edmonton in three dimensions

Caution!!! This is a Sign!!!

2011-10-02T15:03:00.010-06:00

The Parks Branch of the City of Edmonton is currently running a signage pilot program on a section of multi-use trail in the river valley.

I think this is a great idea, because the trail system is not as user friendly as it could or should be. I have a typical cycling loop that is about 45km - all within the city and fairly central - and on that route I think I pass maybe 3 or 4 trail maps. For anyone who is not familiar with the river valley, the chance of them stumbling across informative signage is basically zero. So I'm glad that the city is working to improve this, and I hope that these new wayfinding tools might encourage a few tourists (or locals) to explore that trail system.

Here is one of the new signs:

First, the bad:

They're not well thought out.
They're not very helpful.
They're sort of ugly.

The giant Caution at the top of the sign makes no sense. These are multi-use trails and not a freeway. You're not traveling at 80km/h, and you don't need to be warned that there's an intersection ahead because you can see it right in front of you. And anyway, the print on the sign is so small that in order to read it you have to be standing in the intersection, looking at a sign telling you that you're at an intersection. It's ridiculous.

There is also a real risk with sticking Caution signs everywhere because it devalues locations where they might actually be important. If what they want is a yield sign for safety then they should put a yield sign - a Caution sign on a stick doesn't mean anything to anyone. Traveling through an area that has many of these signs it is natural to assume that they are just marking something like an underground utility, and that they are unimportant. Training trail-users to ignore Caution signs is the last thing that the Parks Branch should want.

The signs are also lacking a key piece of information - distances. "The High Level Bridge is up ahead somewhere" is not helpful. What's even less helpful is that if you follow this sign the Groat Bridge (which isn't listed) is less that 1km away, but the High Level Bridge is another 2km beyond that. There is plenty of room to add distances, but it is also important that the information that is listed is consistent. All nearby river crossings should be identified because they are fairly rare, and because if you cross the river once then you need to make sure you can get back. Intersections, major parks and trailheads should be prioritized as well.

Finally, the signs are unnecessarily ugly. I like to think that improved signage and wayfinding markers could help to make the river valley more friendly and welcoming, but unfortunately these signs just make it look like a crimescene. Information for trail-users should be a helpful resource and not something to be scared of.

So that is what I don't like about the signs. What do I like?

More signage is definitely needed on the multi-use trail system.
The city is going for a look that is consistent and visible and that says "This is important" rather than "This is a sign that is brown" like most of the existing signage.
The new signs appear inexpensive and should be mostly vandalism-proof, so they could be installed throughout the trail system at low cost.

How would I improve them?

As far as I'm concerned, labeling these signs as Caution completely misses the point. What they are providing is Information, and that is how they should be identified. This is a really simple change, but I think it's a huge improvement.

Taking things one step further, something like this contains the information that I would like to see. The text is still small enough that you need to stop to be able to read it, but it is basically an info booth - if you are lost then stopping isn't a problem. Ideally a small map of the nearby trails could also be added on the back (similar to what is done on some bus-stops), but I don't think that would fit on the signs the city has chosen. Even without that though, placing these wayfinding markers frequently and then installing eye-catching maps of the full trail system at every river crossing, major park and trailhead would make the parks system much more inviting.

The city is looking for input on this pilot project at trails@edmonton.ca

The EPS Strikes Again

2011-09-08T22:33:00.009-06:00

Not much to say of late, but the Edmonton Police Service has brought me out of semi-retirement. It's nearly fall and school is back in session, so that means it's time for their annual ineffectual anti-jaywalking crackdown and hullabaloo.

Two years ago they conveniently misrepresented statistics to blame pedestrians for silly things like cars that backed over them; cars that left the road; and cars that ran stopsigns. Sadly the links to any related articles are long dead, but I saved a quote from the September 28, 2009 Edmonton Journal article Pedestrians at fault in 59 per cent of injury accidents: EPS

41 per cent of drivers in injury accidents involving pedestrians were found to have failed to yield the right of way. That means in the other 59 per cent, the pedestrians were at fault...According to EPS statistics, 404 pedestrians were struck in the city in 2008. In 18 per cent of cases, pedestrians were crossing without right of way.

59% of pedestrians were at fault, but only 18% were crossing without the right of way? How was that supposed to work? Only the EPS knew, but it sure made a great headline. It was a real shining moment for the EPS' basic numeracy and logic skills. (for the record 18% was the correct number)

This year they're back with some graphic emotional blackmail:

From inews880

Acting Sergeant Jerrid Maze explains that decals depicting a jaywalker who had been hit are supposed to act as a warning. "It's supposed to look like a fourteen-to-fifteen-year-old girl," Maze explains. "She's dressed in blue jeans and a pink top, and she has a backpack on. It's supposed to look like she's been struck by a vehicle, so her eyes are closed and she'll be laying on the sidewalk."

These will be on sidewalks around the city for the next year, and the first location just happens to be at my long ago elementary school.

So what do the latest statistics say?

In Edmonton in 2010 pedestrians crossing without the right of way accounted for a whopping 14% of injuries or fatalities.

In Alberta in 2010 only 31% of drivers in pedestrian collisions were driving properly.

Those pesky pedestrians always being run over in marked crosswalks by law-breaking drivers. What's wrong with them?

Thinking about it though, emotionally manipulative decals are a great idea. The EPS is just using them wrong. Looking at the numbers, this is the issue we should be addressing:

(slogan borrowed from copenhagenize.com

Photoshopping is fun, and anyone can play!

Updated to add: the EPS campaign got a mention on copenhagenize.com

Winter Panoramas

2011-03-13T20:40:00.006-06:00

Panorama software makes little point-n-shoot cameras more interesting:

Sprawlberia

2011-03-11T16:56:00.002-07:00

As I type this the world "Sprawlberia" returns 0 hits on google.

How is it possible that in the history of the internet no hipster or independent documentary filmmaker has ever combined the words Sprawl and Siberia before? It seems like an obvious idea. And I think it's nice and evocative, although that might come from living on an occasionally-frozen tundra.

Sprawlberia - you heard it here first.

Walternate Bridge

2010-12-28T10:14:00.004-07:00

The Walterdale Bridge was completed in 1914 and it was the last of Edmonton's bridges of that era - following the Low Level in 1900, the Dawson in 1912, and the High Level in 1913. The Dawson has recently been undergoing a year-long refurbishment, but the Walterdale has long be slated for replacement.

In November of 2010 the City of Edmonton held the first open house for the project - Concept Plan for the Walterdale Bridge Replacement. Included in that information were rough styles that the new bridge may take:

To help with visualizing the different options, here are three quick-and-completely-inaccurate models.

Cable-stayed:

Arch:

Extra-dosed:

The models can all be downloaded and plugged directly in to Google Earth.

Sentinel

2010-04-01T23:56:00.000-06:00

=IF(ROUND((RAND()(7-1)+1),0)=1,ROUND(RAND()2,0),A1)

2010-03-25T22:56:00.006-06:00

I threw this together for fun a little while ago:

Let's start with some background.

In the mid-1970's three matching office towers were built around what was then known as Edmonton City Centre. They had a nice, Van Der Rohe simplicity to them, although lining up three of them in a row might have been a bit much.

About ten years ago the TD tower - the southernmost of the three, and the second to be built - was reskinned into a sort of cutesy post-modern. At this point the building was barely 20 years old, but the new look is similar to the TD tower in Calgary which was probably the driving factor behind the premature update. No city needs 3 Kubrick obelisks, so the added variety was welcome.

A few years ago a reskining was started on the City Centre Tower, which is the middle tower and is the oldest of the three. That is now complete, and the building has become a blander version of the TD tower. Van Der Rohe simplicity mated with futzy shininess begets dull mish-mash.

Just recently the Oxford tower - the final member of the trio - started to receive a new look. The work is still underway, but by all appearances it will also be dull.

At about the same time as that started I saw a rendering of a proposed tower in Montreal with one of those randomly generated patterns that are all the rage these days. And hence, the tower that Excel built:

I am sure there are many very good reasons why Oxford chose not to do something like this with the tower. It's too bad though, because it would certainly be an interesting (if also desperately trendy) addition to the skyline and the view from Churchill Square.

I am by no means an expert on curtain-wall procurement, but I don't think this would actually be that difficult to do. As a comparison, the pattern on the TD tower requires something like 14 different types of glazing and panels. My randomized excel version uses 15. And if the order was accidentally mixed up during installation it's not like anyone would notice.

As a bonus, here is the urban-camouflage version that is more similar to the tower that was proposed for Montreal:

2010.03.21 Petals and Pedals

2010-03-21T15:30:00.002-06:00

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Commute

2010-03-18T22:09:00.001-06:00

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The Art Gallery of Alberta

2010-02-20T22:01:00.010-07:00

I don’t really like the new art gallery.

I haven’t been inside it yet, and I do expect that the interior spaces will probably improve my opinion a bit. Based solely on the exterior though - having now had a few months to come to terms with it, and having recently spent a fair bit of time thinking about how it works in order to get the model right - I’m not really a fan.

The new gallery is certainly a good thing for Edmonton. The design competition got people interested in architecture. The AGA now has better space and (a little) more room. And it is a building that people seem to like and find interesting (for now, anyway). So it is undeniably a positive for the city, but that doesn’t mean it is beyond criticism.

Paint it black

My main concern with the building is the glazing. It has a grey reflective tint which I think was a huge mistake.

