As referenced in the last Price Points, here’s what’s being proposed for the southwest corner of Robson and Granville:
Actually, more than a disappointment. Unworthy.
Let’s hope the Urban Design Panel turns this down, and the architects come back with something more appropriate for, arguably, one of the most important intersections in the city. Particularly for the corner treatment.
Yuri Artibise also picked up a rumour from Vancity Buzz:
For the longest time Apple has been shopping around for a suitable location for their flashhip store in the Vancouver. Finally it looks as though the location has opened up, the corner of Robson & Granville. This is one of the many rumoured locations out there, however, this one makes the most sense.
The application for development proposes to construct a five storey building with two storey of retail and three storeys of office space. The Apple store would occupy the 2 floors of retail. Many people may want to preserve the original facade of the building, however, I don’t think the heritage society will win that fight.
More on this as it develops…
Such a prominent corner absolutely needs a much more creative design. This is just generic and boring. I really hope this doesn’t get built.
I was really hoping for something bigger and certainly with some more flare considering just west of this corner you have the chapters store corner which is more dynamic I was hoping this corner could book end this section and be even more of a dynamic spot. I think Vancouver is better then this and if we are going to have apple located here lets at least make the building stand out more.
Fuckin’ hell, its like the architects in this city just sit back and let a CAD program procedurally build a cube based on max square footage x height x cheapest cost.
hahaha
I hope they use interesting materials. I was disappointed by the Vancouver City Center Stations as well. Basically the same structure.
I bet the use the same materials and everything on this building as the station.
Ugly. Can someone please inform me how I can write to the design review panel and tell them how ugly I think this is?
You’re about six months too late. The meeting was in February, and it received unanimous support from all nine members present. You can see the minutes at. http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/udp/2011/Minutes/Feb23.html.
It’s quite possible that the project won’t be exactly as shown – that’s a photograph of the model that went to the meeting back in February, and there have probably been some changes which is why we haven’t added it to the changingcitybook.com website just yet. But if the tenants are being moved out then there’s already probably a permit in place or close to being issued.
It’s pretty much what the zoning there calls for – it’s actually five storeys, while the Winners/Future Shop building on the opposite corner is only three, and a lot of the new infill retail opposite is only two. I think it’s designed to avoid having that part of Granville Street too shaded, (in comparison to the tunnel created by the Bay and Pacific Centre, for example).
I understand the height thing but at the very least a little more imagination with use of materials and even if it had to be a cube making it a little nicer with the use of different colour glass would have been better. Does anyone know if they plan call for a green roof in the vary least?
? Does anyone have any examples of exemplary 4-5 story buildings that can fit on that site?
The apple store on 5th Ave in NYC is a glass cube.
This picture doesn’t show me too much… how often am I going to be looking at the building from that angle?
That’s right, presumably, looking from the sidewalk, you’d see a double height retail space, akin to most of the new retail spaces on Granville – in contrast to the somewhat claustrophobic feeling of many of the heritage buildings along the strip.
While everyone is clamouring for something “:different” – I could hardly see the Urban Design Panel approving a curvey organic structure for the site – it simply wouldn’t “fit in” – i.e. the rhythm of the street facades, the sawtooth rooflines, the adjacent heritage facade, matching neighbouring buildings.
How would the UDP have reacted to an iceberg (like Ryerson’s new hall) or a cylinder on the site? Is there a reason such designs aren’t even proposed?