The Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre is expanding...

...and the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project Ltd., a company wholly owned by the Province of British Columbia, is responsible for building it!!

The expansion is made possible by a funding partnership of the Province of British Columbia , the Government of Canada and Tourism Vancouver. The expansion project will more than triple the Convention Centre's available space and will serve as the international broadcast centre and main press centre for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

http://www.vccep.bc.ca/images/View%20B.jpg
OVERVIEW

Opened on July 4, 1987 , the existing Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre (VCEC) got its start as the Canada Pavilion during Expo 86.

Within 10 years, the convention centre was at capacity with an obvious need for additional space, particularly as Vancouver became known as one of North America 's leading meeting and convention destinations.

In fact, in 2003, some $100 million in delegate spending was lost because Vancouver did not have enough meeting space to accommodate groups wishing to hold conventions in the city.

The expansion of the convention centre followed a review by the Convention Centre Task Force, made up of members of the business community. The task force needed to make a thorough business and marketing case for public funding before the Province decided to proceed with the project on the land and water site adjacent to the west side of Canada Place.

The project is managed by Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project Ltd., which is wholly owned by the Province of British Columbia . The 1.1 million sq ft project will triple the convention centre's existing capacity and help generate an additional $107 million annually in delegate spending.

The expansion will increase the number of delegate days each year from the current 150,000 to nearly 370,000 within the first five years after opening. On average, a delegate will spend about $350 per day during their visit to Vancouver, with about one-third of convention delegates traveling to other parts of the province as part of their stay.

Built over land and water on some 1,000 piles, the expansion will be completed in late 2008. In 2010, the VCEC will be home of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games media and broadcast centre.

In order to ensure that the expansion and existing facility are fully integrated, a glass-walled connector will link the facilities, providing delegates with exceptional harbour views as well as a seamless transition.

Featuring floor-to-ceiling glass throughout the expansion, the project will also include a six-acre living roof, one of the largest of its kind in the world. This unique ecosystem is one of many environmental innovations included in the expansion.

In 2005, the Province approved an expanded public amenities package that resulted from recommendations during the Project's development approval process. These additional public amenities include more accessible outdoor and plaza space, and added commercial and waterfront developments. The Province also recognized increases in the cost of construction materials such as concrete and steel and it approved an increase in its contribution to $272.5 million from $222.5 million.

The total budget is now $615 million coming from the Government of Canada, $90 million from Tourism Vancouver and some $30 million in commercial revenues from the site itself. Because of its unique downtown waterfront location, the project has tremendous commercial and retail capacity and it is expected that much of the Province's increased contribution can be offset by these additional revenues.

In addition to creating more than 6,000 person years of employment during construction, the project will generate more than 7,000 direct and indirect full-time jobs once it is opened in 2008.

What is the cost of the expansion?
The project is being developed with a projected cost of $615 million. This cost includes an Integration Program which will upgrade and connect the existing facility, Canada Place, with the new facility.

Who is paying for the project?
$495 million of the cost will be shared between the Federal and Provincial governments. The local tourism industry, through Tourism Vancouver, will make a $90 million contribution with revenue generation adding another $30 million, to round of the budget.

How big is the expansion?
335,000 square feet of function space will be added to the existing 133,000 square feet, for a combined total of 468,000 square feet of meeting, exhibition, ballroom and plenary theatre space. The overall facility will have a gross area of 1.1 million square feet, including meeting space, support space, parking, and areas for retail and loading.

How will the two facilities be connected?
The site is immediately adjacent to the existing convention centre at Canada Place, so it can be easily integrated using existing and new connectors utilizing available rights-of-way. The site also offers multiple direct linkages to the downtown core via established corridors.

Who owns the land where the convention centre expansion will be built?
The Province purchased the Coal Harbour property from Marathon Developments Inc. in February 2003 for $27.5 million. The purchase, and the creation of the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project Ltd to manage the project, were announced in February 2003.

What about the float planes?
The float planes leasing property from VCCEP have been relocated on an interim basis during the construction of the project. A new state-of-the-art marina and float plane base is planned to operate on the north side of the new facility.
http://lambcutlet.org/albums/Vancouver_BC/Billboard_telling_all_you_wanted_to_know_about_the_Vancouver_Convention_Centre_Expansion.sized.jpg

http://www.vanconex.com/expansion/img/gallery/expansion_lg13.jpg

http://www.lmnarchitects.com/projects/convention_imgs/view%20F_lrg.jpg

http://www.lmnarchitects.com/projects/convention_imgs/View%20B_lrg.jpg

http://www.lmnarchitects.com/projects/convention_imgs/View%20G_lrg.jpg

http://www.lmnarchitects.com/projects/convention_imgs/View%20H_lrg.jpg

http://www.gov.bc.ca/tsa/img/photo_gallery/img_convention_model.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/nighthawk07/Vancouver/VCCEP04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/nighthawk07/Vancouver/VCCEP03.jpg


For more information, visit: http://www.vccep.bc.ca (vccep.bc.ca)

can't wait to see it done

That has got to be the ugliest thing Ive ever seen. A downright disgrace! How that is supposed to be mentioned in the same breath as the stunning Canada Place I'll never know. The city had a real shot at putting a landmark structure on the waterfront, but instead we get this? City Hall should step in and demand a better design. The 1970's called, they want their building back.

That has got to be the ugliest thing Ive ever seen. A downright disgrace! How that is supposed to be mentioned in the same breath as the stunning Canada Place I'll never know. The city had a real shot at putting a landmark structure on the waterfront, but instead we get this? City Hall should step in and demand a better design. The 1970's called, they want their building back.

to quote the city, they didn't want a a design that would steal Canada Place's thunder. :bash:

i like this design though i would prefer something else. it will still be an impressive building, due to its huge size.

to quote the city, they didn't want a a design that would steal Canada Place's thunder. :bash:

i like this design though i would prefer something else. it will still be an impressive building, due to its huge size.

Well then I say to the city mission acomplished! Did they give a reason as to why they felt like that? What would be so bad about adding another landmark or at least complimenting it along the same design principles? A white roof could tie into Canada Place, while still not taking away from it. Instead we got this 70's retro moss covered building which almost seems its apologizing for being there.

Well then I say to the city mission acomplished! Did they give a reason as to why they felt like that? What would be so bad about adding another landmark or at least complimenting it along the same design principles? A white roof could tie into Canada Place, while still not taking away from it. Instead we got this 70's retro moss covered building which almost seems its apologizing for being there.

The original design had wavy white roofs that matched Canada Place. The design also had many Hong Kong Convention Centre characteristics. I loved it.

[QUOTE=mr.x]The original design had wavy white roofs that matched Canada Place. The design also had many Hong Kong Convention Centre characteristics. I loved it.[/QUO

Sounds awesome. Any renderings?

[QUOTE=mr.x]The original design had wavy white roofs that matched Canada Place. The design also had many Hong Kong Convention Centre characteristics. I loved it.[/QUO

Sounds awesome. Any renderings?

This is the best I can do:
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8601/001fv7.jpg

http://www.lestwarog.com/admin/uploads/article/moreimages/1702.jpg

Vancouver’s Convention Centre building platform, supported by thousands of piles, is scheduled for completion next summer. SAM LEUNG — THE PROVINCE

Vancouver's ambitious, $615-million convention centre is on time and budget.

But Russ Anthony, president and project director of the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project, readily acknowledges he is walking a financial tightrope and rapidly escalating construction, material and labour costs might force some changes during the final stages.

"It is worrying," he said. "Everything is a real challenge from getting labour, to site preparation, to material costs.

"We are constantly reviewing our budgets, but I am still confident we will get there on time and on budget."

He vows that the project, which will serve as the media centre for the 2010 Winter Olympics, will be ready by its 2008 target date.