This is what was shown in the early renderings:

With some tweaking and artistic license this is closer to what we got:

The main feature of the AGA is the Borealis sculpture. It twists through the building, and in the rendering its transitions from interior to exterior and back again are clearly visible. The Borealis can be perceived as a single element that weaves throughout the entire building and that binds it all together. Unfortunately the reality is that the windows are hard barriers, and the Borealis actually appears as a decapitated collection of confused and seemingly unrelated elements. Any connection between exterior and interior is lost.

This lack of connection also has a dramatic effect on the way that the building relates to its surrounding. This is the gallery’s restaurant during weekend brunch:

This is a lifeless building. City Hall across the street uses transparency to great effect, but here the glazing is dead and inert. The building is already very, very grey and the windows should add lightness to it, but instead they only make it worse.

This is exaggerated by the way that the building fills its small site. The old gallery had a sizeable front plaza, but that is now gone with the expansion pushing right up against the property line. This was probably for the best since it increases the gallery's prominence from Churchill Square, but it means that there is no longer any transition space. The entrance is a labyrinth of practical ramps and railings, and there is no space left to just breath. You are either inside or you are outside; separated by the cold, dark glass.

During the design competition there was praise over the fact that Stout Architects recognized Edmonton as a winter city, and provided a snowy rendering to match. In recognizing us as a winter city though, they appear to have failed to realize that we are equally not a winter city. The gallery will undeniably look its best when it is lit up during the darkest depths of winter. At the height of summer, though – when Churchill Square is filled with crowds and the sun is shining late into the evening – it will be an inanimate grey lump squatting on the corner.

The unfortunate tint does serve a purpose - it is presumably there to reduce the cooling load on all the east, south and west facing glazing. That is an admirable enough goal, except that this is a building that is wrapped in a giant metal bow. Taken in that light any arguments of prudence ring a bit hollow. The tint significantly weakens the overall design, and it destroys the building’s interaction with its surroundings. It was not worth it.

Getting it (w)right

The debate over elaborate galleries that overshadow their collections has been around since at least Wright's Guggenheim, and likely for much longer than that. The millennial fad of starchitecture has taken that a step further, and now the world is dotted with galleries and museums that are as much sculpture as they are structure.

At first glance the AGA seems to be yet another example of this, but there is one important difference. Rather than being a sculptural building, the AGA is much more of a building and a sculpture. Generally with Gehry, Calatrava, Libeskind, Hadid and the others the line between building and sculpture is difficult to determine - just where does the space end and the flourish begin? With the AGA that point is easy to identify:

Building + Sculpture

Building

This brings up an idea - view a gallery exterior as a blank wall that is simply another display space for art. Build a structure that is functional enough, and then install a large-scale sculpture on, in, or through it. Then every decade or two commission a new work, and move the old one to a nearby park. It could keep a building fresh in the mind of a fickle public, while also strengthening a city's public art program (although the logistics of it would certainly be a nightmare).

Depending on your perspective that could sound like either an excellent idea, or a terrible one. The AGA is already a fair distance down that road, though. It is a building that effectively has a large sculpture as part of its permanent collection, but it has also been designed specifically for that sculpture. What I have to wonder is if the Art Gallery of Alberta were to commission a great sculpture for their collection, would Randall Stout be the artist that they would choose?

This item has been discontinued by the manufacturer

Treating a building as structure + art leads to some interesting questions. Here is an earlier rendering of the gallery from the design competition:

If I had to quickly describe the AGA I would mention the zinc, the cantilever, and the swoopy bits. I think that those three elements are the key to its aesthetic; the swoopy bits being the most dominant and defining part of the "look" of the building. From concept to reality then, all three of those elements are still in place. It also seems that the bulk of the square footage - the back section, the restaurant and the cantilever - remains basically unchanged. The swoopy bits however, and the whole front section around them, are completely different. They have the same basic style, and if they were actually sculptures they would clearly be part of the same series, but they are also distinct works that look quite different from one another.

If a building is structure + art, and if you swap out the art with a different piece, do you still have the same building? Is one Stout sculpture just as good as the next? Did they just run out of the first one, or did it get used somewhere else? What if you really liked the curved knife-edge that was over the restaurant in the early design, or the way that the ribbon was kinked at the rear? Is art really fungible?

I'm not saying that buildings can't change from concept to construction. If a design from one of the other architects had been selected it would certainly have seen some evolution. In a combination of structure + art though, what drives a wholesale change in the art? The Borealis sculpture does have a bit of a functional role, as it supports a fourth floor meeting room and wraps around the main stairs. Was it impossible for the original sculpture to meet those constraints? The changes from concept to reality may demonstrate how flexible the overall design is, but they also reveal how arbitrary it is.

Form follows whim

It irks the modernist in me that a building's appearance can change so significantly without a corresponding change in program or function. It probably irks the classicist in me too, since it's not like the ancient Greeks just threw things together either. If you are feeling charitable though, you could argue that by distilling today's trends down to structure + art the AGA is simply being honest.

We are in a time when clients clearly expect grand, sculptural gestures. Rather than using showy contortionism to twist a building into a pretzel, why not just build a grand sculpture? Prior to the rise of modernism architecture and sculptural embellishment did go hand-in-hand, so it's possible that this is just a return to an older tradition? I don't happen to view the building that way, but you could if you wanted to. I tend to see it more as a cynical attempt to give people what they want; I will accept that the truth is likely somewhere in between.

What's new is old

When the winning design for the AGA was announced back in 2005 it felt old. Gehry's Guggenheim and Concert Hall are two of the most photographed and filmed buildings in the world, and wouldn't it have been for the best to just shy away from anything superficially Gehryesque? How could anything measure up, let alone actually feel new or exciting?

In the intervening years I've softened a bit on this. The building is still desperately trendy, and it is still a decade too late. It is also a building though, and what is one decade in the life of a building? In a few years no one will remember whether it was built in 2000 or in 2010. It will be clearly recognizable as one of those galleries and museums that everyone was building at the dawn of the shiny new millennium, and whether it was a leader or a follower will fade.

It certainly won't put Edmonton on the map though, since mid-sized cities around the world have all tried to capture some of that old Bilbao magic with similar projects. And as Edmonton's great leap forward it is unfortunate that we had to clutch so tightly to the coattails of others. It is the only building of its kind for nearly a thousand kilometers though, and even in our electronic world that still has importance.

Grist for the mill

What is one decade in the life of a building? In Edmonton a lifespan can be troublingly brief - the old art gallery was a few years shy of forty when it was torn down.

Some people loved the old gallery and others hated it. It certainly wasn't exciting or cuddly, and this city has no shortage of other brutalist concrete, so a general disregard and apathy are not surprising. For my part I liked it, but I didn't love it. I really liked the second floor space, but disliked the first. As with anything it had the good and the bad.

Of the four proposals for the new gallery two of them (and possibly a third - it's hard to remember) worked to incorporate the old gallery. The winning design didn't. It is certainly true that a large section of the original building still remains at the rear, but rather than being preserved or highlighted it has been rendered unrecognizable. It was simply consumed as a raw material and nothing more.

There were other options available, but this is the one we chose. Sadly, that is typical of Edmonton. History is an embarrassment that should be wall-papered over. If we could just start from the beginning again, this time we could make everything perfect. We've been trying that for at least fifty years now, and I don't think it's worked yet.

All the angles

With all of that - the lifelessness, the intellectual three card monte, the calculated fadishness, and the casual dismissal of the past - if I actually liked the new building none of it would really matter. Unfortunately though, I just don't find it appealing. In particular, the defining view from Churchill Square does nothing for me:

It looks like someone killed a transformer - there's a leg, and the head, and some fingers, and an ear. I don't understand the flat surface at the end of the cantilevered section, which is governed by a sense of aesthetics and proportion that is completely alien to me. I can only assume that is where banners will eventually be displayed to promote the exhibitions? For now though, that comically oversized balcony is more funhouse than expressionist.

I do like the North elevation. It is brutal to the point of giving the old gallery a run for its money, but I think it works surprisingly well:

And while working on the model I discovered that the South elevation has some charms of its own:

I think this angle pulls off lyrical chaos much better than the typical view from the square. Unfortunately though, the only way to see the gallery from this angle is from the inside of Chancery Hall across the street. The view that most people will see from streetlevel is rather less impressive:

I have also realized that I've been a bit unfair in my judgement of the galley. Seeing the rendering of the early concept has forced me to admit that I really do prefer what we got to what was originally proposed. And as the gallery took shape I was definitely prejudiced; transferring my initial dislike for the concept onto the new building. I obviously still don't think it's great, but it is definitely better. And hopefully the interior will wow me a bit once I've visited.

The glazing really is unforgivable, though. One day it will need to be replaced, and we will thankfully have a chance to fix it. Unfortunately though, when that day arrives people just like me will be defending the black glass as an integral part of the design.

Progress

2010-02-12T23:54:00.001-07:00

Help build the UofA in Google Earth

2010-01-17T21:54:00.003-07:00

If you are in Google Earth looking at Edmonton, and if you have the 3d Buildings Layer turned on then you'll see something that looks like this:

The buildings are created in a program called Sketchup and then uploaded into Google's 3d Warehouse.

The University is interested in getting a model of the UofA campus into Google Earth, and since I've done a lot of the models of Edmonton they asked me for some advice. I thought it would be worth seeing how much interest there was in the community - online, students, alumni, Edmontonians-at-large - in putting together a team of volunteers to model the campus.

