West Village Towers | 149.95m | 42s | Cidex Group | NORR Dubai Yahya Jan

General rating of the project

  • Great

    Votes: 8 7.3%

  • Very Good

    Votes: 15 13.6%

  • Good

    Votes: 39 35.5%

  • So So

    Votes: 13 11.8%

  • Not Very Good

    Votes: 15 13.6%

  • Terrible

    Votes: 20 18.2%
  • Total voters
    110
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Again that podiums giving me Edmonton library vibes. I know i've ranted about this a few times but i'm just really disappointed from an urbanism perspective. A sterile, bland, large scaled podium destroys the purpose of building an attractive street for pedestrian foot traffic along 9th. When I see what 500 block did with their podium, it really makes me wonder what a wasted opportunity. Towers looking like a solid 7.5/10 doe!
 
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The podium looks a bit like a car dealership. Maybe that was the intention. This is probably the most urban minded podium this Dubai firm has ever designed. Lol

The whole complex oozes an Edmonton vibe. Y'know one of those exaggerated designs that never gets built.
 
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I'm not as down on the podium as many of you- it still has plenty of retail option, it's not like it's going to be a completely dead block lol.
I think the tower turned out even better than i anticipated it would look. We can't have it all.
 
heightjunkie said:
I'm not as down on the podium as many of you- it still has plenty of retail option, it's not like it's going to be a completely dead block lol.
I think the tower turned out even better than i anticipated it would look. We can't have it all.
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How aren't you? Not trying to jump on you for having a different opinion, but what do you find is redeeming about the design, and not just the fact that it has retail at grade?

I get it is a down market, but that I still think there is no excuse for this podium design, it is an absolute garbage fire. Sure it has retail, great. But the actual design and materials on this podium is IMO the worst I have seen currently in development in Canada (unless someone has an example of something shittier). The only one that gives it a run for it's money is the renderings for the podium for The Hat Elbow River. This podium is unacceptable, and should have been forced to be revised at UDRP. This is why i think having standards for architectural guidelines in the Centre City Plan are important, if you don't have anything to hold developers to, you'll get this whatever the hell NORR gives you.

On the upside, the tower itself is pretty inoffensive. Not attractive, but inoffensive.
 
Calgcouver said:
How aren't you? Not trying to jump on you for having a different opinion, but what do you find is redeeming about the design, and not just the fact that it has retail at grade?

I get it is a down market, but that I still think there is no excuse for this podium design, it is an absolute garbage fire. Sure it has retail, great. But the actual design and materials on this podium is IMO the worst I have seen currently in development in Canada (unless someone has an example of something shittier). The only one that gives it a run for it's money is the renderings for the podium for The Hat Elbow River. This podium is unacceptable, and should have been forced to be revised at UDRP. This is why i think having standards for architectural guidelines in the Centre City Plan are important, if you don't have anything to hold developers to, you'll get this whatever the hell NORR gives you.

On the upside, the tower itself is pretty inoffensive. Not attractive, but inoffensive.
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For one, I think the towers are more than inoffensive. They have good height, relatively good finish so far, and a somewhat interesting crown that is much better than just another flat top.
My point wasn't necessarily that the podiums are great, but I think garbage fire is uncharitable. Garbage fire would be above level parkade/ no retail frontage.
If the project had a set budget, and more of that budget was allocated to better architectural features on the towers (which will remain prominent for a long time because of their relative position on the skyline) rather than design a nicer looking podium (which is going to become relatively invisible as development in the area picks up) then I think it is a worthy trade off.

We pile on developers here way too easily. This is a great investment in the city and a project that I personally think looks pretty good all said and done. Is the podium as aesthetically pleasing as it could be? No. But it does have retail amenities so it won't kill the walkability of the area. I would give this podium a 4-5/10, the towers a 8/10 for a total project around 7.5/10 based on the prominence of the towers. You and others are pretty much saying the podium is 0/10
 
maestro said:
The podium looks a bit like a car dealership. Maybe that was the intention. This is probably the most urban minded podium this Dubai firm has ever designed. Lol

The whole complex oozes an Edmonton vibe. Y'know one of those exaggerated designs that never gets built.
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NORR is based out of Toronto, they had one of their "Starchitects" from Dubai design it, but this is not true to the original design, it has been thoroughly Cidexed!
 
