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U of Waterloo: School of Pharmacy (Dntn Kitchener, 8s, Hariri Pontarini/Robbie/Y+W)

alklay said:
Aren't all pharmaceuticals ultimately derived from plants? I believe (I guess) that is the connection.
Click to expand...
Uh yeah. I would have thought the connection would have been rather obvious, but I guess most people are use to drugs coming from some lab (though most of those chemicals came from plants...). The coltsfoot, poppies, and sage are the more common ones there. That said, it's still the first phase of the complex so there's still plenty more construction to go.
 
I get the connection, I just think the abstraction's been taken one step too far. A contiguous botanical image should have been used so that when botanical panels abut there isn't more disconnection than already happens with the window placement.

I also think the print is too large. The building needs you to look at it from afar - what's the point in getting up close? What extra detail would be revealed?
 
The plant theme has been discussed by the architects and makes perfect sense.

And as for the design in general-- it succeeds. Is this building in downtown Toronto? No. It is in downtown Kitchener, and it brings urbanity to an intersection that needs it, as well as, and most importantly, brings a splash of colour and modernity to downtown Kitchener.

In person, this building has alot of power to it, and it always attracts stares from passers-by or people on the bus.
 
come on phlunky - I think its been well accepted for quite awhile now that developments within the Greater Golden Horseshoe are welcome here. They are of immediate interest to people in this area and would likely not get much attention in the Rest of the Universe forum. Please dont scold me for my Niagara Falls Hilton thread also posted under GTA!
 
KW is definitely not part of the GTA lol... all of Southern Ontario is not the GTA :rolleyes:
 
right, that's why I suggested the Greater Golden Horseshoe... and that's what seems to be generally accepted here. I think anywhere you can drive in under 2 hours is of immediate interest. We that live in this area have family and friends that we visit regularly and so its all a common area of reference. For me this area would include Niagara Falls to the south, KW to the west, Barrie to the north and Oshawa to the east.
 
4 December 2008 photo update: barf!

Really, this project could've been a gem. Instead, it has turned out to be like a "tower in the park" project: really anti-urban long concrete wall between the street and the (parking lot?)

Also there's this hideous beige stone or fake stone detail along the ground floor level.

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Grade: good idea, poorly executed. D+
 
I won't agree that it's quite "Tower in the Park" as the main entrance is on the corner of King and Victoria, but it does seem like it will have that institutional dead wall along King towards the railway.

The "hideous beige stone or fake stone detail" looks like chipboard from your photos. I haven't been through Kitchener in a few months now though.
 
Wow ... that's just ugly - I've seen this one in person a while back.
The flowers really don't word for this building.

They should have taken a page out of the Murano development ... If you've seen that in person it looks very nice and fits in quite well.
 
H+P really jumped the shark. These are the same guys who designed the Schulich school, McKinsey and the Bahai temple in Chile...now look at them: they're building stuff like 100 Yorkville (which is pink) and this.
 
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