There would be two phases:

Pictures

When the temperature is a little bit warmer and the sun is a little bit higher in the sky we'll hopefully have lots of volunteer photographers to swarm out over the campus. That would probably happen in late March or early April, depending on the weather. Pretty much any recent camera would work (camera-phones might not be the greatest, but anything over about 5MP should be fine). For anyone with a nice big zoom lens we should hopefully get roof access, so in addition to taking pictures of the buildings there could be an opportunity to get some nice skyline shots from an unusual perspective.

3d Modeling

After we have all the photos we'll sort them all by building, post them on a UofA FTP site, and then it will be time to start on the models. That is basically as easy as:

1)

2)

3)

4)

It might seem daunting, but there is a lot of good information out there, and it can all be done using free software. If you think you might be interested I'd suggest taking a quick browse through some of these helpful links:

Tutorial Videos
Modeling a City
More tips for Modeling
Sketchup for Dummies
An amazing how-to for St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow

(and you don't have to wait for a UofA group to be put together - you could get started on your house, office or school right now!)

Google also has a new program called Building Maker which simplifies the process, but it causes you to lose detail. It could be useful for some of the buildings on campus, so I'm trying to find out if or when it will launch for Edmonton.

Right now I'm trying to gauge interest. Eventually there would be a facebook page, twitter account, blog, etc to keep people informed. And we'd probably start with an orientation meeting to talk about the plan and go over some tips, hints and best practices.

If you think you might be interested in helping (either as a photographer, or as a modeler, or hopefully as both) please send and email to inthreedimensions and you will add you to the mailing list. And if you know of anyone else who might be interested please pass this on to them too.

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

2010-01-07T20:53:00.007-07:00

It took forever - just over 6 months from my trip to collect the photos to uploading the final model - but it's finally complete. And it turned out pretty well:

A total of 22 models, with lots of neat stuff including a few churches:

A wide variety of houses:

And my first (and likely last) grain elevator:

2009.11.26 Stained

2009-12-08T12:32:00.002-07:00

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2009.11.17 Sunrise

2009-12-08T12:18:00.002-07:00

2009.11.05 Where You Know Every Body's Name - Night

2009-11-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

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2009.10.31 Where You Know Every Body's Name - Day

2009-11-19T13:02:00.001-07:00

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2009.10.28 delirious one twenty fourth II

2009-11-01T23:00:00.002-07:00

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2009.10.26 delirious one twenty fourth

2009-10-28T17:49:00.005-06:00

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2009.10.14 More tripod fun

2009-10-17T16:13:00.001-06:00

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2009.10.02 - Pecha Kucha Night 5 - edmonton in three dimensions

2009-10-02T23:55:00.007-06:00

The second in what may have to become an annual tradition for me, here are the slides for the eponymous PKN5 presentation edmonton in three dimensions

Generic introduction. Did you notice the riverboat?

More generic introduction. Did you notice the pedway?

A little under 3 years. A little over 200 models. (to be fair, many of those contain multiple buildings, so the building count is somewhat higher)

Modeling How-To

Gathering Images

Plan

Massing

Creating Textures

Applying Textures

Adding Friends

New York as done by Google. Very cool...but where's the love? (this was a mystery slide that didn't show up in my presentation)

The High Level Bridge - even with the fancy semi-auto generated cities, for signature stuff you still need to go the manual route.

More signature stuff. Westmount Junior High is what got me into the PKN5 theme of "Old School." Also the Fed, Leg, Bowker and Prince of Wales Armouries.

More signature stuff. Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre, City Hall, TWOS, MacEwan and Commonwealth. Two of my other Modern models worth checking out are the Baker Clinic and QEII Planeterium - both are in pretty bad shape in the real world, but are made pretty again through sketchup.

The model of the downtown is basically done, which means anyone can use it to visualize things like the currently under construction EPCOR tower.

Gone but not forgotten: 1957 City Hall, Edmonton Art Gallery, 1923 Library, 1912 Court House, the Arlington and Central Pentecostal Tabernacle.

Revisionist History - the Tegler Building at modern day 101st and 102ave. Anyone can play.

The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village - using Google Earth as a clickable guide to a multi-building site.

Paris (by Kévin GIRARD), New York (by Kévin GIRARD), and Dubai (by carlitos) come to Edmonton.

Lots done. Lots left to do.

Slides from my PKN2 Reclaiming Deadmonton presentation are here.

2009.09.24 Enjoying the Equinox

2009-09-25T07:31:00.000-06:00

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2009.08.15 dEdmonton takes Spruce Grove

2009-08-17T18:58:00.000-06:00

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2009.08.08-09 Wander in Denver

2009-08-11T18:40:00.003-06:00

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2009.07.16 dEdmonton in the 2009 Capital Ex Parade

2009-07-22T18:34:00.005-06:00

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2009.07.12 Whyte Avenue Art Walk

2009-07-12T22:53:00.006-06:00

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2009.07.03 Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

2009-07-07T22:10:00.003-06:00

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2009.06.30 Alberta Aviation Museum

2009-07-06T21:56:00.003-06:00

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2009.07.05 A quiet Sunday afternoon in Churchill Square

2009-07-05T22:45:00.006-06:00

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2009.07.01 The rest of my Canada Day

2009-07-04T16:10:00.004-06:00

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2009.07.02 Eighteen Bridge Tour

2009-07-02T22:29:00.008-06:00

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2009.07.01 Canada Day Fireworks

2009-07-02T09:01:00.005-06:00

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Commonwealth Stadium

2009-07-01T10:30:00.002-06:00

Model and Building information

Commonwealth Stadium is an interesting one. Built at the tail-end of the brutalist era, it is all raw-concrete, form-following-function perfection:

Because of that perfection though, anything outwardly recognizable as human has been suppressed. From the outside it could be the fossilized remains of some prehistoric creature, an elaborate burial monument, or just a giant abstraction. The key point is that it is colossal, because like an Airport or a Refinery people aren't the driving factor here. Commonwealth is built on the scale of firstdowns, and is designed for the swarm or throng. The individual is secondary and there is no pretense to the contrary.

Entrances obviously serve a basic functional role, but beyond that they have always had an important symbolic value. An entrance is the threshold between interior and exterior or between us and them, and is generally celebrated or embellished with visual cues. At Commonwealth the entrances are hidden behind the same cladding that is used throughout, vanishing into a seemingly unbroken shell, and distinguishable only because of typography. Even when you identify which wall sections are the entrances, there is nothing to say that these are necessarily for people. Their generic nature could just as easily be intended for cattle or vehicles.

A wall along the north is the only detail to reveal that Commonwealth does exist in a world of people. It is recognizable as human-scale by virtue of being just tall enough to keep people out.

When Commonwealth was built in the late 1970's the year 2001 was still the distant future, and like a lot of brutalism I think that it was built for that future.

When 2001 actually arrived though, it wasn't interested in being the future anymore. Commonwealth grew wings, and for the first time it had recognizable doors and even windows. It had a new facade built around familiar distances like 50', stucco textured to appeal to a vague memory of brick and masonry, and comfy earthtones drawn on with a thick marker.

This is powercentre architecture. The repeated sculptural elements in particular - with their easy hints of an oil derrick, the Grey Cup, and Olympic flame, and maybe the chalice of mythology - are the decoration of suburban parking lots. They are symbolism reduced to a game of pictionary.

If Commonwealth was too austere and distant, then this swings too far the other way as a pantomime of what a building should look like. Where Commonwealth implies permanence this screams disposable, and where Commonwealth made a statement this isn't even trying.

As for the model, Commonwealth Stadium and Rexall Place are a bit of a matched pair, and there are two Rexall Place models (here and here) that other people did back in 2007. I guess that NHL arenas are more interesting than CFL ones? I'm not in the area very often, so it took me quite a while to get around to making Commonwealth.

If you look at the satellite photos of the stadium you'll see that there's a severe foreshortening happening, with one side looking much deeper than the other. That made the model a bit tricky, because I don't know which side was actually correct. Because of that many of the dimensions - particularly of the curves in the corners - are a bit made up.

There is also a gym that is located on the south side of the stadium which isn't included in the model. When I was taking photos the entire southern section of the site was being excavated for the construction of a new Recreation Centre. Rather than model the gym now, I decided to wait until the rec centre is complete.

2009.06.30 Retro 124 Street

2009-06-30T16:30:00.011-06:00

I've mentioned 124 Street before. Its history goes back to the early part of the 20th century, with it really taking off around 1908. In spite of that, and in spite of the fact that it is flanked by neighbourhoods that are very old by Edmonton standards the street itself has very little historic architecture. Just a handful of buildings remain, all basically within a stone's throw from the intersection of the former Edward Street and Athabasca Avenue.

What 124 Street does have a lot of is Modernism, but because these buildings are old without being "historic" they are often overlooked. If they were any other medium though, they would be praised for their quirks as kitsch or vintage, and so here is a quick tour of Retro 124 Street:

continued...

2009.06.27 Two Concerts - No Waiting

2009-06-28T15:36:00.004-06:00

Jazz in the Park in Louise Mckinney park. Part of the Edmonton International Jazz Festival:

Ongoing entertainment in Churchill Square as pat of The Works Art and Design Festival:

Some miscellany:

Saskatchewan Drive

2009-06-22T09:46:00.006-06:00

The Manhattan and Strathcona House

Capital View Tower and Riverwind

Waterford House, Tower on the Hill and Lord Strathcona Manor

Kennedy Towers, Cranleigh Towers, and the Water's Edge

Parkside Towers and One River Park

9929 Saskatchewan Drive and Riverview Manor

My first models on the south side of the river, and from west-to-east this mostly completes the skyline along Saskatchewan Drive.

