Ugly Ottawa

[J.OT13]

Seems about right

[Harley613]

Red. That's how you make Ottawa's skyline less bleak and loathsome. I hope the Dream Lebreton project is the start of a serious red trend in this city.

Look at all the red in Calgary in this shot by @pushtheimpossible on Instagram. Imagine this scene if everything was shades of grey.

[J.OT13]

I wouldn't mind more red.

Is charcoal brick cheaper? Traditionally, red brick was cheaper. You'd think charcoal would increase cooling costs (not to mention the heat island effect), which would not be desirable in retail buildings where the landlord often pays the utility bills.

[McKellarDweller]

Originally Posted by Harley613

Red. That's how you make Ottawa's skyline less bleak and loathsome.

Also, sexy, sophisticated buildings like The Concord. A copy of the building with an open Ottawa River view at Lebreton would be +++. Except there aren't enough people in Ottawa who like to pay a bit more with an expectation of high quality.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by McKellarDweller

Also, sexy, sophisticated buildings like The Concord. A copy of the building with an open Ottawa River view at Lebreton would be +++. Except there aren't enough people in Ottawa who like to pay a bit more with an expectation of high quality.

The Azure original design (first iteration was reddish/brown) had a similar design. Surprise surprise, it didn't sell, so we ended up with a much more austere rental tower.


https://www.ottawacondonetwork.com/completed/the-azure/


https://www.brigil.com/index-en.php

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I wouldn't mind more red.

Is charcoal brick cheaper? Traditionally, red brick was cheaper. You'd think charcoal would increase cooling costs (not to mention the heat island effect), which would not be desirable in retail buildings where the landlord often pays the utility bills.

I don't know about the cost difference between red and charcoal brick, but I don't think cost is why developers favour the latter. I think developers want to be able to market sleek, modern towers to prospective buyers/renters, but don't want to actually spend the money to build quality, modern looking designs. Charcoal brick and the overall use of grey, drab, "cold" finishes is their way of projecting modern sleekness without paying for it.

[Harley613]

I imagine there are a few people at Neuf and RLA that find these charcwhites sleek and modern, but I personally think they will age horribly. I think regular citizens will take notice in five years once the city is pockmarked with dozens and dozens of these towers and they will be maligned as uncreative and drab and cheap looking.

[OTSkyline]

Originally Posted by McKellarDweller

Also, sexy, sophisticated buildings like The Concord. A copy of the building with an open Ottawa River view at Lebreton would be +++. Except there aren't enough people in Ottawa who like to pay a bit more with an expectation of high quality.

In other cities, developments near the water and water views are typically very much sought after. In Ottawa that doesn't seem to be necessarily the case, or maybe it's just because our waterways are lined with grass and parkways or are zoned for low-density and NIMBYs fight projects tooth and nail.

All along the canal (on both sides), it mostly low-density. Same with the Rideau river save for 2-3 older projects close to St-Patricks. It's a shame...

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I imagine there are a few people at Neuf and RLA that find these charcwhites sleek and modern, but I personally think they will age horribly. I think regular citizens will take notice in five years once the city is pockmarked with dozens and dozens of these towers and they will be maligned as uncreative and drab and cheap looking.

Yup. They stopped being sleek and modern 5 years ago. I think SoBa and Gotham were some of the first charcoal brick towers, and they were at the time sleek and modern. Now, we're over it. Bring back colour.

I pray that the new arena won't be charcoal brick.

[DTcrawler]

I agree, the charcoal is already ageing horribly. Personally, I think it always looked horrible, even when the first charcwhites started going up. The worst part is we're still building them, and they will be a prominent part of the skyline for the next century. The most striking contrast is while driving down Scott St. and seeing Metropole next to 1960 Scott, and realizing the latter was just completed while the former is already two decades old.

[Harley613]

I just saw this picture of Chongqing, China on Reddit r/urbanhell and thought 'Hey, that's Ottawa in 10 years!'

[eltodesukane]

Not great architecture...

Stairs and accessibility ramp at Place de Ville (Kent & Queen)


Stairs and accessibility ramp near RBC at 585 Montreal Rd

[J.OT13]

Place de Ville concourse is quite terrible. The recent renovations somehow made it worse. It's just so sterile and soulless. All that, and they still didn't bother making the Marriott accessible from down there.

The lobby too is quite terrible now. They replaced the nice, heavy, thick pink granite with crappy white tiling.