Our City- Diverse, Informed, Together
1075 Nelson St (DP-2021-00589)To say this proposal has drawn plenty of interest would be an understatement, as it played a significant role in Vancouver landing the International Passive House Conference in 2023. Even city staff acknowledged a project of this scale would further enrich local knowledge, and help build a supply chain for future projects... Continue Reading →
1406-1410 East King Edward AveIt was fitting this Urban Design Panel meeting was being broadcast live, with every chair in the room filled, as city staff announced it would mark the end of an era. Over the decades, they admitted city policy had grown complacent, focused only on providing a smooth transition between condos and... Continue Reading →
1250 Granville St (DP-2019-01014)Decisions have consequences, and city council’s referral of an amendment to allow more rental homes between Davie, and Helmcken on Granville Street back to their staff had a large impact here (pg 13). Hannah and I recognize the compromise in that request for further public consultation, as Councillors De Genova, Fry, Hardwick,... Continue Reading →
1289 Nicola Street - DP-2018-00038 - By The Bay Admittedly, neither Hannah nor I knew about this application before this revised version was scheduled for review by the Urban Design Panel. Then again, as it was submitted over a year and half ago, maybe we just forgot about it. Even some of Vancouver's wisest voices have... Continue Reading →
1444 Alberni Street When these towers were first revealed to Vancouverites in 2017, they generated a lot of excitement. In a city of seafoam tinted glass, world renowned architect Robert Stern had designed something that was really different, but still of extremely high quality. They may have looked New York in appearance, but, as they... Continue Reading →
815-825 Commercial Drive & 1680 Adanac Street In a region experiencing a critical shortage of rental housing it's a shame to see a great project held up by self defeating bureaucracy. Unfortunately, that fate will befall this Passive House rental building at Commercial and Adanac, located across the street from the long delayed Kettle Boffo... Continue Reading →
Perhaps it's egotistical of me to think that any UDP panellist reads City Duo, but I couldn't help but wonder if the panel's first question was in reference to our recent coverage of a different Hastings Sunrise project. Though I arrived late to the meeting, I was just in time to hear a panel member... Continue Reading →
1444 Alberni When these proposed New York designed passive house towers were rejected by the UDP, we were more than a little surprised. From the tone of the minutes, it appeared that most of the panel's concerns were related to the podium and the treatment of public realm. Given the scale of the project, our... Continue Reading →
2109 West 35th Ave It has taken a long time for us to write a final version of this post. While we feel the project is a great addition to the neighbourhood, the treatment we received at the event was shocking, and would make any resident of Vancouver feel unwanted in this neighbourhood. In short, it was hard to report on the... Continue Reading →
1444 Alberni- UPD Meeting Panel Consensus: Having reviewed the project it was moved by Ms. Spoelstra and seconded by Ms. Brudar and was the decision of the Urban Design Panel: THAT the Panel recommends resubmission of the project with the following recommendations to be reviewed by City Staff: Review the massing and density of the building and... Continue Reading →
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