There are a couple of really nice building along here - notably One River Park and Riverwind. There is also the funky modernism of Kennedy Towers and Capital View Tower, and the cold precision of the Water's Edge.

Too many of these buildings - notably One River Park and Riverwind - make the mistake of thinking that people only want views of the river and that everything else secondary. This is a problem throughout Edmonton resulting in many forgotten north walls, although in the case of Saskatchewan drive it is the south wall that is ignored.

A rail right-of-way runs behind several of these buildings and beyond that is heritage neighbourhood, so while there is no such thing as a guaranteed view the one south from these towers is pretty close. I haven't spent much time on low-low floors, but from 6 or 8 storeys up almost any view will look good, and at 10 or 20 storeys the view out to the distant Alberta horizon can be spectacular. Maybe one day Edmonton will figure that out, but after more than 50 years of high-rise construction it hasn't happened yet.

The Uptown and Grosvenor House

2009-06-22T09:44:00.001-06:00

Model and Building information

These could have been bundled in with one of my previous posts of apartment buildings, but I thought the deserved their own post.

The Uptown is - as of this moment - the newest completed condo in central Edmonton. Edmonton didn't see all that much high-rise construction in the recent worldwide real estate boom, but the Uptown is definitely one of the better ones. It's not as flashy as what you would find in other cities, but I think that is partly a reasonable approach given our climate, and partly due to the limitations of what a "high-rise" can be because of the airport.

Grosvenor House is just a supercool artifact from the 1970's. It is located just off the river valley, but if it was half a block south and rotated 90 degrees it would be the building in Edmonton. It's still a great building, although the model doesn't convey that at all, unfortunately:

2009.06.20 A Random Walk

2009-06-20T23:51:00.002-06:00

2009.06.13 Zombie Luau

2009-06-17T12:53:00.003-06:00

To celebrate a screening of Lucio Fulci’s Zombie, a fundraiser for DEDfest: Hellberta’s Horror Festival, and part of the upcoming dEdmonton Halloween Festival.

The beverages from Amber's Brewing Company

Wares from Mars and Venus

Hula contest

Zomibes

Idiots

2009-06-17T08:43:00.007-06:00

The blue truck knocked over a mailbox and then wedged itself onto a telephone post. The driver and passengers tried to unwedge it, but when that failed they hopped into another truck and took off. All of this with the truck's horn stuck blaring from the collision.

My girlfriend called it in to 911 (I was asleep for most of the exciting stuff), and a little while later we got a call from the police saying that they had suspects in custody. Hooray.

This marks the third time that I've seen an idiot v. inanimate object collision at this corner. Here's a grainier one from last year:

The placement of the lampposts, telephone posts and trees along there must be magic. They are what the idiots always hit, and in this case that's definitely good news for Floc and Pedalhead.

21.5 more Apartments, and 0.5 Offices

2009-06-14T22:17:00.011-06:00

The Elmhurst and Riverview Towers

The Mayflower and Park Place

Illuminada I & II

The Wimbledon, B&H Tower and Shaughnessy House

Hudson House, The Hargate and Prominence Place

Hyde Park, The Berkeley and The Albany

Centurion Towers and Oak Tower

Oliver Place, Oakwood Towers and the Mountbatten

Park Plaza, Oxbridge Place & The Carlton

In this batch of models the 0.5 of an office and an apartment is Park Plaza, which has 6 floors of residential above 10 floors of office. As far as I know, it is the only building of that type in Edmonton. (It also shouldn't be confused with Park Square, Park Place, Park Tower, Parkside Tower, or Central Park).

Also in this group is the Wimbledon, which I would have to say is by far the most phallic building in Edmonton especially when viewed from Jasper Avenue. Something like that doesn't just happen by accident, does it?

Beyond that, these models are mostly interesting because they largely "complete" the skyline of Oliver. There are still a few office buildings to do around 112 Street, and a few more apartments that I just happened to miss when I was taking photos, but this is basically it.

2009.06.13 Pride

2009-06-14T16:21:00.003-06:00

My camera was on the wrong settings, which is something that I didn't notice until after I'd gotten home and found a whole lot of weird halo-y pics:

But anyway, here are a few that did work out okay:

And after the pararde, Churchill Square was crazy busy:

Gibson Block

2009-06-09T09:30:00.003-06:00

Model and Building information

Edmonton's own flat iron building, complete with a painted sign that's almost enough to get me drinking Pepsi:

The model itself is just okay. I've mentioned patchwork buildings before, and this one has some of that with the entrance and the north side just not quite working out.

2009.06.01 Cherry Blossom Walk

2009-06-05T16:22:00.003-06:00

30 Apartments and 1 Office

2009-06-05T15:29:00.001-06:00

I don't particularly like modeling apartment buildings, but occasionally I'm hit with a need for completeness. This set has a few buildings in the McKay Avenue area, along with a lot in southeast Oliver and Grandin. Previously I hadn't done anything in that area, but this should fill it in nicely.

Hillside Estates North & South, Dunedin House and McDougall Place

Grandin Green and the David Thompson

Park Towers, the Panorama and the Edgehill

Central Park, the Trethway, Dorchester House & Maureen Manor

Valhalla and Victoria Park Tower

York House, Bondell Tower, Lancaster House & the DeVille

Academy Place and Windsor Arms

Capital Place, Tower on the Park and Grandin Manor

Westwind Estates and Le Jardin

Tegler Manor, Rosedale Place, Westcliffe Arms and Grandin Towers

Cathedral Court

Apartment buildings are a really great way to learn how to do photereferenced models in Sketchup. If you're interested in taking a crack at modeling they are the absolute best place to start because apartment buildings are impossible to screw up.

In the same way that they are impossible to screw up they are also almost impossible to do really well. There are three or four different ways to model balconies (all on display here), and none of them are good. With a model like the Baker Clinic, QE II Planetarium or SAGE you can strip away the questionable additions, the neglect, and the urban clutter to reveal the hidden intent. With an apartment building there's nothing hidden - it's a box; or in this case many, many boxes. Apartments get pretty boring once the initial learning is over.

Probably the most interesting thing about these models is seeing "families" of buildings pop up. There are the obvious ones like Hillside Estates North and South; and the more recent Grandin Manor, Grand Central Manor, Lord Strathcona Manor, etc. There are also:

The David Thompson and Capital Centre
The Edgehill and Victoria Park Towers
Maureen Manor, York House, Academy Place, Windsor Arms and several more I haven't gotten to.
Grandin Towers and Jasper House
Le Jardin, Jasper 111 and Rocky Mountain Court in Calgary

10830 Jasper Avenue

2009-06-01T08:14:00.008-06:00

Model and Building information

Model and Building Information

It was however, a building doomed by its material choices. The drab concrete lattice over the drab brown brick is tough to defend, and the building probably looked tired and dirty on the day that it opened. Maybe if the brick had been red or if the lattice was a shiny aluminum then there would have been more affection for the building, or at least it might have been less disliked. The new version and all of its crazy shapes upholds the quirkiness of the original, but I do wish that they'd somehow managed to integrate the lattice into the new design.

This will mark the fifth shiny blue office building prominently visible from Jasper Avenue (sixth if you count all the way down to 124st). With it's odd shape there is no real risk that it will be confused with any of the others, but some diversity wouldn't hurt. Downtown Edmonton is already a sea of brutalist concrete, and I'm not sure that striking back with a wave of reflective blue monoliths is the way to go. Would another Bell or Canadian Western Bank have been too much to ask?

One nice change is that the windows are a slightly different blue than the spandrel panels below them. This combined with the exaggerated horizontal mullions and the hidden vertical mullions gives it a banded appearance, rather than the uniformity of Manulife or the new Devonian. I think they could have gone a bit further with it though, either darkening the spandrels or making the windows more transparent (humbug to energy efficiency). The banding is prominent but it doesn't quite pop, and on a cloudy day you might not even notice it.

The building is also subject to the same height restrictions that have led to downtown Edmonton's many cubic "high-rises" which are as tall as they are wide. 10830 is actually quite a bit wider than it is tall, but the manic massing tries to hide that. That seems to be the approach Procura will be taking with all of its developments in the area, which should feel more interesting than the duplo-blocks-as-urban-design approach of the government area a few blocks to the south.

It also goes without saying that the new retail spaces will be such a welcome addition to Jasper, in an area that has been a black hole for a decade? More?

Shaw Conference Centre

2009-05-27T18:55:00.012-06:00

Model and Building information

The Shaw Conference Centre is probably the last major building in downtown Edmonton that I hadn't modeled. That depends how you count, of course - First Presbyterian is definitely significant; and the Baccarat casino is...well it's downtown; and there are a lot of apartment buildings that aren't done. But when people think of prominent buildings in Edmonton the Shaw is probably near the top of the list, and it took me a long time to get to it.

There are a few reasons for that.

