Look like a lot of metal and glass.!!

Ah yes, but wood blinds for window coverings.

The PG Hotel was better looking.

To the layperson it could be almost any material … even plastic.

Here is a “fly past and through” the building and lobby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=S2F3ssM61E0

It will be interesting to see how prefabricated this building will be. Erecting structural wood of this sort is done very similar to erecting a steel building.

If this crew is good at it, it could be done a storey a week and even faster. However, it will be a learning curve for the designers as well as the builder, I am sure.

I moved here in 1999 and bought a new house west of town within city limits. My street still has ditches. Upgraded and enhanced once. The people on my street sure wish they had storm sewers and curbs. Maybe some people at city hall would consider the bunch of us selfish in wanting those. Wishful thinking on our part. A pox on all of them.

I lied. Make that 1990.

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/03/wood-skyscrapers-vancouver-tallwood-tower-30-storeys

I agree with you Harbinger. I came 17 years earlier.

This building is built with provincial money, not city money, unlike the palace for the RCMP.

And, unlike the RCMP palace, this is a simple building, not all those gymnastics.

And, yes, I wish that they would have kept the Hotel, gutted it and incorporated it into the project, two wooden buildings built 100 years apart. If we were living in Victoria or any other civilized city in Canada that celebrates its history and has some imagination, that is what would have happened and does happen.

Those wooden posts at the RCMP building are overkill for what they support. This building will be built with wood structural columns which will be the size required to support the building not some expensive decoration.

Will be a nice addition to the downtown, especially this particular area.

This is the first building of this height or higher being built in PG for almost 4 decades. That itself is a history making headline.

The eight-story LCT ONE in Dornbirn, Austria was erected in just eight days.

http://www.structuremag.org/article.aspx?articleID=1729

Video of how it is done ….. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kebdOnWIxS8

Takes me back to the late 1960s systems buildings.

Huge open empty spaces we taxpayers get to fund to heat. Awesome!

Forgot to mention, and ugly to boot!

I haven’t seen the blueprints but will the wood building enclose the two(?) cement elevator columns? Will it have a cement enclosed stairway exit column too? Those two would take up a bunch of floor space. IMO. To preserve esthetics I surmise there will be no fire escape platforms and attached ladders (metal)on the outside we see in those old New York movies where the bad guy escapes out the window? Obviously they will save space by not having mounted ashtrays on most every wall. No smoking signs in many languages. Can’t be too careful. Cameras everywhere please. Openable (is that a word?) windows in case of fire or emergency? Air conditioning battling with a humidifier or dehumidifier? Gotta have right humidity if anyone is going to walk on carpets in the building with just their socks on. (And all their clothes on too). ZAP! Lotsa static electricity. Many questions, but on the overall scheme of things I’m sure it will be a swell building.

I might drive by it if I have to go to Northern Hardware next time. N H is the only reason I go downtown.

Terrorist with termites coming in at the airport with the same (drawn out) plan to fell our new WIDC? Preferably on a date even a simpleton can remember.

I assume in order to alleviate pressure on the downtown parking situation that this building has ample underground parking.

“I assume in order to alleviate pressure on the downtown parking situation that this building has ample underground parking”.

With all due respect……..Ha ha ha ha ha,
because I know you are joking. This is Prince George, not some forward thinking small city.
metalman.

By the way, this WIDC is one ugly monolith, at least in the ‘architectural rendering’ The East wall appears to have been designed to resemble an abandoned building, random panels and what looks like plywood covering openings, also in a random pattern. Deserted inner city chic.

Reminds me of another hideous architectural “gem”, the new Police palace. The random placement of the blue and ( ? ) coloured panels makes me feel nauseous every time I drive by and look at them.
And the unnatural looking shiny wooden poles on the East face? Appears to be a tinkertoy experiment gone horribly wrong.
metalman.

Seems we have an overabundance of cynical comedians in this town. Maybe after the Performing Arts Centre is finished, maybe all these alleged comedians (myself included), can book a time of funny amateur night there. Lots to laff at. Deriding and mocking our “gritty little mill town”. That’s a quote from BCTV once upon a time. Hours of fun and uproarious laughter. Maybe.

Building designed with attachments to facilitate the installation of awnings in case city council gets bored again? Hope so.

Cynicism, or realism, all down to an individual’s opinion, in my personal belief.
As regards current architectural expression, perhaps ‘shabby chic’ is encouraged as a style. You know, like $250.00 denim pants that look dirty and come with pre torn holes right off the rack, or permanent five o’clock shadow stylishly trimmed, and my favourite, the leather look bomber jacket that seems to have been dug out of a mouldy trunk in the attic, after languishing there for 55 years. Apparently old and wrinkly sells,
as long as it is not really old and wrinkly, Ewe!
These fashions look experienced, the adherents to that trend are obviously not. But I digress, this ramble was supposed to be about ugly buildings. What fun.
metalman.

Looking at the architectural rendering picture of the WIDC, I seriously doubt it’s setting is in Prince George.