If changes are to be made, he said, it won't be with the building design, which is "set."

But there may be some "wriggle room, with perhaps mechanical systems and lighting."

It is a very big, complex project and "we are being very prudent with our costs. It is not like other buildings where you can simply make cuts, as this is a revenue-generating facility that must meet the demands of its future clients.

"I will be the happiest camper when the building platform, supported by thousands of piles, is finally completed next summer," he said.

Anthony said site preparation has thrown up some challenges but everything is under control.

For instance, he said, who would have thought hurricane Katrina would have had an impact on the project?

"In its aftermath, every crane in the U.S. was sucked up and we were forced to go to Europe to find one."

A massive crane, one of six that will eventually festoon the site, had to be brought in to lift the steel beams for the walls.

Time is a factor, he said, because steel work on the eastern side must be completed by the time the cruise ships start calling again next May as the crane's boom would come too close to the ships.

The steel can only be moved at night and new construction at the Fairmont Hotel just across the street has made for a very tight working area, he said.

The "1,700 supervisors" who log on to the project's website daily will start to see massive steel beam walls rising on the eastern section of the site in November, Anthony said.

And the first glazing, with floor-to-ceiling glass throughout the

1.1-million-square-foot building, will start next summer.

Part of the strategy to contain costs is to lock in fixed prices as early as possible, Anthony said.

"For instance, we have not let the contract for the between-the-floor concrete yet, but we have a fixed cost for the concrete in place," he said. "We also did an early price lock-in with the glazing as well."

Getting skilled labour, especially steel workers, is a constant headache. Consequently, there is plenty of overtime and extended working hours to keep up with the timetable. There are currently about 196 workers on site.

"We are also finding there is a great deal of worker pride on this project and that helps," he said.

When complete, the centre will have 335,000 square feet of function space that will complement the existing convention centre space of 133,000 square feet for a total of 468,000 square feet of meeting, exhibition, ballroom and plenary theatre space.

DEALING IN DOLLARS

Some relevant numbers:

- The expansion will cost $615 million.

- The B.C. government's contribution is $272.5 million.

- The federal government contribution is $222 million.

- Tourism Vancouver's contribution is $90 million.

- Annual revenue generation is estimated at $30 million.

- Completion date is 2008.

- The project size is 1.1 million square feet.

- It's estimated it will generate an additional $107 million in delegate spending annually.

- It will increase delegate days to 370,000 from the current 150,000.

- The average delegate spending while in Vancouver is $350 a day.

© The Vancouver Province 2006

NEW RENDERINGS AND FINAL DESIGN OF THE CONVENTION CENTRE EXPANSION


Looking east
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/VxCEC.jpg



Aerial looking southeast
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/VCEcC.jpg



Looking west from Canada Place
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/VcccCEC.jpg



Aerial
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/VCEC.jpg



Looking east
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/VCccEC.jpg

Thanks X! I'm still trying my best to like this thing. I'd love to see a rendering with the marina part filled with boats.

scary. the last picture with the seaplane....it's flying a bit low don't you think?

I'm amazed that all the people in the renderings are office workers (wearing business attire, formal).

lol...Ya it's flying a bit low and towards the buildings. It seems that those renderings don't have many Westenders hanging about or service industry people like waiters and hotel workers. I suppose the drawings are to highlight the people attending a convention.

is that going to be the media home for the olympics?

is that going to be the media home for the olympics?

Yep. It'll be the Main Media Centre (both the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre).

so if i want to see matt lauer i should go ahng out there - hehe

so if i want to see matt lauer i should go ahng out there - hehe

Matt Lauer?? Correct me if i'm wrong but doesn't he do MSNBC's Today Show?

lol, you may find him there but I think during the Olympics, the Today Show builds their own temporary studio usually in a middle of a public space (plaza) with all four walls made of glass and roofed. maybe you'll find him in that big new plaza at the convention centre. :p

I can say It is lacking something to me , I just dont know what it is ...

A real design maybe? Though I am impressed by its size. It's HUGE.

not that i wanna see matt lauer but he was the only name worth mentioning

I agree that the original designs looked really cool but having some extra green space is not bad either.

You can find one of the original designs here (http://www.boardoftrade.com/policy/reports/ConventionCentreBusPlan_oct2000.pdf) (pdf file).

^ i loved that design. i wonder why they didn't leave space in today's design for a future performing arts centre.

Expanded convention centre wins contracts
Paediatric group signs two-year deal

John Bermingham, Province Thursday, January, 04, 2007

http://www.lestwarog.com/admin/uploads/article/moreimages/2059.jpg

The Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre has bagged a number of big-name conventions for its expanded facility.

The U.S.-based Paediatric Academic Societies has become the first group to sign a multi-year deal for the new facility. PAS plans to stage its annual meetings here in 2010 and 2014.

Each meeting will attract 7,000 visitors to Vancouver and generate $10 million in business for the local economy.

Dave Gazley, Tourism Vancouver meeting and convention sales vice-president, called the deal a "signature piece of business" for the centre. He said a PAS member came to Vancouver in September to scout for locations and fell in love with the city.

The client was attracted by the integrated services being offered -- hotels, flights and transportation -- in a convenient package.

"We've got several groups that are definite now for the expanded centre," Gazley said yesterday. "And we have a huge number more we are working on to confirm for the city."

They are professional-group conventions, ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 delegates.

The convention centre expansion will triple the facility's size to 500,000 square feet when it opens in late 2008.

Tourism Vancouver estimates that the city loses out on $150 million annually because of its limited size and Gazley said the bigger centre will put Vancouver in play for new business.

"It really helps us talk to more groups than we have in the past," he said. "This will really put us into a new ballpark. It's going to be one of the nicest convention centres in the world."

The $615-million expansion is supporting 6,700 construction jobs, but is expected to attract $229 million in annual delegate spending, and create 7,500 new jobs.

According to Tourism B.C., there were 10 per cent fewer delegates to the VCEC last year, compared to 2005.

Figures show VCEC had 211,717 delegate days, down from 235,545 in 2005, and 250,000 in 2004.

© The Vancouver Province 2007

Great news on the convention Center signing business.
With the upgraded airport, the Canada line operational, all of the new hotel rooms that will come online and the new Convention Center, the luxury and convinience of hosting corporate meetings will pretty much be unmatched in North America. Go Vancouver!

Article in today's Vancouver Sun that said the convention centre expansion will have more overruns. From $615 million, it is now expected to cost between $700-800 million.

Article in today's Vancouver Sun that said the convention centre expansion will have more overruns. From $615 million, it is now expected to cost between $700-800 million.

Let's see, an estimated $150 million/year annual revenue gain from the Convention Center on an investment of $700-800 million is a 19 to 21% return on the investment.
If only I could do this well with my money.
Still a smart investment.

Let's see, an estimated $150 million/year annual revenue gain from the Convention Center on an investment of $700-800 million is a 19 to 21% return on the investment.
If only I could do this well with my money.
Still a smart investment.

I find it quite amusing that it's always Vancouver Sun's Vaghn Palmer that's always very critical of infrastructure overruns or the fact that they are being built. He has written many pieces on the Canada Line, the Olympics, the convention centre, the Sea-to-Sky highway, and Gateway.

Am I the only one who is never, ever surprised by cost overruns in construction projects? Major infrastructure and building projects are, as a very solid rule, going to go over-budget. Remember the golden rule of construction, other than measure twice-cut once:

You can only pick two: Fast, Cheap, or Good quality

I think that experience has shown time and again that major projects are always low-balled in order for them to get politically approved and then the true cost only comes out when it is too late to turn back.

It's "I'll be there in five minutes" on a huge scale. You know full well you won't be there in five minutes but it placates the person who is waiting for you and socially we all know that five minutes is offered with a wink and a nod.