Firstly, the building annoys me. It must be one of the world's nicest escalator showcases, which isn't much of an accomplishment at all. I've used the stairs and escalators in the Shaw many times, but I can't say that I have ever stopped to marvel at the natural beauty outside of its atrium windows. Why not? Well, it's probably because I'm either concentrating on not falling down the stairs, or because stopping and marveling from an escalator is not an option. In either case when I'm in the atrium I'm likely preoccupied with getting to wherever it is that I'm actually going. Circulation and the simultaneous appreciation of sweeping vistas do not mix.

So the addition of Hall D finally - after more than 20 years - provided the Shaw with a room with a view. Problem solved. Except that it was solved by building a 200' long wall along a section of prime, rivervalley Jasper Avenue. It doesn't matter how that 200' wall has been dressed up with slogans and public art, it's an elevation that belongs on the back of a Safeway somewhere and not on Edmonton's main street.

The Shaw is obviously a challenging site, and I'm sure (or at least I hope) that those constraints led to the design decisions that were made. But yeah, there's some bitterness there.

The second reason it took so long to make the model is because it's hard to get a good picture of the Shaw. The best location that I know of is on some trails that are just west of Rafter's landing. I bike through there all the time, but my rides are not without injury or risk, so it was a matter of being down there with a camera. Even from the location though, parts of the Shaw are obscured by trees and the terrain.

And speaking of terrain, the final reason that this model took so long is because Google's terrain in the area is very incorrect. In Google Earth the whole lower terrace of the model is hidden by the ground, along with much of the second terrace. This was a compromise, because the only way that I could get any of the terraces to show up was by raising the whole model up by nearly 25'. That transforms Wall D on Jasper Avenue from awful to comical, and if I had raised the building enough so that all the terraces were visible then it would have just been ridiculous.

The model is interesting though, because the Shaw isn't a building that I ever really think of as a building. The terracing and the concrete really do meld into the surrounding landscape, so it appears as a collection of disconnected bits. It's nice to see how the whole thing fits together.

(The atrium is also not as tall as it probably should be, but I'm just going to pretend I didn't notice that.)

Edmonton Queen Riverboat

2009-05-27T18:39:00.005-06:00

Model and Building information

One of the things about a model in Google Earth is that it can draw attention. Especially for something located a little bit away from everything else, people might notice that bumpy shape on the horizon and go check it out. I like to think that somewhere out there in the interwebs visitors to Edmonton are poking around in Google Earth, clicking on buildings that they find interesting, and maybe adjusting their trips accordingly. I don't know if that actually happens, but the possibility of it happening is always in the back of my mind.

And because of that I modeled the Edmonton Queen. It is a unique and somewhat unexpected attraction in Edmonton, and I think it deserves to be noticed.

As for the model, it is...a boat. It's okay, but once again is more on the side of gets-the-point-across than isn't-that-amazing.

Low Level Bridge

2009-05-26T14:41:00.005-06:00

Model and Building information

I've often wished that Edmonton didn't paint so many of its bridges in funny colours. The Walterdale is green, the Dawson is blue, the ones straddling Groat are red, and on the Capilano they are green again. What's wrong with good, old, Victorian black?

Then there is the Low Level, which does have a bit of a greenish hue but which is basically just gray. And I don't like it. I guess that neutral colours work on fancy bridges like the High Level, but that the smaller bridges really do need something extra.

For the model Google's terrain was once again way off. The level of the water under the bridge slopes by 25', which means that the piers had to be different heights which makes no sense at all. The elevation of the south approach is also too low, so there is quite a major speedbump at that end.

2009.05.23 Hip Hop in the Park

2009-05-23T17:57:00.004-06:00

Started at the downtown market:

And then on to Louise Mckinney Park:

Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton

2009-05-23T00:10:00.004-06:00

Model and Building information

In the real world, the SAGE building is marred by the ugliest and most unflattering awnings imaginable:

It's also located on 102A avenue which is one of downtown Edmonton's dumpiest and most redundant streets. It is closed during the summer months, and the architecture of City Hall and Churchill Square all but begs you to ignore it. To add to the gritty ambiance there are not one - not two - but three separate pedways, along with the City Centre East loading dock:

I really like the building, though. It's just nice, simple mid-century commercial, with windows that are deceptively huge. It doesn't have great street interaction, but in a perfect world the windows on the main floor would be replaced with ones that are operable, so that the cafe could open up onto the street when the weather is nice.

The flags are once again artistic license. I realize that flying a flag does take some effort and maintenance, but I really wish more downtown buildings would make use of their flagpoles.

Jasper Block and the CKUA

2009-05-19T09:15:00.008-06:00

Model and Building information

Probably the most interesting thing about this model is that the CKUA building was originally the Alberta Block, and it was built at roughly the same time as the Jasper Block and in a similar style:

(Source: The Glenbow Archives)

While it would be nice to have another historic facade on Jasper, I quite like the moderne update and its cool, segmented windows. It just isn't a style that Edmonton has very much of, and it makes a nice change.

9523 Jasper Avenue

2009-05-18T09:49:00.005-06:00

Model and Building information

I don't know anything about this building, or where one would go to find out more. The main thing that I am curious about is whether it was originally built in the 1930's/40's in the streamline style, or if what we see today is a renovation to something older.

It's tough to tell. The whole building is stucco, and there don't seem to be any bits of old brick peaking out anywhere. And aside from the front elevation there are almost no other details that might provide a clue. There is one vestigial window on the west, which might be similar to some of the windows on the neighbouring building, but I still can't say:

East Jasper is certainly not the nicest part of Edmonton's core, and the city has targeted it for renewal and gentrification as the Quarters. Whenever that happens, I assume that this building's days will be numbered, since it doesn't look to be in great shape, and the Quarters has many more obviously "historic" buildings that will be fought for long before this one. That's a shame, because it would meet Jane Jacobs' need for aged buildings, it would certainly add interest to the streetscape, and it is one of the very, very few deco buildings that this city has.

Tegler Building (1911-1982)

2009-05-15T18:50:00.007-06:00

Model and Building information

My 150th model, and to mark that occasion we have the Tegler Building. This completes my personal trinity of Edmonton's lost buildings, along with the Library and the Courthouse.

I think that for many Edmontonians the Tegler also serves somewhat as the one-that-got-away - given historical designation only to have it taken away again; and imploded only to be replaced by a bland and rather lame piece of post-modernism. Looking at it today makes me realize what the intersection of 101 Street and 102 Avenue once have must been, particularly at street level. How different would 101 Street or Rice Howard Way feel if they were still lined with those storefronts today?

The model reuses textures from all the usual suspects - the Buena Vista, CIBC and Bowker - along with a colourized version of Tegler's lower floors. I really like how it turned out, and when I set out to model some of Edmonton's lost buildings this was exactly what I was aiming for.

McKay Avenue School and 1881 Schoolhouse

2009-05-12T19:46:00.010-06:00

Model and Building information

The tricky thing about McKay Avenue School is getting a good photo of its front elevation. That is where all the detail is, but it faces north so it never has good sun, it is in the shadow of several apartment blocks which just makes matters worse, and it is pretty much obscured by trees.

So for this model the front is mostly made up of pictures of the other sides, with the important and non-copyable parts - the doors, pilasters, datemarkers - spliced in after some colour-tuning. For a patchwork building it turned out pretty well.

Although it is not visible in the image, the one-room schoolhouse from 1881 that is located in the southwest corner of the site is also included in the model.

Library (1923-1968)

2009-05-11T10:00:00.004-06:00

Model and Building information

Another of Edmonton's lost buildings, which again makes use of the all-purpose textures of the Bowker Building and Downtown CIBC, along with roof tiles borrowed from the Annamoe Mansion. There are also a few textures taken from the one colour photograph of the library that I could find. References for this building are tough to find though, so this model isn't particularly good or accurate, but I think it gets the point across.

Royal Alberta Musuem Korean Pavilion

2009-05-08T18:23:00.005-06:00

Model and Building information

Done for fun. The geometry on this is very, very incorrect, because the roof structure is just too complicated to do accurately. I think it still gets the gist across though.

And I had no idea that this has only been around since 2004. I thought it had been there forever.

The gazebo has also been the star of one of my favourite photos:

Government House

2009-05-06T17:13:00.014-06:00

Model and Building information

Sometimes the process of creating a model helps me to better appreciate a building. Other times, it has the opposite effect.

Government House is definitely a nice building, and the sandstone is a gorgeous material just like it is on the Legislature. But sixteen columns? Is that necessary? Two wouldn't have been enough? And are all those different types and sizes of windows really required? Not just the ones that are two panes wide, or the ones that are three panes wide, but also those two at the back that are four panes wide and a totally different shape (and which I skipped).

The model turned out really well, but it was a bit annoying to make.

CIBC Edmonton Main Branch

2009-05-03T22:09:00.011-06:00

Model and Building information

The first step in making a model is to basically take the building apart piece by piece - to figure out how it works, which bits are important, where to cheat, and where not to cheat. Once that's done then it can be put back together again. The whole process involves looking at the building in a lot of detail, and at the end I usually come away with a deeper appreciation of it.

I've always been aware of the downtown CIBC. It's an old building, and Edmonton doesn't have so many of those that I could just completely ignore this one. And it is located at the intersection of downtown's two spines - the history of Jasper, and the high-rise corridor of 101 Street. Still, there was just something about the building that never really grabbed me - as important as Jasper and 101st is, in practice it isn't really that important at all; the building itself tends to be lost behind the mess of planters and trolley lines and urban clutter; and the Tyndall is just so very, very gray, especially in the shadows of the neighbouring office towers.

