Wednesday, December 19, 2012

460 Yonge in Toronto

http://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/460-yonge-street,
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=57381944&page=2,
http://thetorontoblog.com/2012/02/28/public-meeting-will-discuss-60-storey-condo-tower-plan-for-site-beside-historic-hall-at-yonge-college,
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?countryID=1,
http://www.emporis.com/building/460-yonge-toronto-canada
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/17645-460-Yonge-Street-(current-RBC-Sizzler-s-Pizza-Canderel-Stoneridge-seeking-60s-G-C)/page23

http://www.talkcondo.com/blog/looking-ahead-most-anticipated-toronto-condo-projects-of-2012
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The 225 Sixth Skyscraper in Calgary

http://brookfieldofficeproperties.com/content/Calgary/225_SIXTH-6746.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/02/225-sixth-skyscraper-planned-tower-will-eclipse-the-bow-as-tallest-on-calgarys-skyline_n_2228078.html#slide=more267113

http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/12/01/calgarys-tallest-building-the-bow-to-be-eclipsed-by-planned-56-storey-225-sixth-tower

http://www.westerninvestor.com/index.php/news/ab/1091-tallest-office-tower-planned-for-calgary-,
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/12/01/calgary-225-development.html,
http://bestcalgaryhomes.com/tallest-buildings-in-calgary-225-sixth

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/property-report/brookfield-plots-calgarys-tallest-office-complex/article5900026

Alberta http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?stateID=2
Canada http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=57381944&page=1

If the tower were already completed, it would be the 7th tallest in Canada. However, considering other building proposals, it might become the 14th tallest building in Canada, whenever its completed.
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Thursday, December 13, 2012

TELUS Garden

http://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/news/telus-garden-development-takes-up-city-block-in-downtown-vancouver/1001413595,
http://www.telusgarden.com, http://vancouverpresales.com/telus-garden,
http://www.604presale.com/telus-garden-downtown, http://www.buzzbuzzhome.com/telus-garden,
http://www.hellovancity.com/2012/03/04/telus-plan-for-second-tallest-tower-in-vancouver-now-includes-condominium-units-downtown-vancouver-real-estate-news-march-2012,
http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/03/a-closer-look-at-the-telus-garden-project

http://intergalactic.com/telus-garden

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Vancouver

http://www.emporis.com/city/vancouver-canada,
http://www.emporis.com/building/telus-garden-residential-tower-vancouver-canada

http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=90197,
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?stateID=1,
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=57306323&offset=175,
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?countryID=1
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Friday, December 07, 2012

Gate Tower Building, Osaka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_Tower_Building,
http://www.kuriositas.com/2012/09/highwaythroughabuilding.html,
http://autos.ca.msn.com/editors-picks/the-worlds-most-dangerous-roads-2#image=6
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Tuesday, November 06, 2012

The CN Tower Area

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower#History, http://www.cntower.ca/Intro.html,
http://travel.ca.msn.com/13-things-you-didnt-know-about-famous-canadian-landmarks#image=2

The area is certainly undergoing some big development changes.
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/10/breaking-oxford-place-propose-citys-first-supertall-skyscrapers,
http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/archives/48540,
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?countryID=1
Toronto might finally be permitted to have an office tower reaching at least 80 stories.
http://www.retail-insider.com/2012/10/nordstrom-simonstarget-or-walmart-in_18.html,
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/12/oxford-unveils-3-billion-casino-condo-proposal-for-downtown-toronto/

http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?countryID=2
NYC and Chicago have had office towers above 70 stories for decades, Toronto still only has one.
http://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/first-canadian-place-rejuvenation
Perhaps when Toronto finally has an 80 story office tower, Vancouver will have an office building that has at least 40 floors. So far, no office building in BC has been permitted to have a 40th floor, let alone those 60 to 80 story office towers that are common in other places.

http://skyscraperpage.com/cities
NYC is still the big guy on the block, but other cities have built some taller stuff in the past few decades.
http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/archives/50991,
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=202

The 1982 movie Blade_Runner reveals that Rick_Deckard lives in a residential tower that has over 90 floors. Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep? was published in 1968 when Chicago had a 100 story tower topped out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hancock_Center LA and SF have no buildings with 80 floors yet. So far, California only has one building that's over a 1000 feet tall.


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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Portland, Maine...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Maine, Earthquake:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/18/maine-earthquake-facts-2012_n_1980933.html,
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000d75b#summary,
http://www.usatoday.com/story/ondeadline/2012/10/16/earthquake-maine-boston/1637441,
http://copycateffect.blogspot.ca/2012/10/ME-Earthquake.html

Boston:
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=145,
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/10/17witness-hollis-maine-quake-felt-like-boom-rumble-and-sinking-feeling/h0Vg99l5NFhOXmx36nM4PI/story.html,
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/2012/10/16/maine-earthquake-rattles-new-england/JEHscgGOGsUqeNngsKCcgJ/story.html

Montreal:
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=22, http://www.imtl.org/montreal/timeline.php,
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/4-5-magnitude-earthquake-shakes-montreal-area-1.989538,
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/45-magnitude-earthquake-rattles-montreal-area/article4600428
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The 4 lane Pattullo Bridge Saga

The Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932 with 6 lanes & 2 tracks for trams & another 2 tracks for the heavier passenger trains. Eventually the trams were removed so that the bridge could have 8 lanes, but the 2 train tracks remain. It would be several decades before a bridge of similar width would be built in Canada. In BC, it was difficult enough just to get a 4 lane bridge built & the single track NW_Bridge.
www.nwheritage.org/phototour/riverlife/bridges_fraser.htm,  www.flickr.com,  www.tenthtothefraser.ca/2010/09/19/remembering-new-westminsters-pay-a-toll-o-bridge