With all of that said, I'm very positive about the convention centre expansion and it would be a bargin at twice the price. In fact I wish the economic arguments of the project, that it is an investment in broader economic growth, would be equally applied and accepted when referring to mass transit infrastructure projects.

SkyTrain = economic multiplier just as convention centre = economic multiplier

from Vancouverite
"I think that experience has shown time and again that major projects are always low-balled in order for them to get politically approved and then the true cost only comes out when it is too late to turn back."

To be fair, the bidders for a project do not have a crystal ball to predict the future. World prices of commodities can go up, labor may cost more if there are shortages, governments change laws and regulations, insurance costs can change, nature can work against you, etc. They are trying to "guesstimate" a zillion variables. Yes, most of the times the estimate is too conservative, but everything should be spelled out in the contract as to who will bear the burden of changed costs. Now, if you're refering to politicians throwing around numbers to get voters to approve a project, I would definately agree with you!

Liberal arithmetic: $800 million so far is only 'in the range'
Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, February 20, 2007

VICTORIA - Finance Minister Carole Taylor says today's budget still won't have a take-it-to-the-bank costing for the Vancouver convention centre expansion, despite forecasts of another huge overrun on the troubled project.

"We say in the budget that it is in the range of $800 million," she told reporters Monday, echoing the number put out last week by minister-for-the-project Stan Hagen.

But "in the range" is as far as the finance minister is prepared to go at this stage: "I'm very careful."

Her hesitation arises from the fact that she's still waiting for an updated financial report from the provincial agency that is building the project on the Vancouver waterfront.

"Treasury Board has not received the report that will identify exactly where the costs are and how we will move forward," she explained. T-board is the cabinet's budget-making committee, which she chairs.

But Taylor agreed that, even without any further escalation, the project has gone well over budget.

"It is a concern," she conceded, adding that the feeling was shared by everyone involved in the project. "It is a concern that the budget is so much larger than it was originally projected to be."

That's putting it mildly. Just four years ago, the B.C. Liberals were promising that the convention centre expansion could be completed "on time and on budget" for just $495 million.

Premier Gordon Campbell was equally reassuring at the official sod-turning, less than 21/2 years ago.

"This will be on time and on budget -- count on it," Campbell declared as he fired up a backhoe for the ceremonial excavation of the construction site on Nov. 8, 2004.

The key was the B.C. Liberal government's superior approach to management of public sector construction projects.

"There are contingencies built into the project," he explained, "and it is going to be run professionally."

Actually, the Liberals were resorting to one of the oldest dodges in the book -- boosting the budget, then claiming they could stay within the revised figure.

For, as Campbell spoke, the official definition of "on budget" was already $565 million, up $70 million from the initial number.

Ten months later, the B.C. Liberals tried the same trick again, boosting the budget to $615 million, and saying they could definitely, for sure, no kidding, finish the project for that amount.

But these numbers were tossed out without any detailed public acknowledgment of what was happening to the construction costs.

The initial budget was predicated on a four-per-cent-a-year rise in construction costs. Ten to 15 per cent was more like it.

Even when the bids started coming in well above projections, the Liberals never 'fessed up to the dubious nature of their forecasting on what has been characterized (by them) as "the biggest construction project in B.C."

At the time they floated the $615-million figure, less than half the tenders had been called. That supposedly firm figure was no more than a guess, and not a very good one at that.

Today, with the project mostly tendered (more than 80 per cent, the Liberals said last week, just under 90 per cent, they said Monday) the tab is still running.

It won't be $1 billion, Hagen assured reporters Monday.

Phew! That's a relief.

"It'll be in the range of $800 million," he went on to insist.

But project managers are still working to nail down a more precise figure, via high-level negotiations with the builder, PCL Construction.

The goal, Hagen says, is to get PCL to agree to finish the project for "a lump sum."

At this late day, the builder is surely in the driver's seat in those negotiations.

Construction well under way. Government needing the expansion finished for the Olympics. Labour shortages. Cost escalation well-documented. Public alert to repeated stories of overruns. Politicians scrambling for cover.

Wouldn't you like to be the negotiator for the other side: "Here's my proposal: We'll finish it and send you the bill. You pay up. How's that for a lump sum?"

However those negotiations come out, the cost is already running 60-per-cent ahead of the original promise, 40-per-cent higher than Campbell's "count on it," budget.

Nor is the project on time. The Liberals were initially building for an opening in the summer of 2008. The latest target is spring of 2009, or almost a year behind schedule.

All this is doubly bad for the Liberals because Campbell staked his own credibility on that claim of on time and on budget.

"The premier didn't know what the heck he was talking about," as Opposition critic Harry Bains put it in the legislature Monday.

Exactly so. But don't expect to hear the Liberals admit it.

vpalmer@direct.ca
© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Wow Vaughn Palmer is a genius for predicting the construction/mineral boom! He must be mega rich from buying stocks in development and mining companies 10 years ago!

Recent pictures by excel:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s147/excel91/IMGP1658.jpg?t=1175466412
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s147/excel91/IMGP1659.jpg?t=1175466441
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s147/excel91/IMGP1661.jpg?t=1175466501

Looks like it's really starting to take shape. I love the scale of it though, definently something you aren't going to miss when you visit here.

indeed, i very much like that fact that it helps break up the skyline a bit more as well. the expansion certianly adds another level for us to look at - not high up, but back down so the skyline isn't just some wall jutting out from the water.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/yvr/Imaffge1.jpg

The new convention centre will be an economic winner
Hagen sees winner on waterfront
Ashley Ford

Province

Friday, April, 13, 2007



Huge cost overruns not withstanding, the new convention centre will be an economic winner, Tourism Minister Stan Hagen said yesterday.

Following a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade, Hagen said that, while he is concerned about getting the massive project on the inner waterfront completed by the March 2009 deadline, he is not overly worried about the overall cost, which is now around the $800-million mark, roughly $185 million over earlier estimates.

"I have two major challenges with the convention centre: Getting it done on time and within the new budget, and marketing it to the world. I am certainly more confident now than I was a few months ago," he said.

A new marketing plan is expected soon, but Hagen said the positive impact of the centre is already starting to show.

There are 50 conventions booked for it and 27 of those would not have been able to come here without a larger centre, he said.

They will put hundreds of millions of new dollars into the economy and in the future will bring even bigger rewards.

It will be the most technologically advanced building of its type in the world when completed and getting the right marketing plan in place will be key, Hagen said.

The minister also revealed he is pressing the federal government to move quickly on introducing a new "open-skies" policy that would allow more direct air service into Vancouver.

Hagen said he recently met with federal officials and plans to keep banging on the door to get them to move.

"They know what has to be done but just can't seem to get to it. It's a bit like turning a giant oil tanker.

"Air Canada doesn't need any protection and the need is there to relax the rules," he said.

© The Vancouver Province 2007

Webcam of the connector between the expanded VCEC and Canada Place being built:
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/1246/untitledbh7.png

Demand soars at larger convention centre

3,000 U.S. lawyers among customers signing up to use the expanded facility through 2019

Gillian Shaw, Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, May 11, 2007

What do you get when you get together 3,000 lawyers? Approximately $18 million, which is what Vancouver's Convention & Exhibition Centre estimates 3,000 delegates will bring to B.C.'s economy when the American Association for Justice holds its annual conference in 2010, marking the first time the association representing American trial lawyers has chosen Vancouver as its convention destination.

They are joined by a fast-growing lineup of customers who are booking Vancouver's soon-to-be expanded convention centre right through to 2019, with current bookings expected to add a whopping $1.1 billion in direct and indirect economic spinoffs to the provincial economy.

