ProjectEnd
Superstar
I will be in Europe until January, so I thought I'd share a little of what's going on here. What one immediately notices is that Europeans seem to have a different conception of the built environment and, as Sir Nicholas Grimshaw puts it, "the power of good public design." Another thing you notice is a dedication to sustainability. Were in Canada builders seem to see sustainability as a "hey, look at me" selling-point for otherwise poorly-designed structures, in Europe it is a full on committment.
In this sense, you see green roofs (the Frankfurt Flughafen is in the process of transforming all of its roofs to low-maintenence grass gardens), shade-providing, cantilevered roofs and louvers over windows (thereby reducing heating and cooling costs), solar panels and wind turbines, and other such features on nearly every building.
Enough harping, let's see some evidence.
We'll start in the Frankfurt Hauptbanhof - a station which makes Union look like a potting shed. When one enters this space, it really forces a deep consideration of the stupidity of giving our own dark, dirty soul-less shed heritage protection. It also begs the question: would public transit be more popular in Canada if our hubs looked like this?
Small pavilions like this one contain a mix of retail and rest facilities. A far cry from Union's 'Commuter's Lounge' indeed.
Foster's Commerzbank Tower looking pretty slick in the morning sun.
Here is another example of the clear decision to put some effort into public facilities. This is the entrance to an underground parking garage. The building with the cantilever in the background is a post-office and is one of the most successful examples of facadism which I have ever seen.
The courtyard of a new condo
The facade of this new office complex has some undulating curves which are quite powerful without being tacky.
Another condo which had an distinct Rogers air about it. Can't confirm whether it is him or not though.
Another parking garage.
I'll update this thread as much as I can but seeing as I don't have internet where I live, we'll see how often that is.
In this sense, you see green roofs (the Frankfurt Flughafen is in the process of transforming all of its roofs to low-maintenence grass gardens), shade-providing, cantilevered roofs and louvers over windows (thereby reducing heating and cooling costs), solar panels and wind turbines, and other such features on nearly every building.
Enough harping, let's see some evidence.
We'll start in the Frankfurt Hauptbanhof - a station which makes Union look like a potting shed. When one enters this space, it really forces a deep consideration of the stupidity of giving our own dark, dirty soul-less shed heritage protection. It also begs the question: would public transit be more popular in Canada if our hubs looked like this?
Small pavilions like this one contain a mix of retail and rest facilities. A far cry from Union's 'Commuter's Lounge' indeed.
Foster's Commerzbank Tower looking pretty slick in the morning sun.
Here is another example of the clear decision to put some effort into public facilities. This is the entrance to an underground parking garage. The building with the cantilever in the background is a post-office and is one of the most successful examples of facadism which I have ever seen.
The courtyard of a new condo
The facade of this new office complex has some undulating curves which are quite powerful without being tacky.
Another condo which had an distinct Rogers air about it. Can't confirm whether it is him or not though.
Another parking garage.
I'll update this thread as much as I can but seeing as I don't have internet where I live, we'll see how often that is.
Why?
