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+--- Thread: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours (/showthread.php?tid=7)
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - danbrotherston - 02-11-2021
(02-11-2021, 12:26 PM)tomh009 Wrote:(02-11-2021, 12:23 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: They may look better, but it's still apparent you are facing a garage. You'd have to have a pretty big development to completely encircle the inner garage with active uses on the outside (if such a thing is even possible within building codes), which is the only way I see a garage facade not being a net negative.
But certainly you are right that they can be better or worse.
That's what 1 Victoria and 144 Park do -- they have units on the outside, facing the street. I think only on the street-facing sides, but it's still an improvement.
Even DTK has units on the Duke St side of the podium. Sadly they don't make the building look much better.
SOME streets...they have units facing SOME streets. 144 Park still has a full garage facade facing Caroline, which I think significantly diminishes the Bauer Lofts plaza (although Bauer lofts does a pretty good job of that with their surface parking anyway). 1 Victoria is much better than 144 Park with the garage facade facing only half on Victoria St, and on Halls Ln and the Parking lot. Mostly it isn't inactivating a streetscape, and is only visible from places like my building or walking up the Laneway.
Like I said, it can be done better, but it is still a net negative on the building.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - mastermind - 02-11-2021
I noticed that the one drawing in the planning justification report had the client listed as Zehr Management Inc.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - ac3r - 02-19-2021
The City of Waterloo has posted the final design for the Alexandra Park expansion: https://www.engagewr.ca/alexandra-park-expansion
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - taylortbb - 03-21-2021
I've heard that the Atrium and Angie's properties in Uptown have been purchased by Zehr Group. They're apparently planning a new tower and have notified tenants of the Atrium they have 18 months to vacate.
Rumours of a 25 floor condo tower, but no specifics (and unclear how much that was speculation vs info from Zehr). But the 18 months left was pretty unambiguous (it's from the owner of one of the shops).
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Watdot - 03-22-2021
(03-21-2021, 08:38 PM)taylortbb Wrote: I've heard that the Atrium and Angie's properties in Uptown have been purchased by Zehr Group. They're apparently planning a new tower and have notified tenants of the Atrium they have 18 months to vacate.
Rumours of a 25 floor condo tower, but no specifics (and unclear how much that was speculation vs info from Zehr). But the 18 months left was pretty unambiguous (it's from the owner of one of the shops).
Cool. Would be an appropriate place for intensification, although I am sure tenants are not happy. Look forward to hopefully hearing more.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - taylortbb - 03-22-2021
Haven't seen a thread for this, but looks like there's a midrise rental project planned for 57 Union St E. The SRM website has renders, http://www.srmarchitects.ca/Portfolio-Residential-57-Union.htm .
Looks like when SRM doesn't go overboard with the colours they can design a decent (but not amazing) looking building.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - ac3r - 03-22-2021
Looks like everything else they do. They're truly the worst architecture firm we have in this region...sad that they get SO much business because their work is now scattered all over from here to Niagara Falls. At least most of it is confined to the sandbox that is north Waterloo.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Bjays93 - 03-22-2021
(03-22-2021, 04:43 PM)ac3r Wrote: Looks like everything else they do. They're truly the worst architecture firm we have in this region...sad that they get SO much business because their work is now scattered all over from here to Niagara Falls. At least most of it is confined to the sandbox that is north Waterloo.I mean this render doesnt look terrible. I've certainly seen worse
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - tomh009 - 03-22-2021
(03-22-2021, 04:43 PM)ac3r Wrote: Looks like everything else they do. They're truly the worst architecture firm we have in this region...sad that they get SO much business because their work is now scattered all over from here to Niagara Falls. At least most of it is confined to the sandbox that is north Waterloo.
While it's modest, I think this is much better than their work in north Waterloo. Maybe they can't scale their ideas to taller buildings?