I like the towers too. Inoffensive to me is something like Arc/Aura or The Hat in EV.

I probably give the podium a 3/10 but I'm reserving judgement on the podium until it's completed. It could turn out better.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI4uHADbJNkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI4uHADbJNk
heightjunkie said:
For one, I think the towers are more than inoffensive. They have good height, relatively good finish so far, and a somewhat interesting crown that is much better than just another flat top.
My point wasn't necessarily that the podiums are great, but I think garbage fire is uncharitable. Garbage fire would be above level parkade/ no retail frontage.
If the project had a set budget, and more of that budget was allocated to better architectural features on the towers (which will remain prominent for a long time because of their relative position on the skyline) rather than design a nicer looking podium (which is going to become relatively invisible as development in the area picks up) then I think it is a worthy trade off.

We pile on developers here way too easily. This is a great investment in the city and a project that I personally think looks pretty good all said and done. Is the podium as aesthetically pleasing as it could be? No. But it does have retail amenities so it won't kill the walkability of the area. I would give this podium a 4-5/10, the towers a 8/10 for a total project around 7.5/10 based on the prominence of the towers. You and others are pretty much saying the podium is 0/10
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I'm more than happy to hold off on the podium until after the construction fencing comes down as the fencing prevents an observer from getting any sense as to what the street level interaction will be like. The current status of the podium reminds me of the recently completed Marriott on 10th. During construction all that was visible was the above ground parkade and I was really worried about the podium. Once the fencing came down, I caught my first glimpse of the nice glass treatment that had been given to the retail bays and it completely changed the vibe of the streetscape. I'm hoping I'll be able to say the same about the West Village podium.
 
heightjunkie said:
For one, I think the towers are more than inoffensive. They have good height, relatively good finish so far, and a somewhat interesting crown that is much better than just another flat top.
My point wasn't necessarily that the podiums are great, but I think garbage fire is uncharitable. Garbage fire would be above level parkade/ no retail frontage.
If the project had a set budget, and more of that budget was allocated to better architectural features on the towers (which will remain prominent for a long time because of their relative position on the skyline) rather than design a nicer looking podium (which is going to become relatively invisible as development in the area picks up) then I think it is a worthy trade off.

We pile on developers here way too easily. This is a great investment in the city and a project that I personally think looks pretty good all said and done. Is the podium as aesthetically pleasing as it could be? No. But it does have retail amenities so it won't kill the walkability of the area. I would give this podium a 4-5/10, the towers a 8/10 for a total project around 7.5/10 based on the prominence of the towers. You and others are pretty much saying the podium is 0/10
Click to expand...

The podium is a dumpster fire. It is scraping the bottom of the barrel to prop it up by saying it is better than an open air parking garage with no retail. 4 or 5 out of 10 shouldn't be acceptable. The towers are still very much a work in progress. They should turn out well and become a skyline feature. This is where we are on opposite ends. I'd rather have the effort put into creating a quality, interesting streetscape than a crown.
 
outoftheice said:
I'm more than happy to hold off on the podium until after the construction fencing comes down as the fencing prevents an observer from getting any sense as to what the street level interaction will be like. The current status of the podium reminds me of the recently completed Marriott on 10th. During construction all that was visible was the above ground parkade and I was really worried about the podium. Once the fencing came down, I caught my first glimpse of the nice glass treatment that had been given to the retail bays and it completely changed the vibe of the streetscape. I'm hoping I'll be able to say the same about the West Village podium.
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The cladding is much nicer than West Village's beige and brown panels. It's also takes up less distance than West Village's podium. I find West Village's angles jarring and uncouth but, that's my personal preference. The Marriott on 10th isn't a dumpster fire. The retail is a glass wall with no definition. The porte cochere is cold and uninviting. I spent many years posting on Urbantoronto before they expanded to other cities. I can confidently say the Marriott streetscape would be hacked to pieces. I don't think it would be fair. It's an acceptable 6 to 7 out of 10. It's the minimum standard. I want more.
 
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