edmonton in three dimensions: Oliver

Showing posts with label Oliver. Show all posts

The Uptown and Grosvenor House

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:

Idiots

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

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.

30 Apartments and 1 Office

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

Leamington Mansions

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.

St. Joseph's Basilica

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.

Annamoe Mansion

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.

Fifth Street Lofts and the Ellis Building

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.

Buena Vista Building

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.

Oliver Telephone Exchange

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.