"I think it bodes well," VCEC president Barbara Maple said. "We are starting to get a lot of interest in the convention centre and we believe there has been pent-up demand.

"Groups have wanted to be here, but it was not only the size of our facility . . . we didn't have the complexity of room configuration that they needed."

The facility already has 54 non-Olympic events confirmed or contracted for April 1, 2009, and the decade beyond -- 28 would have been too large to squeeze into the pre-expanded centre.

If you're one of those people who can't plan ahead for the weekend and are wondering just who would book an event for 2019, you'll have to wait to find out. That event is confirmed only, not yet under contract, and so the VCEC won't disclose what it is.

However, the forward-thinking Canadian Cardiovascular Congress is planning to meet here in 2017, by which time the new convention centre will already be eight years old.

The new combined facility, with delays pushing back its scheduled completion to the spring of 2009, will have more than 316,000 square feet of convention and meeting space; triple the current centre and enough to cover the equivalent of four city blocks.

It also answers a demand among convention planners for break-out space, those meeting rooms where delegates gather in smaller groups. The current centre has 20 such spaces, while the newly expanded one will add another 52.

And if you're planning a wedding for 10,000, note the new facility will have Canada's largest convention centre ballroom with more than 55,000 square feet of swing room, up from the current 16,600 square feet.

The combination of tripling the convention centre size and improving the mix of space offerings is working, according to Maple.

"We're attracting more of the same size of events that we have today, but we are also attracting large events," she said. "One of the goals of the convention centre is not only to book bigger groups, but to book more groups."

The expanded size means the centre can host simultaneously the equivalent of two of the largest groups it can handle currently, according to Maple.

"We will carry on with the groups with 2,000 to 2,500 delegates," she said. "That traditionally is the size that makes up the bulk of the market."

Not only are a lot of delegates expected, they also spend more money than your average tourist.

Maple said the typical spend attributed to conference delegates is $500 a day, an estimate that includes everything from their room and meals to the cost of the convention space itself. That is four to five times the expected take from regular visitors to the city.

"The other thing about these groups is that they travel throughout the province," said Maple. "They often come back on holidays or with their families to visit and we all benefit from that."

The Olympics will garner the lion's share of the first year's bookings after the new centre opens, with that organization slated to fill the entire space from late fall of 2009 right through March 2010.

When it clears out, the Pacific Dental Conference running form April 13 to April 17 will be the first-post Olympic customer bringing with it more than 9,000 attendees. It will mark the 21st year that conference has been coming to Vancouver and over the years it has grown to the point that it can only squeeze in with the convention centre relying on industry partners such as hotels. The VCEC said the expansion means that for the first time the dental conference will fit into one facility.

gshaw@png.canwest.com

Good news for the Convention Center.
Just be glad the 3,000 lawyers are American and aren't going there to sue everyone like they do here in the states!:lol:

Couple of new shots from globalairphotos:

http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/vancouver/2007/vch2007_188.jpg

http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/vancouver/2007/vch2007_191.jpg



Credits to delirium:
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/yvr/Picture1423.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/yvr/Picture1425.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/yvr/Picture1416.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/yvr/Picture1424.jpg

Throw a new Soccer stadium down there too, and the coal harbour waterfront is starting to look pretty decent

That's one cool-looking building going up there. Can't wait until it's finished.

Neat pic of the new centre, looking west towards a sunset:
http://www.mytelus.com/news_images/cbc_edmonton/original/vancouver_cranes_SS.jpg

i think someone needs to tell these people to update their welcome page

this must be 10 years old?

http://www.downtownbedandbreakfast.com/gifs/rainbow2-over_1.jpg
http://www.downtownbedandbreakfast.com/gifs/water2-over_2.jpg

^^ I always cringe when I see Vancouver touristy publications using stock photographs. The stock photos invariably will have people wearing scrunchies and neon rollerblades. Or worse, things like GM Place or Yaletown aren't even built in the pics they use. It's so aggrevating because the average tourist won't realize that they are old and wil just see an ugly small Vancouver. Argh,

Credits to vanman:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/DSC00909.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/DSC00910.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/DSC00911.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/DSC00912.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/DSC00913.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/DSC00915.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/DSC00920.jpg

Photo credit: Delirium
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1129/568041913_035cb2b1ff_b.jpg

Harbour Green Park and an in-progress Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre Expansion Project (VCECP)
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9706/habourgreenparkandvcecpff1.jpg

VCECP construction from Western approach.
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3926/vcecpconstruction1june2of8.jpg

VCECP construction from Eastern approach.
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4024/vcecpconstruction3june2jf5.jpg

VCECP construction taken from Canada Place.
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9116/vcecpconstruction4goodjmj2.jpg

VCECP glazing test. (Vancouver must keep the blue glass and opaque spandrel manufacturers in business)
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/2524/vcecpconstructionglazinxe2.jpg.


Pics taken by SFU Vancouver

Final convention centre cost estimates reach $883-million

DIRK MEISSNER
Canadian Press

July 11, 2007 at 8:09 PM EDT

VICTORIA — B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor says the price tag for Vancouver's downtown convention centre is expected to hit almost $900-million, almost $400-million more than it was originally estimated to cost.

Ms. Taylor said Wednesday the $883-million estimate will be the final number in a project she says has been a concern to government. The convention centre was originally pegged to cost about $495-million.

“It has been a concern for all of us to know what the final number would be on the convention centre,” she said. “The positive side is it's going to be a spectacular project.”

Ms. Taylor said her ministry had estimated in last February's budget the project would come in at the $800-million range, and in recent weeks it was pegged at about $780-million, but costs still continued to rise.

Tourism Minister Stan Hagen downplayed the $883-million cost estimate, saying the project is destined to be a showcase for Vancouver and British Columbia, and it will be a money maker.

Vancouver has already lost $1-billion in potential convention revenues, he said.

“The cost of not building the project would be far greater,” said Mr. Hagen. “It's exciting to contemplate what we're building here for all British Columbians.”

The convention centre will triple the capacity of Vancouver's existing convention centre. It will create 7,500 jobs and start to pay for itself within 11 years.

Mr. Hagen said the building will include an environmentally friendly design, complete with a living roof with growing B.C. trees and plants. It is slated to open in 2009.

Opposition critic Harry Bains said he's not convinced the project won't cost more than $883-million.

“It's hard to trust when the same people have told us four times these were the final numbers,” he said.

Project spokesman David Podmore said B.C.'s booming economy has resulted in labour shortages that have placed pressures on the project.

Ms. Taylor said the convention centre is one of the few government projects that has gone over budget.

Dozens of public-private projects across the province are all on budget, but the convention centre, which is not a public-private project, is over budget, she said.

The Canadian Taxpayers' Federation said the project is a victim of mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.

“The cost overrun is approaching the fast ferry fiasco in magnitude,” said a statement by director Maureen Bader.

The former NDP government's plans to build three aluminum-hulled passenger ferries during the 1990s was originally estimated to cost about $210-million, but ended up costing more than $450-million.

The three vessels were plagued with mechanical problems and were pulled from use and auctioned off for about $15-million.

^^ Although the huge cost overruns are a big concern I don't see it approaching anything like the disaster the 'Fast-Ferries' were.

Unless of course, when completed, the convention centre does not fulfill its original intentions, proves to be a hazard to the public, then is deemed unsuitable for any use at all, and finally costs taxpayers millions of dollars sitting in mothballs.