As I worked on the model though, I grew to really like it. The renaissance influence is just so simple and elegant compared to some of the other more showy historic styles. And it's just so nicely proportioned and detailed.

The only real artistic license on the model is the addition of the Canadian flag. The flagpole is a very prominent part of the building, but I don't believe that I've ever seen it in use. When it came time to make the model, I decided that it was going to have a flag.

Leamington Mansions

2009-05-02T14:52:00.017-06:00

Model and Building information

I think I'm going to have to name this one "Edmonton's Forgotten Building." I'm sure that many people know about it tucked away just off Jasper Avenue, but it doesn't seem to be very high profile compared to similar buildings like Le Marchand, Annamoe Mansions, the Westminster, or the Arlington.

I thought that maybe it was just an incorrect perception that I had, but a quick google search on the building turns up essentially nothing. It was built prior to 1919, and that is all that I can find. There is no plaque from the Edmonton Historical Board, and most surprisingly Lawrence Herzog doesn't seem to have ever mentioned it in any of his excellent articles; and he's written about everything.

So yeah, Edmonton's forgotten building.

I've actually been inside once, visiting a friend of a friend of a friend. That was years ago, and the only thing that I remember was the clingwrap they'd had to put over the windows because it was cold outside. It's hard to tell what the status is today, because there are several broken and boarded-up windows in the rear, but there are still suites advertised for rent.

As for the model, it is pretty straight-forward. As is typical with these types of buildings the rear elevation uses a different brick from the rest. And as is typical of my models I've ignored that fact and used the same brick throughout.

Royal Alberta Museum

2009-05-01T15:11:00.009-06:00

Model and Building information

This is a tough one. I quite like the RAM, especially the main entrance and the long plaza. It is majestic, while still being peaceful. And some of the materials and interiors are just gorgeous.

But.

Having a site like that, and basically ignoring the river valley? Even the layout of the grounds seems designed to keep people safe from having to experience the cheap showiness of nature. Tourists do seem to find the Pagoda in the southeast corner of the site, which is good. But even there you're not presented with a lookout over the river, so much as just a hole through the trees. The best view on the entire site is probably from the carriage and utility house, which the public doesn't have access to.

Also, the north elevation facing onto 102 avenue is just terrible. I assume the design was intended to minimize the disruption to the existing residential surroundings, but it doesn't. It's brutal in both style and effect. Edmonton was certainly a different city when the museum was built in 1967, but 102 avenue is now a main route into downtown from the west end, and overhead doors really don't present the best face of a Royal museum.

And all of that is a long way of saying that in 2005 a major addition and renovation of the RAM was proposed, and while normally I'm a defender of modern architecture, in this case I say bring on the reno. I like the original building, but it's certainly not perfect. The proposed addition unfortunately destroys the best parts of the original museum, but it also addresses all of the worst. That project has now been in government funding limbo for several years though, so it is anyone's guess if it will ever happen.

In terms of the model, it is pretty straightforward. The carvings on the south elevation of the theatre are all accurately reproduced in the model, so there's no cheating here.

St. Joseph's Basilica

2009-04-30T12:51:00.015-06:00

Model and Building information

St. Joseph's was originally intended to have two large spires flanking the entrance. Apparently this plan is still in place, and it is just a matter of funding, and timing and whatnot. So like the great churches of old, this one will be completed over generations.

Two giant spires would certainly give the basilica a bit more visual oomph from Jasper Avenue. I've always liked it the way it is though, and think that the sparceness of its ornamentation is nice and serene. It has a stripped-down, prairie-gothic feel to it.

In terms of ornamentation, each of the building's many windows depicts a different image in stained glass. For the purposes of the model though, a single window was repeated throughout. This was done partly because it is just not possible to get a good picture of some of the windows, and also because there are just so many of them. If a building has 3 or 4 or maybe 6 reliefs or details, then I will try to incorporate them all into the model. But at over 60 windows, that would have made this model gigantic and unwieldly.

Queen Elizabeth II Planetarium

2009-04-26T20:20:00.011-06:00

Model and Building information

Here is another building that I hope will find new life one day, although it's tough to know what that might be. The large windows overlooking Coronation Park would make a restaurant ideal, except that at only a few thousand square feet installing a commercial kitchen probably isn't feasible. Also, as wonderful as the setting is it has limited access and parking, and is undeniably out of the way. So realistically maybe a teahouse for special events, or a gallery or small museum? Right now it seems to be used for document storage, which is a shame.

The building is also in pretty bad shape, with damage to the concrete and tile, as well as the addition of a charming loading dock.

Groups like the Edmonton Design Committee have taken up the cause of the Planetarium, and hopefully it will not be forgotten.

TELUS World of Science - Edmonton

2009-04-26T15:52:00.013-06:00

Model and Building information

The Space Sciences Centre with its early additions was certainly one of Edmonton's most unique structures. And then the latter addition went and turned it into a Spaceship towing a minimall.

Regardless, the model turned out well, although after it was nearly finished I realized that I had made a fairly major mistake. As you walk counterclockwise around the building from the south to the north, the elevation of the terrain increases significantly. The building matches this by having each of the radial segments slope up a few degrees, so that from the front to the back you gain 10 to 15'. It is similar to Wright's famous sloped galleries in the Guggenheim, although here the effect is less apparent.

The model doesn't have that sprial - partly because it would have made a complicated and polygon-heavy model significantly more complicated, partly because Google Earth doesn't actually include that change in terrain, and partly because I didn't think that anyone would notice.

Peter Hemingway Fitness and Leisure Centre

2009-04-26T11:58:00.009-06:00

Model and Building information

A "favourite" building is a tough thing to define, but after a few years of mulling it over I am pretty sure that mine must be the former Coronation Pool. Walking around it on a beautiful day is almost a religious experience; it seems to float above the ground, but is held down by huge concrete tentpegs; 40 years of wear have just given its surface a nice patina; and probably most importantly, there is nothing else like it in Edmonton.

So if Coronation Pool is my favourite building, then it was also somewhat of my White Whale. I had originally started the model in September of 2007, along with the Telus World of Science and QEII Planetarium. TWOS and the Planetarium turned out fine, but I could not get Coronation to work. I tried a few more times over the years, but the geometry was just too confusing. I've certainly given up on other buildings before, but that was because of boredom or because I didn't like the photos I had, but with Coronation I just didn't know how to do it.

When I did successfully model it, I didn't really do anything differently. I still don't know how tall it is, or the radii of any of the curves. The model is built on cheating and guesswork, but I think it turned out pretty well.

The High Level Bridge

2009-04-25T18:04:00.007-06:00

Model and Building information

A bridge model is a bit different from a typical building. Rather than modeling all the individual structural pieces, it uses a lot of partially transparent textures. Transparent textures can also be useful on building models (the sunshades on the Baker Clinic, or the fire escape on the Arlington), but not on this scale. Since transparent textures in Google Earth have to be png format (rather than the typical jpg) and since png's don't compress very much, this model is the largest model I've ever done at about 2Mb.

Still, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. There's enough detail in the textures that you can zoom right in on the bridge, and it's a pretty good representation of what the High Level looks like.

The main annoyance was that the Google Earth terrain doesn't match the actual bridge approaches. This is particularly true at the north end, where the terrain had to be built up by 90' to avoid leaving the end of the bridge hanging in mid-air.

Baker Clinic

2009-04-24T19:02:00.008-06:00

Model and Building information

And here is where my agenda comes in. I don't really like the Baker Clinic - in fact I actively dislike the Baker Clinic of today. When making this model I wanted it to be better than the real thing, and so I undid all of the changes that have been made to it since 1959.

There are a total of 4, the most prominent being the replacement of the original, simple sunshades with a truly awful Mad Max-ian Faraday cage. Bring back the originals - I don't care if they didn't actually keep the building cool.

So this is really the Baker Clinic c. 1959, and it's a building that I would be okay with. I will never like the 1950's turquoise fetish, which I consider to be the architectural equivalent of the marigold appliances of the 1970's.

Annamoe Mansion

2009-04-24T18:56:00.005-06:00

Model and Building information

A very cute little apartment building in an amazing location on Victoria Promenade overlooking the river valley.

This is one of the many buildings in Edmonton that uses one style of brick on the front elevation, and then another (presumably cheaper) style and colour everywhere else. When making a model, that's annoying. This model uses the fancy brown brick on all four sides.

Starlight Room or the Old Citadel

2009-04-24T18:39:00.007-06:00

Model and Building information

Another model that it was tough to choose the right name for. Officially it is the Old Citadel, but do people know that? How about the Salvation Army Citadel? I'll always know it as Lush. Once again I went with the most recent name.

I'm not particularly happy with this model, although there's not much that could be done to improve it. The problem is that the building is just so simple - a door, a few windows, some gothic touches, and lots and lots of brick. The brick itself has incredible wear and texture, but that sort of detail gets lost when you're tiling a jpg around a featureless box.

Fifth Street Lofts and the Ellis Building

2009-04-24T18:31:00.008-06:00

Model and Building information

I've never really like the Fifth Street Lofts. I'm not sure why, because it is definitely the type of building that should appeal to me, and yet it doesn't.

I think the Ellis Building is great, though.

Model and Building information

There's just something about its Gropiusness that works so very well.

Red Strap Market

2009-04-24T18:18:00.008-06:00

Model and Building information

What to say about this building, other than that hopefully a new use is found for it one day soon. Those windows are just gigantic.

