O
officedweller
Guest
Good article - but it really doesn't say anything that we already didn't know about the urban design process here in Vancouver.
WRT whether the process or the industry curtails innovation in design, it probably a bit of both.
The process may require one or two reviews at the by the Urban Design Panel, followed by one or two reviews by the Development Permit Board. There's usually a month or two between each review - more if the panel or the board requests significant changes.
So if you hit any bumps in the road during the process, it'll take much longer, and that means increased costs to the developer.
BTW - the reasoning for the Olympic Village site was this:
Millennium Properties (the developer) paid a record sum to the City for the land to be used for the village. Following use as the Olympic Village the buildings will be internally reconfigured and sold as condos. The record price means that all of the condos will be sold at prices exceeding $1000/sq ft. So the developer, who has used Stern before, was aiming at a high end market - hence the beaux-arts style (akin to anything you'd see going up in Yorkville). The City balked because beaux-arts did not visually reflect the sustainable design features that the buildings are required to (and will) have. The project had to scream "sustainability" from the outside. An exterior luxury look didn't meet that objective (even if it did internally).
WRT whether the process or the industry curtails innovation in design, it probably a bit of both.
The process may require one or two reviews at the by the Urban Design Panel, followed by one or two reviews by the Development Permit Board. There's usually a month or two between each review - more if the panel or the board requests significant changes.
So if you hit any bumps in the road during the process, it'll take much longer, and that means increased costs to the developer.
BTW - the reasoning for the Olympic Village site was this:
Millennium Properties (the developer) paid a record sum to the City for the land to be used for the village. Following use as the Olympic Village the buildings will be internally reconfigured and sold as condos. The record price means that all of the condos will be sold at prices exceeding $1000/sq ft. So the developer, who has used Stern before, was aiming at a high end market - hence the beaux-arts style (akin to anything you'd see going up in Yorkville). The City balked because beaux-arts did not visually reflect the sustainable design features that the buildings are required to (and will) have. The project had to scream "sustainability" from the outside. An exterior luxury look didn't meet that objective (even if it did internally).