Your One Stop Tenant Improvement Shop
The arguments are all wrong regarding a development proposal in one of Vancouver's funkiest neighbourhoods. Nostalgia is not a reason to preserve an area of cheap, temporary and often ugly buildings. The fight shaping up over a development proposal in a funky Mt. Pleasant location says just about all you ever want to know about where the city of Vancouver is these days ... »»»
For a guy whose name has lately been splashed all over the local media after being fired from his role as planning director of the city of Vancouver, Brent Toderian is eager to talk up his city. We met to talk and tour the city about a week after the news became official that Toderian’s contract had been ended “without cause,” a high profile change in city administration that has left some urbanist-types worried about the city’s future (and some developers in a state of relief or even celebration) ... »»»
The City of Vancouver issued a news release on January 31 stating: “Today, City Council endorsed and confirmed that Brent Toderian will be moving on from the position of Director of Planning at the City of Vancouver.” An international search will be conducted for a new director, according to the release. Murphy already has one suggestion for the chosen successor. “First of all, I think we need to look at what the existing zone capacity of the city is." ... »»»
In the robust Metro Vancouver suburban office market, proximity to rapid transit has become a key market driver. Office locations within 0.5 km of rapid transit stations have a vacancy rate almost one third of areas which are not served. Office landlords have the upper hand in the well-served locations and developers are looking to build more transit-oriented suburban office complexes says the inaugural Vancouver Rapid Transit Office Index, issued by Jones Lang LaSalle ... »»»
A better model, from Britain and Vancouver, is to concentrate stores on “high streets,” turning others into mostly quiet residential streets. A rule of thumb is that an office worker will support a few square feet of retail businesses — essentially lunchtime eateries and perhaps a drugstore. In comparison, a resident will support 10-20 square feet. So, outside of a downtown retail core, the presence or absence of people living nearby determines whether a shop dies, barely survives, or thrives ... »»»
The emergence of China on the global economic stage has been discussed at nauseum in myriad publications. But this emergence has had an impact on the world of architecture, providing a testing ground where architects can experiment with new ideas about sustainability and urban growth. These new ideas have been realized in recently completed structures, and more are just beginning construction or have been proposed for the future. More on these new buildings after the break ... »»»
Local Vancouver architecture has become a source of inspiration to other cities ranging from Seattle to Dubai. Although Vancouver's architecture and reputation as one of the world's most livable city has been long admired, it is not without its flaws, argues Boddy. If the city's current challenges were created by design, there's hope that excellent design can carve the way to solutions as well. ... »»»
The only Canadian to be awarded a Grant-in-Aid grant from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is studying the effects of building shape, site layout and orientation on the design of net-zero energy solar neighbourhoods. Her study investigates the effects of building shapes, density and orientation on solar potential in neighborhoods of different layouts ... »»»
The Court of Appeal for British Columbia has upheld a decision to allow a class-action lawsuit to proceed between a group of Cambie Street merchants and the consortium in charge of Canada Line construction in Vancouver. ... »»»
I resist the idea that Dubai heralds the civilization of the future. But I have to concede that in some senses it might. Not only Singapore and Hong Kong but parts of central London now populated by transient bankers and their semi-legal Filipino servants have more in common with Dubai than with their own hinterlands, even if the architecture is different ... »»»