This is a model where I really don't know what name is best to use. Red Strap Market, even though it has gone out of business? Or Army & Navy which is probably what most people remember it as, even though that only goes back to 1954? GWG? Caledonian Department Store? I went with the most recent name, knowing it can be updated when the building finds a new role.

Barnett House

2009-04-24T18:00:00.007-06:00

Model and Building information

This might have to be added to the "demolished" list soon, because apparently the ATA plan to add two additional storeys to the tower and to upgrade the building envelope. The first four floors were built in 1964, with the fifth and sixth added in the 1980's. That addition obviously just acted as a continuation of the original building, but I don't hold out hope for the upcoming one. The East wing of Barnett House was reskinned in 1999, replacing its cool 50's vibe with a nice-enough-but-rather-dull glass box.

And that's a shame because Barnett House is just a wonderful modern structure.

Buena Vista Building

2009-04-24T17:10:00.011-06:00

Model and Building information

Unlike other trendy shopping areas in Edmonton like Whyte Avenue and 104 Street, 124 Street doesn't have very much in the way of "historic" architecture. Robertson Wesley United Church is certainly a landmark, and the building that houses Original Joe's dates back to 1915 (but since it is basically a brick garage the waitresses will always attract more attention than its Edwardian touches), and then there is the Buena Vista building.

The commercial buildings in the area are almost entirely modern. I find this reassuring, because it means that Edmonton - which has torn down many of its historic buildings, and which is a young city to begin with - can still create attractive areas. The built form matters as much as the specific style, and so it's not too late for us.

As for the Buena Vista building itself, it is hard to miss as you come across the iron bridge and head towards Jasper Avenue. For me it has always acted as somewhat of an unofficial gateway to the city's core.

H.V. Shaw Building and Maverick Brewery

2009-04-24T14:29:00.005-06:00

Model and Building information

Another historic building with a nice and effective contemporary addition. The large painted sign on the side of the Shaw building is actually quite difficult to photograph in its entirety when you are standing on the ground. For the purposes of the model it had to be cobbled together from a few different photographs.

Oliver Telephone Exchange

2009-04-24T14:20:00.010-06:00

Model and Building information

Tucked away in Oliver, the telephone exchange is a quaint little building with an addition that I think actually works. It doesn't try to compete with the original, but has a funky modern identity all its own.

9908 106 Street

2009-04-23T15:11:00.008-06:00

Model and Building information

There's something really peculiar about lifting a building 10' off the ground, so that people can drive under it to the parking lot in the back, even though that lot is already well served by an alley. What is the message there? Is it about the North American and Edmontonian tendency to place the importance of the automobile above all else? Or a commentary on the frightening urbanity of dirty downtown alleys? Or is it just showing off?

It's a very simple and fun little building though, and I probably would have liked it with or without the stilts.

Brownlee Building and IBM Building

2009-04-23T14:43:00.014-06:00

Model and Building information

The Brownlee building is just a really, really fat building. And although I normally like pilotis, the huge wings of this building and their closeness to the ground are just so heavy. The roundness, and the tiering, and the strange stepped detail on the front all contribute to making it feel like the whole building is being yanked down by gravity, with only the columns holding it up. That might have been the intention, but I'm not a fan. The actual pattern of the glazing and spandrels is quite attractive and interesting though.

I've heard that the architect of the Brownlee building was the same one who designed the IBM building at 44 Capital Boulevard. My Brownlee Building model is much, much better than my earlier model of the IBM building:

Model and Building information

Bowker Building

2009-04-23T14:27:00.010-06:00

Model and Building information

The last of the Beaux Arts buildings built in Edmonton, given new life by a renovation and addition in the 1970's.

This is another building that most people experience by driving by. And the east side faces a no-man's-land of parking lots. With the renovations of the Federal building and its grounds that are underway, the Bowker will hopefully find new prominence as well.

This model was kicking around on my computer for a long time too. I originally started it after I finished the Legislature building in April of 2007. After a few quick attempts I gave up, and didn't return to it until April of 2009. That's probably for the best, because my skill with fiddly historical models has greatly improved over the years.

The Maclean Block

2009-04-23T14:13:00.007-06:00

Model and Building information

The Maclean Block is celebrating its hundredth birthday this year, and it is the longtime home of the Edmonton institution that is Audreys Books.

I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of the purple awnings. But then again, its Audreys - how can Audreys not have purple awnings? There's also a fairly major cheat on the model's east elevation, because I was feeling lazy and knew that no one would notice.

Law Courts

2009-04-23T13:49:00.012-06:00

Model and Building information

The wacky side of Modernism. Form follows function, so lets build an upside-down ziggurat-thing. (I'm sure that the volumes do transparently express the various uses, I just don't understand it).

I quite like the building though, in spite of its absolutely abysmal relation to its surroundings. The plazas to the west and south are nice enough, but wow are the 104ave and 97st sides stark. It's making a statement and I can get behind that, but sometimes I wish the statement it was making wasn't so rude.

This model took me a long, long time. Looking at the files, it was created in June of 2007. I made a few attempts, and then gave up. I came back to it in September 2008, and gave up again. It was finally completed in April 2009.

Westmount Junior High School

2009-04-23T13:34:00.015-06:00

Model and Building information

Westmount school certainly has opera in it.

Built in the middle nowhere, and in an area that would remain as the middle of nowhere for decades, I can't imagine the statement that it originally made on the geography, and on the children who trekked to it everyday. Now it's something that gets driven by without much notice.

The less said about the modernist addition the better. Obviously that was a thankless job, because there's no point in even trying to compete with the original school. But the solution involes one section that has 270 lineal feet of continuous precast concrete. How was that a good idea?

The Arlington (1909-2008)

2009-04-23T13:22:00.009-06:00

Model and Building information

I spent some time on the top floor of the Arlington about a year before it was destroyed by fire. I remember the deceptively large windows (those architects sure knew how to work proportions), the wonderful sliding doors separating the bedroom from the living room, the murphy bed, and the original hardwood floors coated by what seemed like an inch of varathane.

I don't have any photos of the Arlington, so this model doesn't use any textures from the actual building. Instead, the textures are repurposed from the Buena Vista Building on 124st and Derwas Court on 121st.

Court House (1912-1972)

2009-04-23T13:11:00.010-06:00

Model and Building information

Demolished before I was born, I've long heard stories of the old Court House. Much as I appreciate Modernism, I do have to wonder how architects and planners of the day could have been so dedicated to erasing the past and replacing it with their shiny concrete modernity. How many buildings were lost because they didn't have air-conditioning, and how ridiculous is that?

On the other hand, I guess that one Beaux Arts building is kindof the same as all the rest. This frankenmodel was thrown together with bits of the Bowker Building and downtown CIBC, and is as accurate as I could make it.

The Prince of Wales Armouries

2009-04-23T12:59:00.011-06:00

Model and Building information

In spite of the large sign above the main entrance that proclaims "1913," construction on the armoury wasn't started until 1914, and the building was not completed until 1915. 94 years later, and two of its neighbours are empty fields - Edmonton is so strange sometimes.

It's still an impressive building though, with the loopholes and turrents appealing to the kid in me. It has similar cousins spread throughout western Canada, and I've always found something comforting about being in a strange city, and stumbling upon the armoury which is both familiar and yet not.

2009.01.29 - gorgeous night, cold fingers

2009-01-28T22:25:00.002-07:00

2009.01.03 Cold Morning

2009-01-03T20:02:00.001-07:00

2008.11.29 Stony Plain Road Movie Night

2008-12-03T21:43:00.002-07:00

2008.11.11 First Snow

2008-12-03T21:41:00.001-07:00

2008.11.29 Eight Hours of Daylight

2008-11-29T16:19:00.002-07:00

2008.11.08 Sunrise

2008-11-08T12:35:00.002-07:00

2008.11.07 Night at the Museum

2008-11-08T12:31:00.005-07:00

2008.10.12 Wainwright Trestle Bridge

2008-10-12T21:18:00.003-06:00

Not actually Edmonton, but a quick side trip to a trestle bridge near Wainwright.

2008.10.04 A foggy Fall morning

2008-10-04T10:31:00.001-06:00

2008.09.27 & 28 Jasper National Park

2008-09-30T22:26:00.002-06:00

A rainy Saturday morning in the Jasper townsite on the way to coffee

Random spots along the icefields parkway

Sunwapta Falls, about an hour outside of Jasper

Athabasca Falls, about half an hour outside of Jasper

Pyramid Lake, about 15 minutes outside of Jasper (in the other direction)

Medicine Lake, about half an hour outside of Jasper (in another direction)

The grounds of the Jasper Park Lodge

And a few borrowed from my girlfriend

Edmonton: Total Look of Clean!

2008-09-20T16:49:00.008-06:00

From the Edmonton Journal:

TLC cleans up Rice Howard Way in downtown Edmonton
Don Retson, edmontonjournal.com
Published: Friday, September 19

EDMONTON - Folks lingering on their way to work today heard about a city initiative that aims to give the downtown core a little TLC.

That's TLC as in Total Look of Clean...

I think that the City of Edmonton may have a winner on its hands.

And I hope that this will usher in a new era when all of the City's slogans will sound like they have been poorly translated from another language.

Here it is the Coolest
Champions are the City
Be Alive for the Year
To Kill with Maximum Speed

(With apologies to Japan. Any incorrect translation may be blamed on Google.)