The two women crossing the street are actually using cross walks and are not jay walking, there is no one urinating on the corner tree, or puking at the base of the corner street light, the pavement looks clean enough to eat off of, no gum, spit or garbage laying anywhere… where is this fairy tale world? Can I live there please?

Metalman, I was not really joking! It would be kind of sad if a building like the new WIDC (potentially around for a century) does not include underground parking, in my humble but always alert opinion! I don’t believe it has this as it has never been mentioned by anyone, i.e. who planned and designed this building?

Of course, if the much touted downtown revitalization is not expected to bear any results ever, then parking will not be a problem, ever.

WIDC should have valet parking if it does not have underground parking? Job creation maybe?

Here is a nice “historic document” about revitalizing down town Prince George. I found the reference to the woman amusing.

http://thetyee.ca/News/2009/06/23/SmallCitiesWorkin

Just over 4 years ago and where are we with the Smart Growth on the Ground Program?

I believe the Smart Growth on the Ground Program is in the trash along with the Official Community Plan.

And what is happening with the grand plan to turn 4 ave into a two way street (ave)? Is the city waiting for December, or waiting for the pay parking equipment ?

In respect to underground parking… any new building that is built in the downtown core should be required to provide underground parking at least for the employees vehicles.

And for People#1’s comments. He hit it bang on! I laughed when I saw such an wonderful artists rendering with all sorts of happy people in it. What a joke.

Perhaps the artist is not aware that the critical services for PG’s homeless and drug or alcohol addicted people are located within the same city block (or so).

The building will look nice but the area will NEVER change. Why should it… it’s been that way for 40 years now.

1….Underground parking, until the gaming centre was built (now the Commonwealth Health Centre, air space fiasco) the rules were changed, underground parking in that area of town was a no-no.

2…..if you think People#1 is a male…?

3…I was going to go on about the 70’s and why the library is raised on pillars and looks like an off shore drilling rig but some Lager is calling me….

Why do we need this building?

Can’t have underground parking on George Street. They can hardly have the electrical rooms above the flood plain much less parking underground. Its why the Court house is raised above the grade.

It appears the project management on this project sucks for the tradesmen that will be working through the coldest part of the winter in a none inclosed building.

Underground parking are you folks serious! The PG hotel was on a 100 flood plane. You dig down guess what you hit? Doesn’t the Good Time Bingo place have underground parking that floods? Yep not a good idea to have underground parking there. Isn’t that right across the street from the Plaza 400 empty parkaid?

….oops wag at Eagleone said!

Wow that was a cool auto correct !

Sorry Prince George, I assumed you were joking, but you’re correct in your assumption, the new WIDC does not have provisions for parking below the building.
Eagleone; you are correct in your comment about the flood plane, furthermore, the water table in that area is not far from the surface, especially in the Spring of the year. The Plaza 400 Building has a couple of large sump pumps in the bowels of the building that see a fair amount of use.
However, the courthouse does have a vehicle parking area beneath the building, it is accessed from second avenue, near Queensway.
metalman.

JB: “Why do we need this building?”

Why, its the monument to Pat.

The Bell Building!

WDIC has a slab on grade foundation, no parking under the building due to 200 year flood plan. Go to the site and you will see that the top of the slab is higher than the sidewalk to accommodate that flood level.

There is an elevator pit which is below the flood plane. How that is protected from high water, I do not know. BUT it will likely have a waterproof lining which makes it similar to an inverse in-ground swimming pool construction. A sump pump would then provide a back-up in case of small leak failures.

Whether there will be a central concrete elevator and stair core of concrete is yet to be seen. That would provide some structural support. However, it is possible to build such vertical enclosures of CLT panels or other methods which will provide the required fire protection. Shear resistance against wind and earthquake movement can be provided by other means. Concrete is not required for that.

It is easy to see that PG has a flood problem since we have several parkades which would otherwise likely be underground

Is it possible to build a parkade below a flood plane? Of course. Just go to New Westminster to the hotel at the shores of the Fraser River. That development has an underground parkade which has sings posted of procedures during flood events.

Cologne, Germany, has a world class symphonic hall built on the edge of the Rhine river. It is entirely under the flood plane. Built like a ship and anchored to the rock below the building so that it does not float upward during high water levels. Of course, similar to ships, it has sump pumps to pump water from any small leaks out.

Cologne is considered to be the most flood prone City in Europe. They have extensive flood protection systems to allow them to continue to “live” close to the water.

The Romans chose a poor site to establish a provincial town and military establishment. ;-)

Like it or not, we are witnessing a new method of construction. Heavy timber construction and solid laminated panel construction can be as fire safe as any other construction. It is the wood frame construction which is the method which has high fire risk. That is not this building.

I am concerned m however, about the use of exposed wood in today’s buildings. Take a look at the Cancer clinic, east face, with water marks already showing after not much more than a year of exposure. That skin has failed and should be replaced under guarantee before it becomes a taxpayer burden.