Manchester Square | ?m | 2s | 76 Group Co | Gardner Architecture

[Daveography]

http://www.manchestersquare.ca/

https://globalnews.ca/video/4296561/developer-hopes-to-bring-european-flair-to-edmonton

 

[Daveography]

God this thing is a travesty.

 

[Daveography]

To quote myself from Twitter, why Make Something Edmonton when you can Fake Something European?

 

[archited]

WEM interior redux -- what's next? Old Macdonalds's farm?

 

[seamusmcuffs]

I'm trying to find something redeemable in this project, but I don't know if there is

 

[crisp]

Strongly disagree with you @Daveography , why not revive old architecture that has proven to be loved?? Not everything needs to be modern and contemporary that usually ages and looks like a product of its time. This kind of stuff will never go out of style.

It will truly depend on the materials used on the exterior, whether this turns out great or will actually look fake as you say.

The only thing I hate is the parking lot, the whole design should be flipped backward so the buildings line 107 Ave and the parking is hidden in the back. Dave, sadly to say but there is something Edmonton about this development, and that is the parking lol.

 

[Daveography]

@seamusmcuffs Someone pointed out that the small bay sizes would be good for attracting independent businesses, which is fair. That's about it.

 

[Daveography]

@crisp Sorry but no. Architecture is of its time, faking it rarely if ever looks good, especially when trying to transplant a vernacular from where it originated to where it has no meaning, place, or connection. Our city needs to stop trying to pretend to be someplace else and start shaping up into becoming its own place.

 

[crisp]

Majority of what I see could fit in well along Whyte Ave. The only thing someplace else about this is the name.

 

[westcoastjos]

I agree with Crisp. The design of the buildings is good.

The parking lot defeats the purpose of European design though.

 

[archited]

This ontworp is snatched off the streets of Antwerp so I don't get the name "Manchester". If it was just a tad more Bavarian in sensibility, I could imagine a giant cuckoo popping out of one of the uppermost windows -- that would be fun and much more 'tongue-in-cheek'. Maybe in true Amsterdam fashion they could replace parking with a canal and rent the ground floor spaces out to prostitutes, creating a vibrant red-light district for Edmonton. Actually, all choking (on the design) aside, some people just have to build their fantasy world (think Hearst Castle or Disneyland) -- and some people will love this design (especially if the details pop more than they seem to in the renderings) and other people will absolutely hate it. For me, when I am awake, I hate it; when I am asleep I love it!

 

[Daveography]

I provided more thoughts on the design in this twitter rant:
https://twitter.com/Daveography/status/1012093280199180288

 

[westcoastjos]

This ontworp is snatched off the streets of Antwerp so I don't get the name "Manchester". If it was just a tad more Bavarian in sensibility, I could imagine a giant cuckoo popping out of one of the uppermost windows -- that would be fun and much more 'tongue-in-cheek'. Maybe in true Amsterdam fashion they could replace parking with a canal and rent the ground floor spaces out to prostitutes, creating a vibrant red-light district for Edmonton. Actually, all choking (on the design) aside, some people just have to build their fantasy world (think Hearst Castle or Disneyland) -- and some people will love this design (especially if the details pop more than they seem to in the renderings) and other people will absolutely hate it. For me, when I am awake, I hate it; when I am asleep I love it!

So what you're telling us, is basically what you dream about.

 

[Moderne]

Well, at least the people who bought into the Venetian will have a place to shop now that'll feel like home.

 

[archited]

Not so much dreams @westcoastjos as nightmares --