Pics by popyourcolla:



Here is some pics of the convention center I took from out on the water.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/Slangdaddy/conventioncenter4.jpg?t=1184647254

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/Slangdaddy/conventioncenter2.jpg?t=1184647499

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/Slangdaddy/conventioncenterwestside.jpg?t=1184647562

Bentall 5 is such a clean little tower
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/Slangdaddy/Bentall5.jpg?t=1184647672

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/Slangdaddy/5sails.jpg?t=1184647790

The eastern part of the skyline is growing nicely. Still has a long way to go.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/Slangdaddy/easternskyline.jpg?t=1184647854

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/Slangdaddy/port.jpg?t=1184648018

A picture Delirium took
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1108/921179710_bdac30b7b6_o.jpg





And a few I took yesterday:
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/4016/79864910aq2.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/8361/60479835xb5.jpg

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1460/10jr5.jpg

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4652/dscf0810ff2.jpg

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/7286/12gz5.jpg

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3487/13in5.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/5315/13dl6.jpg

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4264/15jo9.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/101/16fc1.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/4783/dscf0816mt2.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6523/18co3.jpg

Mr.X2, credit should be given to SFUVancouver for the photos in post #48.

Taken today by Raggedy13:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/000_0091.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/000_0090.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/000_0097.jpg

Its a pretty nice design with its sharp angles but it would have been nicer if it had a design like this.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/fxx/operaov6.jpg

Will this be the biggest convention centre in canada?
i'm not sure if toronto's is bigger.

Will this be the biggest convention centre in canada?
i'm not sure if toronto's is bigger.

Second largest in Canada:

Toronto: 600,000 sq. feet
Vancouver: 468,000 sq. feet
Montreal: 200,000 sq. feet
Calgary: 180,000 sq. feet

Second largest in Canada:

Toronto: 600,000 sq. feet
Vancouver: 468,000 sq. feet
Montreal: 200,000 sq. feet
Calgary: 180,000 sq. feet
So this will be the largest since it will be 1.1 million sq feet when completed.

So this will be the largest since it will be 1.1 million sq feet when completed.

Well, it's based on convention space, not overall building space. With the expansion, it's 468,000 sq. feet from something around 180,000 square feet today.

Thieves take metal for convention centre

Glenn Bohn, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2007

SURREY - A welding company owner says a brazen metal thief drove away last week with 4,500 aluminum brackets and other metal, worth $200,000, meant for the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre expansion.

The thief made two trips, the first one last Wednesday.

He returned Saturday for more.

Deelite Welding Inc. president Shawn Marsh said Tuesday both thefts occurred during the day at a company facility in the Port Kells industrial area in northeast Surrey.

"A truck driver showed up and said he was here to pick up some aluminum," Marsh said in an interview.

"The neighbouring company said they didn't know anything about it, but here's this stuff, and they loaded it up in the truck.

"Then they came back on Saturday -- the same trucking company, the same driver -- and loaded up all the steel angle [bars], which is also for the convention centre." Marsh said he discovered the thefts on Monday, when he sent an employee to the facility for a legitimate pickup.

The employee told him: "There's nothing here. We've been robbed."

Marsh, who estimates he lost about $200,000 worth of material meant for the convention centre and other customers, is offering a $10,000 reward for their return, "no questions asked."

Developer David Podmore, chairman of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, said the theft won't delay the planned March 2009 completion of the megaproject.

Podmore said the brackets, about 20 cm long and 10 cm deep, were designed to hold an outer layer of wood to be placed on the soffit or underside of the overhang of the new building's roof.

The brackets are not a structural element needed for the integrity of the building, he said, but are an aesthetic feature that can be added later.

"This is no different than if you were building a home and you had window boxes you were going to install," Podmore said in an interview. "If you lost those or they were damaged, you could carry on and complete the construction of the home and install [the window boxes] at a later date.

"That's exactly what will happen here. . . . At worst, we'll have to have these brackets refabricated and installed at a later date, but it won't impact the overall completion of the convention centre."

However, NDP tourism critic Norm Macdonald said he's heard other assurances about the convention centre that were later proven wrong.

The convention centre expansion was supposed to cost $495 million, but the latest estimate is $833 million.

"The history of the project is about assurances about being on time and on budget," said Macdonald (NDP--Columbia River-Revelstoke).

"That's been done repeatedly with the premier and the ministers, and each time we end up with something different."

gbohn@png.canwest.com


© The Vancouver Sun 2007

I wonder if Vancouver is the only city who has to deal with metal theft

its getting ridiculous

i heard something about the new skytrain er canada line being robbed of metals too

and developments are having to post guards to protect the metal on site if they dare to leave it

Thieves take metal for convention centre

Glenn Bohn, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2007

SURREY - A welding company owner says a brazen metal thief drove away last week with 4,500 aluminum brackets and other metal, worth $200,000, meant for the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre expansion.

The thief made two trips, the first one last Wednesday.

He returned Saturday for more.

Does this smack of an inside job? Or really inept security?

Posted by look@around:


Recent updates on construction
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2517/img2401rf6.jpg

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/5314/panoramavancouverfromstrm4.jpg

Some new Global Air Photos of:

Downtown Vancouver dated Sept 20, 2007. Harbour Green 3 will have a tight site.

http://www.globalairphotos.com/gallery/BC/Vancouver/Downtown

http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/vancouver/2007/vch2007_603.jpg
http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/vancouver/2007/vch2007_605.jpg

Pictures taken yesterday, during my 30 minutes lunch break :wink2:, under a typical Vancouver weather :lol:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2289/img2639mg4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/9066/img2642xj3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3373/img2650am9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2289/img2651pw8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/3289/img2652xk8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/6640/img2653rd9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Man charged in Vancouver Convention Centre metal heist
October 17, 2007

Man charged in Vancouver Convention Centre metal heist
Surrey RCMP said a man has been charged in the theft of about $180,000 worth of fabricated metal products that were to be used for the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. Kenneth Howard Moon, 52, of Langley was released after being charged with theft over $5,000, but the metal has not been recovered. The aluminum intended for the roof of the new Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project was stolen from Deelite Fabrication and Welding in Surrey. RCMP said the incident wasn't a typical metal theft and that only a select number of persons knew the material was on the premises.

Source: The CBC

I couldn't find a source on-line, but I read that the thief is actually the landlord for the building that houses Deelite Fabrication.

they released him? no public hanging???

they released him? no public hanging???

How? He stole and sold all the metal. :p

Anyway, I presume he made bail and was released. I can't see how that much metal could still be missing and I expect that eventually it will be found.

How? He stole and sold all the metal. :p


more the reason why we need a public hanging at Blood Alley in Gastown.

Early budgets vague, says convention centre auditor

Staff Reporter, The Province
Published: Thursday, October 25, 2007

B.C.'s provincial auditor says cost overruns on the Vancouver Convention Centre expansion project were caused by vague, possibly premature initial budgets and a host of inflationary pressures once construction finally got under way.

He also noted that a provincial commitment to complete the expansion before the 2010 Winter Olympics left project leaders open to significant cost risks in trying to hammer their way through the procurement process in a short time frame.

The project, budgeted as recently as 2004 at $495 million, has ballooned to a current estimate of more than $883 million.

In a report requested by the expansion project board of directors, Acting Auditor General Errol Price said the increasing cost estimate is partly a function of the time lag between discussion of the project in the 1990s to the formation of a formal Crown agency to guide it to completion in 2003.

He said the quote of $495 million was carried forward for several years without any detailed budgets being done.

He also said the booming construction market in B.C. placed new, unforeseen inflationary pressure on the project, which also expanded in scope as designs evolved.

Price also warned that "there is no guarantee that [the current $883.2-million budget estimate] will be the final cost" by the time the project is completed in 2009.

He did not have any significant criticisms of how the current board is running the project, but noted some of the monthly reporting was incomplete and "painted a rosier picture than was actually the case."

