-junction.51407

[csbvan]

Love it. Wish we were just building tons of that around the country.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

From urbantoronto.ca
Five Proposals Shortlisted for St Lawrence Centre for the Arts Redevelopment

Hariri Pontarini, LMN Architects, Tawaw Collective, Smoke Architecture, and SLA

The Hariri Pontarini proposal is the only one that doesn't look like a slightly dressed up bunker.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2023/02/mid...e-destroyed-peacock-hotel-junction.51407

More of this, please.

We're starting to [finally] see much more interesting brick patterning on human-scaled midrises in this city.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Maldive

2400 Dundas Street West l ?m l 36s l Fora l Giannone Petricone l pre-construction

Three mixed-use towers @ 36, 25 and 18 storeys… with some colour! for a change. 1000 sq metres of POPs/park, a grocery store and other retail uses.


carrythezero

carrythezero

Is this by the same architect who designed those colourful towers beside the bridge on First Nations land in Vancouver?

[O-tacular]

I agree with the others that mid-rise brick proposal looks great. Lately I find more excitement in well done mid-rises like this than mega towers. They add so much more to the streetscape.

[GeneralLea]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

I agree with the others that mid-rise brick proposal looks great. Lately I find more excitement in well done mid-rises like this than mega towers. They add so much more to the streetscape.

Agreed. Especially when we're seeing so many big buildings follow the trend of cars...embracing the oh so beautiful grey scale.

Seeing an expansion made to a film studio in the GTA is great news. That, with the expansions going on by the lake in Toronto shows how much more a magnet the region has become for filmmakers.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

I agree with the others that mid-rise brick proposal looks great. Lately I find more excitement in well done mid-rises like this than mega towers. They add so much more to the streetscape.

totally agree....towers are a bore.

both of those Dundas proposals look great....Dundas is a street in Toronto, right?