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - ac3r - 03-22-2021
(03-22-2021, 06:34 PM)Bjays93 Wrote:(03-22-2021, 04:43 PM)ac3r Wrote: Looks like everything else they do. They're truly the worst architecture firm we have in this region...sad that they get SO much business because their work is now scattered all over from here to Niagara Falls. At least most of it is confined to the sandbox that is north Waterloo.I mean this render doesnt look terrible. I've certainly seen worse
The render itself is especially bad. The lighting and shadows are all messed up in it. Whoever rendered it has the recessed lighting above the balconies illuminated, yet it's broad daylight. The top floor has light mysteriously coming out of the walls (in addition to the lights) and for whatever reason it's also casting strips of shadow through the wall back onto the overhang of the roof. The background buildings - while not usually that important to detail - look seriously messed up in terms of perspective and texture. The little figures used for scale are all in completely incorrect scales and a couple of them are really desaturated for some reason.
I'm actually pretty surprised these are on their public portfolio but...maybe they uploaded them by accident? I feel this firm has got to have the lowest standards I've seen in Ontario though. They make Drewlo and Auburn look good. They claim to have been around for 60 years but I have never heard of them until recently. I haven't seen them do anything good yet either. Their "best" work to date is One Richmond Row in London but whoever designed it completely plagiarized the Graziani and Corazza Architects' design of Lago at the Waterfront in Toronto. It's almost the exact same building, but worse because it's SRM.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - mastermind - 03-23-2021
Haha wow, strikingly similar... I mean two buildings that look similar is inevitable but this one is pretty exact. If they had gone with something like rounded corners, or different colour balcony soffits, or even a different number of floors before each rotation then maybe it could be argued to be original.
This 57 Union proposal plus that Zehr one across the street could change this stretch of road a bit.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Spokes - 03-23-2021
(03-21-2021, 08:38 PM)taylortbb Wrote: I've heard that the Atrium and Angie's properties in Uptown have been purchased by Zehr Group. They're apparently planning a new tower and have notified tenants of the Atrium they have 18 months to vacate.
Rumours of a 25 floor condo tower, but no specifics (and unclear how much that was speculation vs info from Zehr). But the 18 months left was pretty unambiguous (it's from the owner of one of the shops).
Perfect fit there! Fingers crossed.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Spokes - 03-23-2021
(03-22-2021, 04:43 PM)ac3r Wrote: Looks like everything else they do. They're truly the worst architecture firm we have in this region...sad that they get SO much business because their work is now scattered all over from here to Niagara Falls. At least most of it is confined to the sandbox that is north Waterloo.
Why do they get so much work?
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - ac3r - 03-23-2021
(03-23-2021, 11:28 AM)Spokes Wrote:(03-22-2021, 04:43 PM)ac3r Wrote: Looks like everything else they do. They're truly the worst architecture firm we have in this region...sad that they get SO much business because their work is now scattered all over from here to Niagara Falls. At least most of it is confined to the sandbox that is north Waterloo.
Why do they get so much work?
I have no idea to be honest. I think it's just because they're a local firm that is willing to take on just about any job offer they get. But for whatever reason, they always seem to be "low budget" projects. Yet that alone doesn't explain why the buildings all look bad, so I think it's mostly a seriously lack of talent in their ranks. It's entirely possible to not have a large budget yet still design something that has both a good aesthetic and material design, so maybe they don't have a great talent pool to draw good ideas from.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - GarthDanlor - 03-23-2021
(03-21-2021, 08:38 PM)taylortbb Wrote: I've heard that the Atrium and Angie's properties in Uptown have been purchased by Zehr Group. They're apparently planning a new tower and have notified tenants of the Atrium they have 18 months to vacate.So that means we lose the Duke? That's a bit of a downer. Lots of memories there.
Rumours of a 25 floor condo tower, but no specifics (and unclear how much that was speculation vs info from Zehr). But the 18 months left was pretty unambiguous (it's from the owner of one of the shops).