Stanley A. Milner Library | ?m | 6s | EPL | Teeple Architects

[thommyjo]

Not a lot of difference between the cladding on the Milner and AUPE buildings. Took a closer look at the east elevation of the Milner. It's actually not good either. The north elevation is easily the best and most inviting but it fronts onto the concrete barriers of the LRT. The whole building is a joke.

But the lighting and windows make it look way classier and modern. The Milner looks like a literal scrap pile of metal.

 

[David A]

But the lighting and windows make it look way classier and modern. The Milner looks like a literal scrap pile of metal.

Yes, the main part of the AUPE building the exterior is nicely interspersed with windows which makes the metal exterior less overwhelming.

The Milner looks like a horrible pile of metal or some sort of incarceration institution. Again, who was responsible for this mess? We need to name names and shame them!

The only way things will improve is if those who perpetrate such an embarrassment on us will know they can not get away with it and slink into anonymity. There is no improvement without accountability.

 

[IanO]

 

[Gus Haynes]

^What are we looking at here?

 

[archited]

Good Question...

 

[kcantor]

^ ^^
That's the Edmonton Northwest Police Campus, interestingly enough brought to - several years late due to construction/design issues - by the same architectural firm that did the library.

Edmonton Police Service Northwest Campus | Teeple Architects

The core inspiration for the Northwest Campus project was the Edmonton Police Service’s (EPS) decision to integrate, for the first time, previously dispersed functions in a single, community-focused facility. The intent of the design was both to provide EPS with the infrastructure it needs to...

www.teeplearch.com

 

[Gus Haynes]

Thanks, Ken!

 

[JNO1]

Imagine, at a minimum, if we could have just swapped the two. I would take this, over what we got on Churchill square, all day long. <Very heavy sigh>

 

[NicolBolas]

The downtown library is a symbol of mediocrity that most Edmonton projects unfortunately fall into.

 

[SarcasticMarmot]

For me it is less about swapping and more about priorities as a city.

Certainly we want and need a top notch EPS training centre, but when it looks better than your primary library on your main public square because you had to VE it to death versus 120mil for a rather striking building in the middle of nowhere... that says something.

I mean, it is an accurate representation of who really has a control of city hall.

 

[kcantor]

I mean, it is an accurate representation of who really has a control of city hall.

It’s not a matter of who has control of city hall. It’s a matter of delegating design decisions and approvals to individuals who, as a previous city councillor admitted, “can’t read a set of drawings” and architects who enable them.

And locally it’s not just the downtown library (Hall D and the new RAM are other examples) and it’s not just government either (and there’s no lack of private sector examples).

 

[Stevey_G]

It’s not a matter of who has control of city hall. It’s a matter of delegating design decisions and approvals to individuals who, as a previous city councillor admitted, “can’t read a set of drawings” and architects who enable them.

And locally it’s not just the downtown library (Hall D and the new RAM are other examples) and it’s not just government either (and there’s no lack of private sector examples).

Don't these people get 3rd party consulting? Even if I can read as-builts and construction drawing's I'd still want to hire some guru to help give a fresh opinion to me.

 

[northlands]

Don't these people get 3rd party consulting? Even if I can read as-builts and construction drawing's I'd still want to hire some guru to help give a fresh opinion to me.

For owner's representation? I don't think so except on mega projects (like LRT). No idea what @kcantor 's referring to but if I had to guess, sometimes the public sector has a bad way of hiring non-technical bureaucrats into management of highly technical areas. Major approvals and decisions come across their desk and they don't have the right expertise to see through the noise and choose the best direction.

It happens in the private sector also... boeing's a good example except replace bureaucrat with MBA

 

[kcantor]

For owner's representation? I don't think so except on mega projects (like LRT). No idea what @kcantor 's referring to but if I had to guess, sometimes the public sector has a bad way of hiring non-technical bureaucrats into management of highly technical areas. Major approvals and decisions come across their desk and they don't have the right expertise to see through the noise and choose the best direction.

It happens in the private sector also... boeing's a good example except replace bureaucrat with MBA

I thought I was pretty clear...

I remember describing Hall D (albeit before the DREAM latticework and vines got added in an attempt to hide it) as "a block long urinal facing Jasper Avenue". One of the councillors at the time who approved the project and the budget said "well don't blame me, I can't read a set of plans" at which point all one can do is shake one's head.

 

[Stevey_G]

For owner's representation? I don't think so except on mega projects (like LRT). No idea what @kcantor 's referring to but if I had to guess, sometimes the public sector has a bad way of hiring non-technical bureaucrats into management of highly technical areas. Major approvals and decisions come across their desk and they don't have the right expertise to see through the noise and choose the best direction.

It happens in the private sector also... boeing's a good example except replace bureaucrat with MBA

Yeaaaaah. In this case I would be the bureaucrat as the politician. I’d want a reputable architect and a couple of engineers giving me inputs on aesthetics, technical challenges, etc.