YYCguy
Active Member
Being in such close proximity to Arts Commons and various museums, it would be a perfect location for a downtown AUA campus.
EDIT: Nimbus and I are thinking along the same lines!
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- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
EDIT: Nimbus and I are thinking along the same lines!
It would be pretty cool. The only concern might be the square footage, as the current location and the Bay building are both around 300K, but it wouldn't leave room for expansion. There's always a possibility the university could expand into the buildings next to the Bay building, or upwards a couple of floors? If going into the Bay building it would be nice to have an atrium built in to allow some good natural light.
It would be very cool though.
Calgcouver
Senior Member
I love what TL Housing did with the Bay building in Victoria:
Blow out the centre and building new around a centre courtyard to reduce the floorplate size to residential. Leave retail at-grade obviously.
They appear to have very similar footprints:
So using this idea/model here is what I would ideally like to see the Bay building downtown do going residential on the upper floors:
Blow out the centre and building new around a centre courtyard to reduce the floorplate size to residential. Leave retail at-grade obviously.
They appear to have very similar footprints:
So using this idea/model here is what I would ideally like to see the Bay building downtown do going residential on the upper floors:
Albertasaurus
Senior Member
I absolutely love that idea from Victoria! I think whatever does happen to the Bay building, it will need to have a variety of uses/tenants, and residential over retail would fit the bill nicely.
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
This one, no matter what is going to be very expensive. That building has been falling apart for awhile. I think it will take a public institution taking it over to do it right, I just don't trust a private developer, and honestly I know a public institution will probably take 15 years to do anything but it should at least be done right.
Calgcouver
Senior Member
I think that is a fair perspective. Don't want an even more prominent Barron Building issue with this one.
InfrastructureEnthusiast
Active Member
I actually really like the AUA idea, keep the current facility and its awesome view, and use the Bay building as the expansion.
Might seem like a bit much, but with main floor CRUs, and a floor for a public art gallery would use a food chunk of it, and whatever floors aren't needed immediately by AUA could be divided up into artist studios until further expansion is required.
odogfo99
New Member
I don't know if this has been posted yet but here's a proposal from Mckinley Studios from their instagram that will go on the cowboys/BMO parking.
"A first look at a bold concept for a four-tower mixed-use development centered around a vibrant, community-driven plaza"
"A first look at a bold concept for a four-tower mixed-use development centered around a vibrant, community-driven plaza"
DiscoStu
Senior Member
The idea of AuArts "moving into a new building downtown" has been around since atleast when I was there (and that was...checks notes...jeebus, 20+ years ago!). The problem is that AUArts has zero money, and not much outside support...either from the government or private donors. It's been struggle city there financially for a really long time... so unless someone really steps up big, they aren't going anywhere.
trtcttc
Senior Member
Snippets were posted in this thread or another one, but I don't think we had official confirmation of the location then. The sentiment around that was nice build but a little too dense for the lot, and will probably be one of those phase 1 is twin towers, and the other two are never built. Pretty sure the BLVD it faces is one of those, where a phase 3 is a mini parkette.
DiscoStu
Senior Member
Apart from the density, It seems like projects with these elaborate indoor/outdoor courtyard proposals rarely seem to materialize as envisioned. They make for great renderings, but not sure how realistic they are in our climate. I'm sure it would be VE'd down.
Roaring Flames
Senior Member
The greenery in those renders definitely don't match Calgary. And they give a bit of a neo-brutalist vibe without that greenery.
JoeUrban
Active Member
I never realized that Calgary's Bay building isn't a rectangle. The north facade is two lots wider than the south one, due to the two Stephen Avenue buildings that are currently occupied by Social Beer Haus. I love the Victoria redevelopment. Calgary's Bay's west facade is also blank and could be balcony-ized like Victorias.
trtcttc
Senior Member
They require way too much maintenance where nobody really "owns" the space. Especially when it's not covered. The Well in Toronto has one of these indoor/outdoor malls but most of it is fully covered so it works snow/rain/shine. The renderings will change for sure, the second floor seems to have some sort of balcony? I'd imagine this would become retail or housing units, but unlikely to have a publicly accessible "hangout spot" given the area.
Mountain Man
Senior Member
I'm all for adding more residential to the core, but DON'T TOUCH THE FACADE!!! I'd 100% rather see that building kept as retail if possible, especially give the prominent location on what should be our premier retail street. Add food courts, retail pop ups, restaurants or anything else that fits on Stephen Ave, but do no ruin this building for the love of god!!