BMO Centre Expansion | 25m | 5s | CMLC
- Thread starter Bokimon
- Start date
outoftheice
Active Member
Twitter thread from a media tour of the new BMO Centre construction. The Calgary Herald Video Page also has a video with some interesting info and some night time renderings that I don't think we've seen before. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to link directly to the Herald video though. It just seems to be embedded in the main landing page? Perhaps someone smarter than me can figure it out, but definitely watch the video.
Duck Lightning
Active Member
Here's the HD renders:
Renders are from here: http://news.calgarystampede.com/rel...n-progress-to-wow-guests-during-stampede-2022
The video on the Herald is non linkable.
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Duck Lightning
Active Member
Looks like they redesigned the area under the canopy and removed the LED screen that was planned to be on the underside ceiling 
Also looks like the Coke stage will be moving to the SW corner of Stampede Trail and 17th Ave
Also looks like the Coke stage will be moving to the SW corner of Stampede Trail and 17th Ave
Mountain Man
Senior Member
Did anyone think they were actually going to build that LED screen soffit? My guess was that would be the first item to get VE'd out...
outoftheice
Active Member
Wasn't there also supposed to be a retail space where the roof tapers down? The swooping roof design made sense when it was serving to link two separate buildings. Now it seems like crazy overkill to link two support pillars with the main building. Pretty sure there was also supposed to be a water feature in that area which now looks like it's disappeared. The lighting feature on the roof seems cool though
The Familia
Active Member
Yeah that swooping roof really has no purpose anymore. It looks cool but is probably a waste of money as I truly don’t get the purpose of it other than aesthetics. Disappointing the video screen is gone. Would have been sweet to watch a Flames game on it!
Mountain Man
Senior Member
They will probably keep the roof and find a way to drive under it. Nothing says urban like a port cochere!
haltcatchfire
Senior Member
At least with an LED pattern like that you won't be able to notice when ones are burned out.
Duck Lightning
Active Member
They should have put a large fountain around the two pillars. Any large plaza needs a water feature of some kind IMO
outoftheice
Active Member
Calgary definitely needs more water features in our public spaces. I'm sure our temperature extremes make them difficult to maintain but they are incredible at place-making when done well.
Here are two screenshots of a video I took of a fountain in Amsterdam. During the 20 minutes I was there, it was a non stop rotation of people running into the middle when the fountain momentarily created an entry and then taking selfies as the jets returned to full strength. Something like this would be ideal to create a draw and some bit of vitality during either the Stampede or a major summertime convention. Sadly it just looks like we're going to get benches, bollards and concrete instead.
Here are two screenshots of a video I took of a fountain in Amsterdam. During the 20 minutes I was there, it was a non stop rotation of people running into the middle when the fountain momentarily created an entry and then taking selfies as the jets returned to full strength. Something like this would be ideal to create a draw and some bit of vitality during either the Stampede or a major summertime convention. Sadly it just looks like we're going to get benches, bollards and concrete instead.
Mountain Man
Senior Member
Water features are useless in our climate, they are only on 4-5 months of the year and look terrible in the winter.
Duck Lightning
Active Member
Those 4-5 months are when the plaza will be most used by tourists and locals. If we're going to start complaining about things being used only during the warm season then why even build the plazas, outdoor pools, and balcony's in Calgary at all?
outoftheice
Active Member
Well using my Amsterdam example that area would just look like a circular area of plain cement in the winter. Wouldn't 5 months of water feature and 7 months of plain cement still be better than the 12 months of plain cement that almost all of our public spaces in Calgary currently feature? (And that appears to now be the fate of the BMO Centre plaza). How many barren plazas with a few benches and some swirly designs in the cement does a city really need before we start asking for something better?
darwink
Senior Member
Sure our climate is hard on fountains, but that is something money can fix. Central Memorial Park’s water features are going strong a decade (maybe even longer, i forget when it opened). Over a parkade you have a lot more considerations than right on ground.
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