The Pattullo_Bridge could have really been something spectacular between New_Westminster & Surrey. However, back in the 1930s there just wasn't that much population growth compared to more established urban areas of the world. Thus, there was no need to meet the equivalent engineering standards of New_South_Wales or California. Switzerland can fit into the land area of BC some 23 times. While Switzerland has about 8 million people, BC is struggling to reach 4.5 million & its 23 times larger. New_Zealand has about the same population of BC, but is about 3 quarters its size. Although Canada & Australia are among the largest countries_by_total_area, they are among the smallest in population because of their size. Canada hasn't been allowed to equal the population of California & Australia hasn't been allowed to rival the population of Texas. After all these years on a planet that has over 7 billion people, Canada & Australia combined, haven't been permitted to even equal the population of the United_Kingdom. Perhaps the Commonwealth_realm requires that its two largest land areas never rival the population of the UK, indefinitely.
http://io9.com/5930595/the-future-is-unevenly-distributed?tag=futurism

Although Canada has over 10 million more people than Australia, the urban infrastructure seems to lag behind that of Australia.
The new bridge might have 6 lanes, some 9 decades after the Sydney Harbor Bridge started out with its first 6 lanes in 1932. The heavy rail bridge might still remain as a single track crossing. www.surreyhistory.ca/rrera.html, www.southfraser.net/2008/06/rail-bridge_24.html
The Forth_Bridge is a fine example of a large scale double track bridge. The Quebec_Bridge was originally a double track railway crossing.


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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Tallest Buildings and Structures in Seattle vs. little Vancouver

The Columbia_Center opened in 1985 with 76 stories, 80 counting the mechanical or plant floors. Vancouver has the RBC with windows only up to the 36th floor. There are a few windowless floors above that.
The Smith_Tower opened in 1914. While this is a stump in Seattle, it would be the tallest office building in Vancouver, BC.
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Monday, February 20, 2012

The Technology Intersection (TTI)

The Technology Intersection (TTI) is essentially an Urban Tech intersection. Technology is continually expanding all over the world. Is it a government-corporate push or is it just that more people that are wanting to live in cities & urban areas in general? (This blog is semi-dormant at times.)

 
TTI intersects with Science, Urban themes and technology in general. There is also a Sci-Fi, popular cultural aspect as well. Such as the urban monster_movie, Batman & Superman, TRON & the Matrix...

Technology & urban development are key aspects of cities. Some cities grow big because they are in a desirable location, but usually it's for economic reasons.

Being from Vancouver, Canada it's always amazing to see how so many cities are allowed to exist on a much larger scale than what is allowed in Vancouver & BC in general. That's because most big cities around the world aren't limited by anything like Vancouverism. 

Even to see how much larger Seattle is able to be than little Vancouver, is astounding. No office tower in Vancouver has ever been permitted to have a 40th floor. Where as the tallest office tower in Seattle has 76 stories.  

The people of Seattle and especially the urban planners never had the same thwarting mentality that Vancouver seems to cultivate.
Obviously, the Greater Seattle Area was allowed to become a big high tech industry base. https://www.historylink.org/File/9190 Especially, the SF Bay Area.

Toronto is a BIG city on a lakeshore, just like Chicago is. 




Being from Vancouver, BC its amazing to see how several other cities are allowed to be built on a much larger scale, simply because they aren't under Vancouver type controls & restrictions.


Toronto Towers and Vancouver Stumps
The 72 story First_Canadian_Place and the 36 story Exchange_Tower.
The Exchange Tower is essentially a stump in Toronto, but in Vancouver it would be among the tallest office buildings.

Commerce_Court#1931_North_Tower & Commerce_Court West 1972
While CC North has become a stump in Toronto, it would be almost the tallest office buildings in Vancouver & BC, overall.


One of the main features of this blog is to point out how various cities have their tallest towers next to what would be a Vancouver size stump. How their long trains compare to the short trains of Vancouver. Being from Vancouver, its always fascinating to see how wide streets, roads and freeways can get in real cities.

Some how its like a multi-generational agenda was established so that Vancouver, Victoria and BC at large, would continually do things at a smaller scale than what is permitted in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. 

Therefore, by continually building things at a smaller scale, it helped to thwart the economy. That means less economic reasons for people to move to BC. Several generations of extreme zoning and building restrictions have helped to condition people in BC to never expect Victoria to be as big as Seattle or Sydney, NSW. That Vancouver could never be on the scale of a Montreal, especially Toronto & the SFBA.

There has been a long running argument that because Vancouver and Victoria are in a scenic setting, the scale of things have to be held back. Yet, scenic cities such as Sydney, SF, Seattle and Auckland..., don't have the same building restrictions as what Vancouver and Victoria have.

Several cities around the world have a larger scale of urban infrastructure than what Vancouver allows. Even though Victoria has a mild winter climate, Halifax, Q. City, Winnipeg and Edmonton still all have more people. With BC having so many imposed limitations, more business and people go elsewhere. The scale of downtown Calgary and Seattle just aren't thwarted like Vancouver's downtown is.

I wish that Victoria was allowed to be on the same scale as Sydney, Australia or at least Auckland. I wish that Vancouver was allowed to be on the same scale as Montreal or Seattle or especially SF & Toronto. However, a multi-generational power-structure has been quite adept in holding Vancouver & BC back. Then there is a Canadian version of this mentality as well. In spite of Canada being the 2nd largest country in area, its never been allowed to contain 1% of the worlds population. Indeed, Canada has yet to even house half of one percent of the worlds population.


More about The+Urban+Intersection at TTI.
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