Glenbow Museum | 43m | 9s | DIALOG

MichaelS

MichaelS

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I don't think we have a thread for the Glenbow Museum (searched, and it didn't come up, but if so Surreal feel free to merge this with that one). I figured I would start one, given that the DP has been submitted, and the drawings are available for download. The link to the DP is here: https://developmentmap.calgary.ca/?find=DP2022-00580

From the drawings, here are some of the renderings:
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This is a much needed renovation, definitely interested to hear what the exterior materials are, will definitely determine how good this turns out to be. I personally would love to see some honed / sculpted limestone as the cladding to get a break from the ACM craze
 
This is definitely an improvement from an architectural and streetscape standpoint.

However (and I hate to be a negative nelly here) the urban design interface is barely an improvement and that is arguably the most important part of this reno!

There is still a ton of solid wall and most of the glazing has a 1-2' curb. It doesn't look like there are any doors aside from the main entrance - which is actually a decrease from the existing (as the gift shop has it's own entrance on Stephen Avenue). Can't do much about the loading dock, but they should have glazed storefront wrapping the NE corner of the building from loading to the +15 with gift shop and café having dedicated entrances to the street.

As it stands, we are trading a brutalist bunker for a contemporary bunker.
 
MichaelS said:
I don't think we have a thread for the Glenbow Museum (searched, and it didn't come up, but if so Surreal feel free to merge this with that one). I figured I would start one, given that the DP has been submitted, and the drawings are available for download. The link to the DP is here: https://developmentmap.calgary.ca/?find=DP2022-00580

From the drawings, here are some of the renderings:
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Click to expand...
It's 100 times better than what's there now. Let's do this.
 
artvandelay said:
This is definitely an improvement from an architectural and streetscape standpoint.

However (and I hate to be a negative nelly here) the urban design interface is barely an improvement and that is arguably the most important part of this reno!

There is still a ton of solid wall and most of the glazing has a 1-2' curb. It doesn't look like there are any doors aside from the main entrance - which is actually a decrease from the existing (as the gift shop has it's own entrance on Stephen Avenue). Can't do much about the loading dock, but they should have glazed storefront wrapping the NE corner of the building from loading to the +15 with gift shop and café having dedicated entrances to the street.

As it stands, we are trading a brutalist bunker for a contemporary bunker.
Click to expand...
It's a huge improvement but totally agree - this reno will buy us 20 or 30 years before we are back in the same situation, in need of another renovation/refresh and scratching our heads why the building "just isn't working". Seems to fall into a very familiar Calgary trap - a reno expensive enough to be noticeable, but not also enough to change the fundamentals of a really bunker-ish building.

Hope the design keeps improving, as we aren't there yet.
 
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I think there are two options for the Glenbow - do a whole new building by either guarding the current building and starting all over or at a new location. The other option is doing new facade and some minor Reno’s to freshen it up for 30 years.
I would prefer a whole new building of course, but maybe they’re doing this because they’re not sure of the direction of the Glenbow 30 years down the road. It’s possible 20 - 30 years from now we may see a standalone art museum, that hosts traditional art and travelling art exhibits while another museum, the Glenbow becomes a dedicated western heritage/indigenous museum.
 
I'm liking the rippled panels, it's going to give the exterior some "movement" with the shadows moving with the suns path. the only thing though is they look kind of deep and after a few years the tops of them will start to get dirty, but I guess you just get the pressure washer on them from time to time.
 
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