Scotia Place | 36.85m | 11s | CSEC | HOK

Do you support the proposal for the new arena?

  • Yes

    Votes: 103 67.3%
  • No

    Votes: 40 26.1%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 10 6.5%

  • Total voters
    153

Some Elevations​

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East_Elevation.png


Bonus Entry height comparison:​

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… that name is ROUGH. Even Scotiabank Place would've rolled off the tongue easier.
I bet the naming committee did their research on buildings named after this sponser and decided that this one is different enough from the others. Example: Halifax’s downtown arena is called Scotiabank Centre.
 
There’s a lot more to like about this than not.

This is an improvement on 3 sides (N, W & S) in exchange for a diminishment on 1 side (E), which is a great trade off. We went from having a multi story parking garage abutted tight to 14 Ave in exchange for a much better profile of the building and a contiguous plaza on the south side, which will be the most prominent side during Stampede. Honestly, the E side of the building (back of house) may not even be that bad with the addition of the public art panels.

The upper portion looks better than the previous iteration. A bit gimmicky? Maybe. But it’s not overdone, and as others have mentioned, I’m sure the colours will change on evenings the Flames don’t play. I don’t think this building is going to be eye catching during the day, but will look cool (or hot when the Flames are playing) at night.

I did kind of like the 2 stories of glass and limestone that was on the W elevation of the previous iteration, but this design is more cohesive overall. The SW entrance is improved overall (love the rooftop patio). The NW entrance doesn’t look as nice at street level (just because you’re now looking into the Flames Store), but looks like it will be a lot more functional as an entrance.

The plazas are significantly larger/improved. The streetscape is significantly improved. Love that they incorporated the Stephenson & Co. Grocer building and the inclusion of a food hall. Seems like the restaurants will be able to accommodate service inside and outside of the building depending on the event. Love that the community arena is under the plaza. Love the wood clad columns.

Honestly, my only nit about the exterior is I don’t like the look of the geometry and colour of the bone white aluminum panels along the midsection/entries of the building, or the odd window cutouts within them.

I give this a solid B+/A- which exceeded my expectations (given the budget), and more importantly, I think the renderings look better than Rogers Place.

I also look forward to not having to walk up the stairs at the Dome in ‘27/‘28!
 
Ah yes, good eye. perhaps that HOK rendering missed that, in other images that fire pit is labelled as a public art piece so it isn't official. But if it were the whole fire and water thing sort of ties into the drop in front of the BMO...

Also... in the south plaza do we think the circles and then a square symbolizing tipis and another perhaps log house structure? (Answered in the HOK article: The building’s public plazas are designed to honour the deep-rooted connection that Indigenous Peoples have with the land, incorporating representations of the tipi, Métis Trapper’s Tent, and elements of Alberta’s world-renowned natural landscape.)View attachment 582524
Ha - I thought they were face-off circles.

I’m much more excited about this version than the previous LaserJet. I like the vertical / wavey ribbing on the upper exterior facade that gives the surface some relief and should be pretty cool if lighted effectively.

Lets keep the ball rolling this time.
 
Having perused the DP drawings, watched the presentation video and viewed the renderings in detail I have to say I’m quite impressed.

They have really cleared up nearly all the gripes I had about the last design. It now feels cohesive all the way around. The fire and ice concept is really strong and perfectly fitting of the main tenant. The lighting designer has their work cut out to make the silver panels and reflective aluminum ribs accept the projected light to properly represent fire though. Will be easier on a concert night to just activate it with variations of colour, but the fire will be critical to how strong this comes across.

The three different sheens for the bone white panels representing ice is a good choice.

The public realm is incredible all the way around. Love all the outdoor patio seating areas on 3 of the 4 sides. That SE area looks like it could be a public skating area in winter. I’m still not certain what the plan really is for outdoor playoff viewing because the SW entrance plaza still won’t be big enough for that size of crowd but there won’t be playoffs for quite awhile anyway.

I like that they’re using a mix of split and honed natural stone around the street level with “wood” “grain” columns. Looks like there might be “wood” soffit too over the SW entrance and some other canopy areas.

You can already tell from the schematic floor plans that the interior is no longer compromised and there’s plenty of space with the bigger site to do everything they wanted inside.

The LED band is 100X better than what was on the previous design and I love how it winds into and out of the building.

The upper level patio will be appreciated by the smokers but also creates another layer of game day atmosphere when entering the SW entrance below.

Lots of landscape features and many many public art locations. We’ll take one bronze Lanny at one entrance and one bronze Jarome at the other. Please and thank you.

If only it had a better name. Such a drop off from what we’re coming from.
 
After looking and thinking about this one for a while, I have to say I'm really stoked! It doesn't look like a spaceship, and it's not bland and imposing. Think they did a great job, can't wait to pay $20 for a beer and watch the Flames haha.

What I'm most excited about is that this could finally kickstart the Stampede Trail! Is there anything planned for the block to the north of this? Think it was the site of Lamb's Orchard?
 

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