To me it looks like an afterthought, someone didn't plan the building properly and had to cover it up. Spandrel is inevitable, but it can be easily minimized with some good planning and a well considered layout.
Agree that better choice in colors. As for cost, spandrel I have been told is less expensive than transparent glass. If that's the case, there will be a cost difference on a high rise tower that plays into it. For me, how much spoandrel is on the tower portion will be less important than the color. We both probably agree on that. We both probably agree about the podium colors.
There may be some types of vision glass that meet the code, but I'm guessing they would be crazy expensive anyway.
I think you're incorrect on that. Part of the recent popularity in renting is due to those factors you mentioned, and but also due to other factors. I'm not sure of your age or economic position, etc but as someone who is heavily exposed to people in the 25-35 year old age group I can tell you very few people in that age group have a strong desire to own property, definitely not the desire I had when I was their age. Renting is only going to get more popular and Calgary will be moving toward percentages seen in the other major cities that Silence and Motion posted.
Agreed. Calgary has been an out-lier for a long time. Let's put it this way, today's Calgary is not your father's Calgary.
I don't have any evidence other than anecdotal evidence, but the 5 people I'm close to who are in their 20's don't want to purchase. They might change their minds down the road, but now they want to live somewhere downtown or in one of the inner city neighborhoods, and renting is much easier to do so. When I was even younger than they are I was already looking at ways to buy a house, in part because it was relatively easier back then, and also the draw of inner city living wasn't as strong at the time.
I'm not an expert on building costs, but I wonder sometimes what the difference in cost is for exterior materials between say The Royal, and The Hat East Village. Or say Park Point...vs Aura Towers. IMO Park Point point looks much nicer, but probably has the same amount of glass/spandrel ratio as Aura. Is it the quality of the spandrel, or the color arrangement?
Park Point is a beautiful building IMO, but there is certainly a 10-15% premium on the increased complexity of exterior. Once the uniformity is discontinued, price increases. Using Hat at EV as an example, it is totally uniform all the way up the tower - this isn't necessarily bad design; simplicity can be appealing as well - even the spanrel is fine IMO, but the color selections are so questionable I'm wondering if anyone on the design team feels regret.