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Fabulous commenters gather at not-so-secret location and have fun

January 8th, 2012 · 17 Comments

Drinking beer while discussing floor-space ratio, density bonusing, affordable housing, and community-amenity contributions — what could be better.

Thanks to Joe Just Joe and Michael Geller, frequent commenters here, a group of us met Friday night for an evening of just that.

A delightful time was had by all, though we hovered on the brink of something when Bill McCreery brought up the issue of the pro formas for STIR projects. Michael paid for all the great beers at this wonderful new spot (next to the empty space where Rob Macdonald’s tower in the B.C. Electric building parking lot would have gone, if only the Vision council had let him build it) called Bitter. My cherry-flavoured, girly beer was wonderful.

Best part was walking along Hastings afterwards, as some of the most knowledgeable people in the city discussed every lot and building we passed.

Categories: Uncategorized

  • Michael Geller

    Frances, glad you could join us….especially since the even was conceived during your Hawaii absence. We’ll do it again.

    Bitter was a good suggestion as a venue.

    Thanks Glissando Remy for joining us….in spirits!

  • Bobbie Bees

    I’m sorry I missed out. I was home sick as a dog. Can we do this again some time?

  • Joe Just Joe

    Time spent having great beer,with great people over great conversation…yeah I think we can do it again.

  • Silly Season

    Talk about sartorial splendor! I liked the fact that everyone turned up in their best trench coats.

    😉

  • Frank Ducote

    Fun time and nice to put faces to JJJ and SS as well. Thanks for buying, Michael.

  • Bill McCreery

    It was fun and good to be able to have a real connection with some stimulating people. Someone brought their iPad and I now have a list of apps I’m checking out. Glissy, Bobbie, Chris K. and others were missed. Next time.

    BTW, I asked for a bitter at Bitter. They don’t have any. A disappointment.

  • MB

    Back from vacation. Sorry I missed this one. If I make it to the next one I’ll bring a map of the city and some crayons so we can redesign it.

    MB

    PS: Happy new year!

  • Bill McCreery

    @ MB, and everybody gets their own colour of crayon so we know who said what at the end.

  • Roger Kemble

    “If I make it to the next one I’ll bring a map of the city and some crayons so we can redesign it.”

    You’ll need more than crayons MB.

    http://www.theyorkshirelad.ca/1yorkshirelad/vancouver.re-boot/Vancouver.re-boot.html

    Someone’s already on to it!

  • Kelly

    Michael, so Glissando was with you in spirits, that is funny! Good for him, I like surprises too… And you know good things come to those who wait ha!
    Have a good one!

  • Silly Season

    That is interesting, @Roger Kemble.

    One conversation: How are neighbourhoods consulted about not only size of development but style of development(and services) in their community? From an architectural standpoint Cambie looks like it will be chock-a-block with the kind of glass towers that fill the downtown penisnsula. Ugh.

    Following the reasoning on the website—and for people who like “real” neighbourhoods with their own personalities—that would be the worst kind of thing to foist on the ‘hood. And it would homogenize the city even further.

    Uninteresting, to say the least.

  • Bill McCreery

    You’re dead on SS:

    “And it would homogenize the city even further.”

    Also, one of the really unfortunate consequences of simplistic ‘linear thinking’ in the planning process is that the Cambie Corridor Plan’s strip zoning is actually going through 5 neighbourhoods.

    The entire Cambie Corridor planning process has been ill conceived and backwards from the beginning. In addition, it magically ignores the impact this added density will have on schools and does not have any meaningful provisions for adding park space for the 14,000 new residents.

  • Westender1

    Sheesh Bill, so demanding….next you’ll be wanting to see pro forma information on the frankentower that has risen from the dead once again at 1401 Comox Street (this time without the previously-promised community space, but showing an increase in density from 1.5 to 7.14):

    http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/rezoning/applications/1401comox/index.htm

  • Roger Kemble

    Good morning, Silly Season @ # 11

    I’m not quite sure where you are coming from. Please elaborate. Are you referring to the project I have going in post 9?

    You ask, How are neighbourhoods consulted . . . ?

    Well, the city has a well-rehearsed process of public meetings whereby we are politely listened to after which we are ignominiously ignored!

    The charrette seems to hover around the public meeting concept somewhere: my recent experience ditto’s neighbourood consulting condescension.

    The public has, evidently, a visceral dislike for towers aided and abetted by soi disant pros who have never lived in one. Ergo, many of my professional colleagues must get by without my respect!

    Given the current crop of colourless badly designed chunks of gray concrete I do no blame them: the late architect Arthur Erickson did the cause no favour when he quipped, “concrete is the new marble” giving license to too many lack lustre talents.

    Much of the dissension comes from inattention to figure ground amenity (the concept “private property” doesn’t help): street level colour, texture, activity, acoustics (reverberations off hard surfaces) and above all integrated street level spaces, back alleys, little pauses etc. Every aspect of view is exploited when in fact, after much palaver, the neighbour’s bathroom is the view!

    May I suggest, our planning departments are very unsophisticated and given the fawning need for approval no one questions.

    I have rented, very happily, for eleven years, on the 10th floor of a seventeen story tower: my vertical neigbourhood, Quartier, in every sense.

    Please elaborate and allow me to post your comments on Vancouver: re-boot.

    Cheers . . .

  • MB

    Alright Bill M. + Roger, you get your own maps.

    Sometimes there is more value to doodling over suds than the stultifying simplifications of public meetings.

  • Silly Season

    @Roger Kemble,

    Yes, I was refering to your post on #9. I visited the site and was interested in the visuals there. I have been to that part of Nanaimo and agee that it is interesting, pleasing to the eye and there is animation and interest at street level.

    All that we lack on streets here, where the cookie cutter approach to condo living is in eveidence. It’s too late for them, but we cannot allow this ‘style’ to wend its way outside of the downtown area.

  • Silly Season

    BTW, what is happening with the Mayor’s Task Force on Affordability??

    Have others (panelists, speakers, etc), been named yet? I can’t seem to find find anything on the City website.