Calgary Cancer Centre | 75m | 14s | Province of Alberta | Stantec

Surrealplaces

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A thread for the new $1.4 billion cancer centre that was announced.
http://globalnews.ca/news/3529985/notley-to-release-design-plans-for-new-calgary-cancer-centre/
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Wow, that's massive. This will be good for Calgary in many ways. Job creation for construction and also later on for medical staff. Good step towards diversification. Also it will be great for cancer patients.
 
WOOOW! I have heard about the Cancer Centre for a long time... but I was not expecting anything of this magnitude! Absolutely incredible, and quite nice for an institutional structure! :) Yay Alberta! <3
 
This is definitely one where the usage matters most. With that said, what an ugly monster. It's not the retro appearance. It's that they tried to modernize the retro look with some putrid coloured lines
 
Haha, well it'll match the institutional aesthetic of Foothills then won't it. I wonder, if they 'd actually gone forward with the plan to relocate the facility to the South Health Campus, if they might have had a little more room to come up with a better design.
 
I had no idea it would be monstrous. It looks interesting and imposing, but it's the inside that counts. Get'r built.
Precisely. The most important thing about this facility is what's on the inside.

Outside of the general aesthetic, it's good all around news.
 
Ugh, see, I actually don't mind the design... it's a dang hospital building, of course it's going to be bland and uninspired. Why would they dedicate millions more to a superior design when what matters, most especially in this case, is the money spent on the inside. This is going to be an incredibly important piece of infrastructure for all of Western Canada, if not the entire country. All things considered, this will be the 2nd nicest hospital building in the province, next to the South Health Campus... so I don't really mind it at all. In fact, I like it :)
 
I don't really have a problem with the design. It's not stunning, but nobody was expecting that for a cancer centre. I think it's decent, and it comes with several positives. Creation of jobs that aren't O&G, and a place that will no doubt give the best possible cancer treatment to Calgarians. Plus it fills up an area that has been sitting empty for years, and should allow a good connection to the new Stadium shopping development.
 
Of course, what matters most is on the inside. That doesn't mean we can't critique the exterior. This is what we do on this forum. The problem here isn't that it is bland and uninspired. It's that they tried to elevate the bland and uninspired form through cheap multi-coloured mullion caps. It would have been better if they remained authentic.

Canada is a world leader in cancer research. This will add to it. More importantly, It's about time for Alberta to update Tom Baker so that patients do not have to go out of province. Means better research grants too.

This building is more representative of playing catch up than setting a new standard in Canada.
 
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Agreed, the building's looks could have been better. I guess for me given the building's role I'm not as concerned about it, but you're point about making it look better without adding much if any cost, is a valid point.
 
Well, it seems we can all agree that all we really care about is whether the beauty is on the inside. And, and until I'm given reason to believe that it won't be it doesn't seem like there's much grounds for discussion. And if it did come to that we'd veering away from being a forum about buildings.

So, while it's the inside that matters, it seems to me that it's the outside that's worth discussing. I don't think what's presented here in the renders is the best or nicest possible design, but I do think that if we got largely what was presented I would like it. I'll supplement that by saying that I like structures that have a lot of presence, even if they're imposing. If you stand in front of a Gothic Cathedral or a Brutalist... anything, and it's like you can feel the building. This thing is neither gothic, nor brutalist, but I do get some sense of the same power, formidability, whatever you want to call it. My main qualm is that it's a bit stark, but not in a particularly emotive way, more in a vacant bureaucratic sort of way. It lacks expression.

To close, if you read that. I'm sorry.
 
I want to look at a building that simultaneously reminds me how shitty cancer is and how united our species is in the battle against it.

Seriously though, I'm not sure what I think about it. It's pretty monstrous aesthetically, but the location is good and after all it's an institution. There should be a lot of natural light inside and great views. It may slightly improve the walk from the health sciences building to moose maguires and the future buildings in its place. That corner will see a lot of change.
 

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