Auditor General's report:
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/pdf/071025_VCCEP_audit.pdf

Pretty scathing assesment in the Sun:



City's megaproject a triumph of engineering, not architecture
Don't expect to see the new convention centre on postcards any time soon
Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, November 05, 2007


It's often said God was Vancouver's architect-in-chief, creating the sea, the snowcapped mountains and backdrop of deep, green rain forest that make this city stunning. But good gosh, isn't it time the mere mortals on the ground started pulling their weight, too?

I raise this suggestion after spending the last few years watching, with great expectation, the rise of our latest addition to the waterfront: the expanded Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre.

There's been a raging debate over the fact the near $1-billion price tag of this new edifice far exceeds planners' -- and taxpayers' -- expectations. But less talked about is that this "signature building" falls far short of another expectation: great architecture.

To be fair, it's no outright disaster. It seems well-engineered, something you'd expect given the cost overrun. And as a building designed to attract conventions and offer visitors an impressive view of the water and mountains once they get here, this mostly glass structure, with its six-acre roof garden, will do the trick.

But don't expect anyone to be sticking this building on postcards or Architectural Digest to be putting it on the cover.

From a design perspective, the convention centre is esthetically underwhelming, more a triumph of engineering than architecture. The word mediocre comes up repeatedly whenever I ask people who watch these sort of things in the city.

"It's not a terrible building," says Gordon Price, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University. "But it's not a great building, either. We could and should do better."

Aside from its roof garden, expected to be covered in West Coast flora, and its promise to be the most environmentally sensitive convention centre yet, the structure cuts, well, a conventional profile on the skyline.

In fact, at this stage it seems to fall short of two of the key principles city planners set out in 2003 in a Vancouver Sun article: The building's profile wasn't supposed to compete with the sails of the Pan Pacific, one of the city's true architectural icons, and it wasn't supposed to look like a big box on the waterfront.

Well, walk around the site and see for yourself what's going up on the shores of Coal Harbour.

The glass skin that is now being put over the skeleton of concrete and steel girders is clear, thankfully. But this is definitely a massive box we're getting, albeit one with a few graceful curves engineered in.

It is also very high -- in fact it seems monolithic in the context of the buildings around it -- and it does detract from the majesty of the Pan Pacific's white sails. As for that cool roof-top garden we hear so much about, it's going to be inaccessible from the ground and most of it will be difficult to see unless you happen to be flying over in a float plane or are gazing down from your hotel room's window.

There's not much you can do to change a building that's mostly up and is hopelessly overbudget, of course. But there's a lesson to be learned here in the future development of the city: Put architects back in control of how our major buildings, both public and private, will look.

We need the engineers, planners and politicians to keep the costs in line and keep things real, but don't let them water down the great designs, as so often happens behind the scenes.

The reason is that great architecture doesn't just make a city a nice place to live -- it can build your economy.

It can be risky, as Montrealers who spent a generation paying off Olympic Stadium found out, if you don't do it right. But it can also put you on the map.

Consider Bilbao, Spain. Once a nondescript town that seemed to be sliding into oblivion, its city leaders decided to build a branch of the Guggenheim Museum and gave a cutting-edge architect the job: Canadian-born Frank Gehry.

He came up with the swirling titanium museum that cost about $120 million. It has transformed Bilbao into a world destination and revived the city's economy. I wonder what he would have done with a billion dollars?

The point here isn't for Vancouver to copy Bilbao. But it is an encouragement to start thinking their way when it comes to how this city's skyline will look in the years to come.

In the run-up to the Olympics and beyond, Vancouver has some big development decisions to make that could put us on the cutting edge of architecture.

Large sections of the waterfront are up for development. The city seems to have opened the door for taller buildings, even skyscrapers. And the provincial and city governments are going to be grappling with the construction of a new stadium on the waterfront, the building of a new art gallery and perhaps even the creation of a concert hall, something all great cities need.

So, who do we want to do the dreaming up of how these buildings will look?

A committee or an architect? Let's hope it's the latter.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one that is underwhelmed by the design. It's pretty sad that the most distinctive and attractive feature of the new building is the terraced plaza rather than the building itself.

Hmm yeah but you cant really judge it until its fully built I guess. But i kinda understand where you're coming from. I think it will look pretty neat tho.. kinda like the ritz carlton building in Van.. that thing just doesnt do it for me it looks really confusing and it doesnt look straight it looks like its going to fall over but I guess you cant tell until its complete.

Premier defends convention centre cost overruns

Jeff Rud, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, November 05, 2007

VICTORIA - Premier Gordon Campbell was unapologetic today about massive cost overruns on the Vancouver Convention Centre expansion as he made his first appearance in the legislature since last month's critical auditor-general's report on the project.

Campbell was grilled for the entire half-hour question period by the Opposition about the convention centre expansion, now estimated to cost $883.2 million after being initially projected at $495 million.

"To be candid, I'm not enthusiastic about these cost escalations," Campbell said in response to the NDP barrage. "But the fact of the matter is that they're there. They're there because concrete costs are up, steel costs are up, labour costs are up. Every single dollar is going to add value to the convention centre ... ."

Campbell pointed to acting Auditor-General Errol Price's report that blamed spiking construction costs - which he likened to a "perfect storm" - for much of the inflation.

"Not one time does the auditor-general use the word 'waste,'" Campbell said. "Not one time does the auditor-general use the word 'mismanagement.'"

In fact, what the auditor-general says is that all major capital projects, whether private or public sector, have a number of inherent risks: "The Convention Centre expansion project is no exception. In addition to standard construction risks, this project has been managed during a period of high inflation in the construction market."

In response to questions about why the government wasn't more open about cost escalations as the budget for the project increased, Campbell insisted that it had been open.

However, the auditor-general's report showed that government knew in early 2006 that its budget would exceed $615 million but didn't make that information public until this year. "When we knew what the budgets were going to be, we made sure that the public knew," Campbell said.

Campbell said British Columbians will be the final arbiters of the worth of the project. And although the NDP pressed him to hold somebody accountable for the overruns, he said his government would ultimately be accountable.

"I'm pleased to stand here and be very clear," Campbell said. "This government, this premier, will be held accountable by the people of British Columbia for every decision we've made, including these decisions."

Although he stopped to chat briefly with reporters before caucus today, Campbell hurried out of the legislature following question period, refusing to stop for TV cameras and reporters.

NDP leader Carole James said the premier has to be more accountable for the overrun of hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars on the project.

"The premier finally showed up in the legislature but he's not any more willing to answer any questions than he was before he left," James said. "This was Gordon Campbell at his most dismissive and most arrogant today.

"He's dismissing the cost overruns, he's not holding anyone accountable. He won't tell us when he knew there was a cost overrun and why he kept that secret from the public. He basically just dismissed all the questions."

CanWest News Service

Hmm yeah but you cant really judge it until its fully built I guess. But i kinda understand where you're coming from. I think it will look pretty neat tho.. kinda like the ritz carlton building in Van.. that thing just doesnt do it for me it looks really confusing and it doesnt look straight it looks like its going to fall over but I guess you cant tell until its complete.

I don't hate the design, it just doesn't catch my imagination. It looks like such a smörgåsbord of design elements that could only have resulted from a "design by committee" process. The original design had a white roof that complimented Canada Place. Why that design was abandoned for the uninspiring one we have now I have no idea.

Regarding cost overruns, Carole James can just shut the hell up. If the NDP were in government there is no doubt the project would be twice the price, half the size, look even more uninspired and involve some sweetheart deal.

Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre Expansion - November 2007
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2273/2051786847_b2dfa69bf2_b.jpg
from www.flickr.com

Nice, looks like the exterior is getting there.

a couple other nice views, from delirium

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2024/2059889839_485a8588b8_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2154/2060664974_aac63a1332_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2218/2059873645_3c13687acf_b.jpg
from www.flickr.com

Great pictures. :)

Pics from today...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9816.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9851.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9859.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9860.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9865.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9866.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/101_0002.jpg

A bit disappointing for a billion dollar project...essentially its just a really tall box on the waterfront with a sloped roof. Personally I think something like Hong Kong's convention centre, but with straight lines, would address the human scale a bit better. Raggedy's first pic kinda worries me...

