Winspear Centre Completion Project | 29.87m | 4s | Winspear Centre | Andrew Bromberg

What do you think of this project?

  • Total voters
    51
Dubas said:
Which is disappointing because you'd think with COVID related closures this would have been the perfect year and a half to make significant progress before rehearsals and concerts resume....
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Literally thats how I feel about half the city projects...how the jasper ave work didn't get a year ahead of schedule is mind boggling. Get a move on CoE.
 
thommyjo said:
Literally thats how I feel about half the city projects...how the jasper ave work didn't get a year ahead of schedule is mind boggling. Get a move on CoE.
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Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. The city approves money for a certain portion of work as part of a budget cycle. Additional work on Jasper Ave project doesn't have any money approved in the budget so the city can't just double its efforts which would therefore double its costs.
 
TAS said:
Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. The city approves money for a certain portion of work as part of a budget cycle. Additional work on Jasper Ave project doesn't have any money approved in the budget so the city can't just double its efforts which would therefore double its costs.
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Yeah, I understand the budgeting cycle. Just sucks we can't be adaptive and flexible. Companies and non profits are often able to make adjustments to take advantage of opportunities like covid. Governments could, but they handcuff themselves in red tape. A nimble, agile city is possible and I dont think we have to settle for the status quo. We approved tens of millions for random expenditures this past year that weren't budgeted for. Its not like the money is stuck.
 
thommyjo said:
Yeah, I understand the budgeting cycle. Just sucks we can't be adaptive and flexible. Companies and non profits are often able to make adjustments to take advantage of opportunities like covid. Governments could, but they handcuff themselves in red tape. A nimble, agile city is possible and I dont think we have to settle for the status quo. We approved tens of millions for random expenditures this past year that weren't budgeted for. Its not like the money is stuck.
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Hear, hear.
 
Going back on the project itself, I recently reached our to a few people on LinkedIn to ask about the apparent construction delays. I won't disclose names, as per their request, but all three of them gave me the same answer, in different ways: the project is on track to be finished on time and should be done by the end of Spring 2022, the first stage of the construction was very sensitive (as someone pointed here) as there was a risk of damaging the (very expensive) acoustic isolation infrastructure in the existing building with vibrations from drilling and settling the foundations. According to one of them, now that this stage is essentially done, most of it is glass and steel, with some concrete pouring, but we should see it rise fairly quickly in the next few months.
I also asked if there had been any sort of changes in the final design (ie. value engineering) and the answer, from all three, was a resounding no. Which is also one of the reasons they haven't sped up construction, as the architect is very adamant and considers this project one of his crown jewels.
 
^^^^ Edmonton is extremely lucky to have this building in its civic precinct. The embarrassment is having the Edmonton Convention Centre portico a mere one block away -- what a contrast in architecture! Imagine if Andrew Bromberg could have designed both. The hopeful part is that every time a building like the Winspear Expansion lands in the City the example of good architecture (vs bad) so changes people's perception of quality design that we have the possibility of advancing society.
 
archited said:
^^^^ Edmonton is extremely lucky to have this building in its civic precinct. The embarrassment is having the Edmonton Convention Centre portico a mere one block away -- what a contrast in architecture! Imagine if Andrew Bromberg could have designed both. The hopeful part is that every time a building like the Winspear Expansion lands in the City the example of good architecture (vs bad) so changes people's perception of quality design that we have the possibility of advancing society.
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True, although I'd wager that most cosmopolitan and metropolitan centres have crap architecture right next door to gems. Private development is the wild west after all, and correct me if I'm wrong but it's only in recent years that design committees have become popular.

We could do worse. Houston is as wild as it gets. No zoning laws or land use plans anywhere within its city limits.
 
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MCXavierL said:
Design has been value engineered slightly (removing a number of spaces in the building and increasing some outdoor space) but it has kept its essence.
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The stone roof is still there unaltered which is great - main floor is a little smaller and the second floor plaza has been axed and moved to ground level. Other than that, nothing else major has been changed thankfully.
 
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