One hears talk about "pedestal towers" in Vancouver. The interesting Vancouver Observer page, In praise of height and density, from 2011, says:
VO has nothing further to add on the subject, such as, what defines a "pedestal." I've yet to find a definition. Vancouverites apparently just know, like we just know it's going to rain. That may in fact be so. I use the term "pedestal tower" to refer to the 12- or 13-storey towers which replace old three-storey apartment buildings, and condos, which themselves, replaced one-, and two-storey homes.
Vancouver is hemmed in by water on three sides, and the rest of Canada on the fourth -- things can only go up. Thanks to our 38th mayor, Sam Sullivan, we even have a word for it: EcoDensity -- yup, it really is CamelCase; we're so trendy it hurts. By the early 21st Century, Vancouver started to miss some of the old houses, so the city began giving developers brownie points towards extra height on pedestal towers if they also renovated, and preserved one or two adjacent old houses. Here's an example of my idea of what a pedestal tower is -- an old one, that I think is very attractive:
[caption id="attachment_6415" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Another excuse for a long-exposure night shot? I like how this building has no competition for skyline. It still looks like an architectural model.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_6416" align="alignright" width="200"]
The building even has a moat![/caption]
This 13-storey "pedestal" is located at 1550 West 15th Avenue, between South Granville, and Fir Street. Built in 1994, it contains 18 condo suites. The owners are very particular. They drink lots of wine, and liquor, but comparatively little beer, soda pop, or juice. I've been on a first name basis with the taciturn, and capable, building manager for years. Going back seven years, he told select binner when he put out his recycling blue bins so we could clear out the returnables ahead of the herd.
After I started using a bike trailer, I switched to carrying, and cashing-in, one big load of bottles each day, rather than several small loads. So I eased up on how much glass I carried. Because I stopped taking all the wine bottles 1550 put out, the building manager stopped putting the bins out early -- he may have been trying to do some of us a favour but his real goal was to clear the bins of noisy returnables as quickly as possible. Binners make a lot of noise rooting through a container bin full of glass bottles. And like I said, the owners are very particular. Click the images to enlarge them.
More recently, our pedestal-style towers have revolutionized urban design across the world, garnering our city international awards and acclaim for our revitalized downtown core.
VO has nothing further to add on the subject, such as, what defines a "pedestal." I've yet to find a definition. Vancouverites apparently just know, like we just know it's going to rain. That may in fact be so. I use the term "pedestal tower" to refer to the 12- or 13-storey towers which replace old three-storey apartment buildings, and condos, which themselves, replaced one-, and two-storey homes.
Vancouver is hemmed in by water on three sides, and the rest of Canada on the fourth -- things can only go up. Thanks to our 38th mayor, Sam Sullivan, we even have a word for it: EcoDensity -- yup, it really is CamelCase; we're so trendy it hurts. By the early 21st Century, Vancouver started to miss some of the old houses, so the city began giving developers brownie points towards extra height on pedestal towers if they also renovated, and preserved one or two adjacent old houses. Here's an example of my idea of what a pedestal tower is -- an old one, that I think is very attractive:
[caption id="attachment_6415" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Another excuse for a long-exposure night shot? I like how this building has no competition for skyline. It still looks like an architectural model.[/caption][caption id="attachment_6416" align="alignright" width="200"]
The building even has a moat![/caption]This 13-storey "pedestal" is located at 1550 West 15th Avenue, between South Granville, and Fir Street. Built in 1994, it contains 18 condo suites. The owners are very particular. They drink lots of wine, and liquor, but comparatively little beer, soda pop, or juice. I've been on a first name basis with the taciturn, and capable, building manager for years. Going back seven years, he told select binner when he put out his recycling blue bins so we could clear out the returnables ahead of the herd.
After I started using a bike trailer, I switched to carrying, and cashing-in, one big load of bottles each day, rather than several small loads. So I eased up on how much glass I carried. Because I stopped taking all the wine bottles 1550 put out, the building manager stopped putting the bins out early -- he may have been trying to do some of us a favour but his real goal was to clear the bins of noisy returnables as quickly as possible. Binners make a lot of noise rooting through a container bin full of glass bottles. And like I said, the owners are very particular. Click the images to enlarge them.
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