I agree. Looking at the HK Convention Centre, it's a wonderful addition to the skyline in that the curves not only stand out from the tall vertical lines of Hong Kong Island but it also reflects the image of the Bauhinia flower (the official flower of HKSAR and is on the HKSAR flag). But this past summer, I attended the book/literacy fair held inside and it is a little too big to navigate. The fair is so huge that it uses most of the various event rooms and going from the main hall to the smaller ones above them takes a long time (of course, not many other events would use the entire convention centre like that). They're also expanding the HK one a little.

But back to the VCCEP, I'm worried about the green roof. How visible will it be to make it a highlight feature. I mean, it's a unique feature but as it is, I can barely see much of the roof from the pictures. Does something like that add to a building if it's not that dramatic?

From street level it is supposed to appear like a "glass lantern" - which may actually be true since it is an institutional building and the likelihood of ALL of the lights being turned on is high (unlike condos such as The Beasley where the top few floors is called a "glass lantern" but all of the condo units up there will never be lit up at the same time).
The roof will only be visible from above - it's more of a functional / environmental element, rather than an asthetic one.

Pics taken today by Vanman:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction003.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction026.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction025.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction018.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction017.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction016.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction014.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction013.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction012.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction030.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/vanstruction029.jpg

From Canada Place.
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/870/p1050358ny0.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Looking north from the driveway of the Shaw Tower. The Fairmont Pacific Rim is to the right.
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/2853/p1050365aj4.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Looking northeast from the walkway to Harbour Green Park.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9819/p1050370qb0.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Looking east from Harbour Green Park.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/3708/p1050374ab2.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

For comparison, I took the following picture in late spring last year.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9706/habourgreenparkandvcecpff1.jpg
(My photo, taken June 29th, 2007)

^^ That lawn is going to need some work and lots of fertilizer.

lmao!!!

Convention Center to get its own marine habitat.
From today's Sun.


Artificial reef takes shape on the waterfront
Structure will be teeming with sealife in a few months
Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, February 19, 2008
A new $8.3-million concrete reef -- or marine life "habitat skirt" -- should be swarming with new sealife within months around the base of the Vancouver convention centre expansion project.

Barnacles, mussels, seaweed, starfish, crabs and various fish species are expected to inhabit the five-tiered underwater structure being installed this week.

"You'll see all kinds of marine life living there by this summer," convention centre environmental consultant Rick Hoos said in an interview. "It will take a couple of years for things to stabilize as various species compete for space.

"The strong guys will win out and the weak ones won't."

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans demanded the convention centre install the new marine life facility to replace the habitat displaced by the expanded centre.

The skirt looks like a set of bleachers dropped into the water, with 76 concrete frames weighing more than 36,000 kilograms each. The frames will accommodate 362 1.2-metre-by-6.4-metre horizontal slats that will attract marine life and contain their own 15-cm-deep tidal pools.

The lowest level of the structure will remain covered at low tide but upper levels will be clearly visible to the public much of the time.

Surespan Structures Ltd. general manager Jason Kearns, whose company built the frames in Duncan over the past five months, said the artificial reef contains a certain kind of concrete texturing that encourages marine life to attach itself.

He said the 3 1/2-day installation of the concrete frames should be completed late today, with the slats to be installed in about a month.

"Any person looking across from the Pan Pacific Hotel will definitely notice it because it's a real eye catcher," Kearns said.

Surespan operates a 12-hectare facility in Duncan, employing 80 to 100 workers. Previous company projects include temporary Canada Line bridges and bridges for the Olympic Nordic Centre in Whistler.

Hoos said the marine life project is part of the convention centre's goal to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

He expects the new marine environment near the convention centre will be considerably better than the one that existed before, as the site was a historic fill that contained a lot of contaminated material.

"We removed a lot of contaminated sediment and fill and rubble and things like old pavement and cables," Hoos said. "Marine life still tried to live on that stuff but it wasn't the best of environments for them."

He said all kinds of fish will love the concrete reef -- including sea perch, sticklebacks, flounder and baby salmon.

"Seals will absolutely come around to check it out, although we don't want too many predators there," Hoos said. "But that's nature. You can't keep predators from a site when there's food there."

He said the public walkway around the outside of the expanded convention centre will offer great views of the marine life habitat, with special viewing platforms in certain locations.

Officials also plan to install underwater cameras that will provide marine life images that can be viewed at an information centre inside the convention centre. Cameras are also expected to provide images of the convention centre's 2.4-hectare "living roof" -- featuring Pacific Northwest vegetation.

"We hope when it's finished, schools will send busloads of kids down to tour all the environmental features," Hoos said.


A HOUSING PROJECT FOR MARINE LIFE

The 'habitat skirt' being constructed for the Vancouver convention centre expansion project is a bioengineered structure that uses a series of pre-cast, concrete benches designed for rapid colonization by a wide diversity of marine life throughout all levels of the intertidal zone.

76: Number of "stair-step" style concrete frames to be used in the skirt

36,000 kilograms: Weight of each concrete frame

Five months: Time it took to make those frames, at Surespan Structures Ltd. in Duncan

450,000 kilograms: amount of steel rebar used to reinforce those frames

2,000 cubic metres: amount of concrete used in the frames

46,000 square metres: Size of the surface area of the habitat skirt, roughly equal to six soccer pitches

Creating a there, there in Vancouver
With expanded convention centre, cry goes out for other sites to host and entertain large groups of visitors

PETER MITHAM

Special to The Globe and Mail

March 18, 2008

Having help stage the wedding reception for Bill and Melinda Gates in 1994, David Clark knows something about what it takes to host a major event.

But overseeing that top-secret party for 130 high-powered guests on the Hawaiian island of Lanai might seem like child's play compared with trying to host a large gathering of convention-goers in Vancouver these days.

Next year, the city will unveil the expanded Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, a $883.2-million project that is adding 335,000 square feet of space to the 133,000 square feet at the existing centre.

But a key problem will remain: Despite having plenty of room for trade shows and conventions in an eye-popping building overlooking Vancouver's harbour, convention organizers still struggle to figure out where to take people after hours.

A shortage of offsite venues, the places where visitors can attend receptions and special events away from the big convention hall - and which frequently showcase what a destination city has to offer - has cost Vancouver some convention business in the past. Now, there's an effort to address that problem.

"We're short of venues," says Mr. Clark, president of B.C. Event Management Inc. in North Vancouver. "It just feels even more immediate as we're closer to the opening of the convention centre expansion [next] March."

A Tourism Vancouver report released last year says that, apart from major hotels, venues capable of accommodating groups in excess of 250 people are in short supply.

"One of the limitations that we have as a city is that we don't have places to host dinners for 1,000 people, outside of hotel ballrooms and the convention centres themselves," said Richard Yore, director of sales, meetings and conventions for Tourism Vancouver. "A lot of the time, people want to go to a different type of venue, like a museum or something along that line. In Europe, you can go to castles."

Mr. Clark, who has staged several events for Mr. Gates, the Microsoft Corp. chairman, and was a consultant for Vancouver's bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics, says an offsite event with a capacity for thousands of people is typically restricted to BC Place. But the aging, cavernous football stadium isn't always the most appropriate venue.

He would like to see a space that can accommodate up to 2,000 or 3,000 people for a dinner. One venue he has his eye on is the speed skating oval being built in nearby Richmond for the 2010 Games.