Reclaiming Deadmonton - Pecha Kucha slides

2008-09-20T16:07:00.009-06:00

On September 11, 2008 I presented the idea of Reclaiming Deadmonton at the second Pecha Kucha night - 20 slides at 20 seconds each.

(image from www.deadmonton.net)

And here is a compilation of my speaking notes for the night, which roughly matches up with the slides above:

Reclaiming Deadmonton

For someone who has grown up in Edmonton, or who has lived here for awhile, or for whom Edmonton is home, the sound of the word Deadmonton can be physically irritating. Like nails on a chalkboard – it makes you tense up, you try your best to ignore it, and you just hope that it will go away soon.

Every city has its own pejorative nickname, although nickname is really too passive a description. A better term to describe them would be municipal slurs: Cowtown, Winterpeg, Toronto, and other words that are designed to annoy. Edmonton has a few of them actually, but Deadmonton is the one that stands out. Deadmonton is also the one with the most potential.

The word Deadmonton makes a strong impression. It is clever, or at least it seems clever when you first hear it. And it rhymes, which can be pretty hilarious. Most importantly though, Deadmonton hints at both blandness and violence, and blandness and violence are two of the insecurities that Edmonton must struggle with as a city. It is not just us though – every city struggles with them to various degrees. No one wants to think that their home is boring or dangerous, and that is why Deadmonton works. Deadmonton is just us – it is not them – and that makes it funny. Between the catchiness and the subtext Deadmonton might just be a perfect slur. And it is all ours. We are very lucky.

A favourite rebuttal of Deadmonton is to claim that it no longer applies to us. “Yes, we may have had problems in the past. But that was a long time ago, and we’re not as bland and violent as we used to be. That other city over there is much more bland and violent than we are now. Give them a nickname instead.” This is missing the point. Slurs do not just go away. No matter how far we come, Deadmonton will always be right behind us. Maybe it is time to stop running.

Deadmonton is annoyingly catchy, and Edmonton could always use more catchy. Rather than hoping that Deadmonton will one day retire, what we need to do is reclaim it. We need to make it work for us rather than against us, and to take that slur and turn it into a point of pride. If Edmonton is Festival City, then why not have a Deadmonton festival?

There already is a Deadmonton festival – the Deadmonton Horror Film Festival – which is organized in conjunction with Metrocinema. This is not a surprise, as there have been many horror and gore film festivals over the years, and Deadmonton is too good an idea to pass up. A horror film festival will always have a limited, niche appeal however, and it does not need to conflict with a larger Deadmonton festival. The fact that another festival already exists is actually the point.

A Deadmonton Festival would be something bigger. For one week every year, Edmonton would become Deadmonton. Tying it in with Halloween would be an obvious choice, and everything going on in town would fall under the Deadmonton banner. All the atmosphere and events that a festival needs are already in place at Halloween. The ancient pagans have already done most the work – now Edmonton just needs to give it that extra push.

Halloween will always be about little kids going trick-or-treating and about big kids going to the bars. Outside of that is everyone else, and work and school. Could those traditional Halloween activities function as part of a larger festival? Absolutely - because a festival is just about building excitement. Little kids probably don’t need help with that, but bars certainly aren’t going to complain. Neighbourhoods could become more involved with competitions for spookiest house. A “Get your Goth On” day at the office might not seem practical, but a week later CFR will be asking everyone to dress up as cowboys. It is a lot easier to get black nailpolish and eyeliner than it is cowboy wear.

Aside from the traditional Halloween activities, we also have the film festival through Metrocinema, the annual bash at the Shaw Conference Centre, the Scarecrow Festival in mid-October, Halloween Alley, historic Ghost Tours, and Interfear. All of these exist with various levels of success, and there are many more.

A Deadmonton festival would not be about replacing or superseding any of the events that we already have. It would be about creating a climate where they could thrive. A larger festival would increase overall interest in what they are offering. In the right environment what we have would become stronger, and new ideas would spin out of it. Fear Itself is a horror television show that is being filmed here. We have a large and prominent goth sub-culture. Some cities have zombie walks. Movies-on-the-square happens in late October in Churchill Square, and it is a fun event but it could be bigger. Maybe over time a city sanctioned safe-Halloween could be started for Churchill - Fright Night in October to First Night in December. The possibilities are endless.

The individual events themselves are secondary though; they can come and go. The idea of Deadmonton is to take all the little, unconnected events and to connect them into one big Event. It would be an event with a capital “E” - something to market and build on; something for the websites and guidebooks; and something that is uniquely Edmonton. Ultimately it is a branding exercise. It is about taking what we already have, slapping a sticker onto it, and saying “This is new and exciting. You need to pay attention to this.”

Some people won’t like Deadmonton; that is obvious. Every idea has some detractors though, so what about most people? For most people is it too much? Is Deadmonton too irredeemable? Is it destined to be a PR nightmare when someone dies on or around Halloween – and unfortunately that will happen, either through violence, traffic or natural causes. The question that is probably most important is would most people want their kids to be involved? To succeed, a Halloween festival would need to be for everyone.

The largest disconnect that I can think of is this: an Elementary School holding a Deadmonton Bakesale. Could it happen, or is the word Deadmonton insurmountable? It really doesn’t need to be. If we decide to reclaim Deadmonton, then we get to decide what it means. We can make Deadmonton as cartoony and non-threatening as we want. By reading this far you have seen the word Deadmonton used several dozen times. Has it softened at all? Have your perceptions of it changed? Has its potential changed?

We just need to start using Deadmonton and that will redefine it. If we do that then all those negative and ad hoc definitions will fall away, because are meaningless. We will pre-empt them: “Deadmonton? Oh yeah, it’s this great festival that we have in October. It’s tonnes of fun. You should totally come. Here’s a t-shirt.”

Deadmonton cannot be retired, and it will never just fade away. But Deadmonton should have been reclaimed ages ago. If we start using it, and the media starts using it, and businesses start using it, and if Edmonton starts using it then that will give it meaning. And then we will not have to hide from it anymore. And then Deadmonton will find all sorts of interesting new uses.

2008.09.12 Fall off the balcony

2008-09-20T15:51:00.003-06:00

2008.09.13 ...one day will rise a city

2008-09-20T15:39:00.007-06:00

The full quotation is:

"From this ragged handful of tents and cabins one day will rise a city - Rev. D. McQueen - 1887"

It felt apt.

A hazy morning:

Churchill Square, and a celebration of 100 years of Edmonton Transit:

And then the trip home:

2008.08.31 A few more from the wilds

2008-09-20T15:32:00.003-06:00

edmonton in three dimensions

Caution!!! This is a Sign!!!

The EPS Strikes Again

Winter Panoramas

Sprawlberia

Walternate Bridge

Sentinel

=IF(ROUND((RAND()*(7-1)+1),0)=1,ROUND(RAND()*2,0),A1)

2010.03.21 Petals and Pedals

Commute

The Art Gallery of Alberta

Progress

Help build the UofA in Google Earth

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

2009.11.26 Stained

2009.11.17 Sunrise

2009.11.05 Where You Know Every Body's Name - Night

2009.10.31 Where You Know Every Body's Name - Day

2009.10.28 delirious one twenty fourth II

2009.10.26 delirious one twenty fourth

2009.10.14 More tripod fun

2009.10.02 - Pecha Kucha Night 5 - edmonton in three dimensions

2009.09.24 Enjoying the Equinox

2009.08.15 dEdmonton takes Spruce Grove

2009.08.08-09 Wander in Denver

2009.07.16 dEdmonton in the 2009 Capital Ex Parade

2009.07.12 Whyte Avenue Art Walk

2009.07.03 Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

2009.06.30 Alberta Aviation Museum

2009.07.05 A quiet Sunday afternoon in Churchill Square

2009.07.01 The rest of my Canada Day

2009.07.02 Eighteen Bridge Tour

2009.07.01 Canada Day Fireworks

Commonwealth Stadium

2009.06.30 Retro 124 Street

2009.06.27 Two Concerts - No Waiting

Saskatchewan Drive

The Uptown and Grosvenor House

2009.06.20 A Random Walk

2009.06.13 Zombie Luau

Idiots

21.5 more Apartments, and 0.5 Offices

2009.06.13 Pride

Gibson Block

2009.06.01 Cherry Blossom Walk

30 Apartments and 1 Office

10830 Jasper Avenue

Shaw Conference Centre

Edmonton Queen Riverboat

Low Level Bridge

2009.05.23 Hip Hop in the Park

Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton

Jasper Block and the CKUA

9523 Jasper Avenue

Tegler Building (1911-1982)

McKay Avenue School and 1881 Schoolhouse

Library (1923-1968)

Royal Alberta Musuem Korean Pavilion

Government House

CIBC Edmonton Main Branch

Leamington Mansions

Royal Alberta Museum

St. Joseph's Basilica

Queen Elizabeth II Planetarium

TELUS World of Science - Edmonton

Peter Hemingway Fitness and Leisure Centre

The High Level Bridge

Baker Clinic

Annamoe Mansion

Starlight Room or the Old Citadel

Fifth Street Lofts and the Ellis Building

Red Strap Market

Barnett House

Buena Vista Building

H.V. Shaw Building and Maverick Brewery

Oliver Telephone Exchange

9908 106 Street

Brownlee Building and IBM Building

Bowker Building

The Maclean Block

=IF(ROUND((RAND()(7-1)+1),0)=1,ROUND(RAND()2,0),A1)