Indeed, long before world-class athletes put blade to ice, city officials see the speed skating oval providing much-need- ed space for meetings and events, with upward of 180,000 square feet available on a single level.

"[It] will produce a number of opportunities that, currently, we can't bring to the area," says Gerry De Cicco, Richmond's manager of oval sport business. "There's not a footprint of that size and magnitude to host large events."

Scheduled to be completed next year, the $178-million facility is being built expressly for the Olympics, but its mandate includes legacy uses, such as hosting trade shows and special events to generate revenue for the city and offset the facility's operating costs. The first available period for bookings coincides with the opening of the expanded Vancouver convention centre next spring.

Mr. Clark considers the oval an ideal venue, easily accommodating up to 2,500 people. "It's going to be a multipurpose sports facility, but because it is clear-span, flexible space, it can be all things to all people," he said. "That's exactly what we need."

Richmond already enjoys spinoff benefits from Vancouver's trade show and convention business, says Tracy Lakeman, executive director of Tourism Richmond. But she concedes the shortage of venue space is a region-wide problem.

The Gulf of Georgia Cannery, a former salmon cannery that's now a national historic site, and the John MS Lecky UBC Boathouse are two such venues in Richmond, but neither can accommodate more than 600 people, with sit-down dinners limited to 150 people.

"We've got a large number of hotel rooms, and to attract meetings and events you need meeting space or venue space," Ms. Lakeman says, adding that it is hoped the oval "in itself, will be a destination."

The University of British Columbia in Vancouver is getting in on the act. Its $1-billion expansion of campus facilities, such as at the Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre and the landmark Arthur Erickson-

designed Museum of Anthropology, will create additional gathering places.

The Thunderbird centre will host ice hockey and sledge hockey during the 2010 Games; following the Olympics, it will provide a 5,200-seat venue for mid-size events, including trade shows and concerts that are too small for other venues, such as GM Place.

In 2009, an expansion of the Museum of Anthropology will add 40,000 square feet of space, including a covered outdoor terrace with a capacity for hosting receptions and other events of up to 125 people. A natural history museum will open on campus next year, too. Built within a 125,000-square-foot research complex, the natural history museum will include a 2,200-square-foot atrium adjacent to a 30,000-square-foot exhibit space.

With the convention centre expanding downtown and the Olympics focusing world attention on Vancouver, UBC Properties Trust vice-president Rob Brown says the university welcomes opportunities to host visitors to the city.

"These would probably be great locations because of their cultural heritage and relevance to research," he said. The opportunities aren't just limited to UBC, Mr. Brown adds. While the university offers some specialized venues for meetings and events, the expansion of the convention centre will create opportunities for a wide variety of operators.

These include Grouse Mountain, the Capilano Suspension Bridge and the Vancouver Aquarium, all of which are pursuing expansion projects to handle the increase in demand for event space that's anticipated when the expanded convention centre opens.

"The convention centre expansion is going to bring in a lot more people and groups to town," Mr. Brown says. "It's not only UBC, there's tons of venues across Vancouver that would incidentally benefit."

^ great article! well, just for starters we're building a $400-million art gallery in downtown though it would be nice if we could get like a natural history museum as well in the future.

interesting how the article mentioned Richmond oval could double as a convention centre.

Acutally one of the most popular places in Vancouver for the after parties is the Vancouver Aquarium, they are booked for ~200nights/year and with the expansion they'll be able to handle larger crowds, right now they're limited to about 1200.

a few years back when my wife and i got married, we found it quite challenging to find appropriate venues that could hold more than 250 people. There are a few, but not that many.

since then, i've been to a couple large dinners at the downtown library. thats a nice venue as well with the high ceilings. the vancouver aquarium is nice too. all the swanky vancouver film festival parties are there.

posted by raggedy13:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/2008%20April%208/P4080075.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/2008%20April%208/P4080076.jpg

This looks interesting...didn't expect this side to look like that at all. For a while I've resigned myself to the thought of never being able to see that green roof, but maybe there is still hope :)

April 10th 2008

A few shots of the Convention Centre from different perspectives. I paid extra attention to the interesting new steel work on the west side of the structure.

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1451/p1060382oz4.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 10th, 2008.

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3433/p1060383sm1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 10th, 2008.

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1843/p1060375dx3.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 10th, 2008.

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9559/p1060354no9.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 10th, 2008.

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/6613/conventioncentrefromhargy7.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 10th, 2008.

A detail shot of the footings for the Convention Centre that will assist marine life. It looks more like it will keep pirates from boarding.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/4301/conventioncentrefootingar1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 10th, 2008.

Lastly, the main staircase from the Seawall to the street grade is coming along.
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8906/conventioncentregrandstny2.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 10th, 2008.

Thanks for the updates! Good to see the progress of the construction :)

Thanks for the updates! Good to see the progress of the construction :)

does any body know what that interesting steel structure is?

does any body know what that interesting steel structure is?

The convention centre.:lol::cheers::bash:


Or if you're talking about the thing next to it, it's part of the convention centre. The roof is part of a large plaza, while underneath it is convention space.

The area to the west of the plaza will be a restaurant. There is a rendering of it around somewhere.

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676570_1616.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676568_540.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676569_950.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676571_1877.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676572_2140.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-f.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676573_2412.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676574_2784.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676575_3058.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676576_3334.jpg
View from the Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676577_3689.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676578_4231.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676579_4560.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676580_4856.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-f.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676581_5146.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008

http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v233/79/110/537325252/n537325252_2676582_5467.jpg
Vancouver Convention Centre Construction ~ Picture by Me ~ Photo compressed with Facebook ~ 04/13/2008


http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/)
This work (above) is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/).

City's Signature Roof
Plan is to cover convention centre top with dense green vegetation

Pete McMartin, Vancouver
Published: Saturday, May 17, 2008

At the moment, the grandest and most ethically ambitious architecture in the city -- the green, living roof of the new convention centre -- resembles a hair plug job. There's a lot of bald up there.

It's sparse, but growth proceeds. They started planting it two weeks ago, and crews are working their way across the six-acre roof sewing and digging in more than 750,000 plants. A green blush appeared on the canvas of the roof's dark-brown growing medium of pumice and organic matter.

It's hairing up.

They aren't plants you find in the typical urban garden. They're not gaudy flowers, but tough, mundane survivors. There is common thrift and Hooker's onion and chamiso sedge. There is beach strawberry and broad-leafed stonecrop and silverweed. There is bent grass and pearly everlast and quatro sheeps fescue. All of them are indigenous to B.C.

They've been planted about six inches apart on a predetermined grid, and the plan is that by August, they will have grown together to cover all the bare spots and form a dense green, foot-tall mat of vegetation. When it's complete, it will be the largest green roof in Canada. For something so low-lying and organic, it's a very big architectural statement -- an enormous verdant horizontal in the midst of a vertical downtown.

More than the new convention centre itself, more than the sails of the old convention centre or the stockade of highrise condos ringing Coal Harbour, the roof will be the signature architecture of all those things Vancouver wishes itself to be -- green, environmentally compatible and living. It's the imagined future -- not green like Stanley Park, but an attempt to let the rough edges of the wild leak into the urban setting. It will be a little unkempt, and an extension of that which presses up so close to the city.

"The theme of this roof," said Bruce Hemstock, the roof's landscape architect, "is B.C. coastal grassland. And I say that sort of loosely because it's difficult to recreate a coastal grassland on a roof. But esthetically, that's what we're going after.

"Practically, did we take coastal grassland plants and put them on the roof? No, because they're completely different ecologies. But we tried to create a roof that looks like that and functions like that."

The template, Hemstock said, was Triangle Island, a craggy Gibraltar-like rock at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. It's a bird colony for murres and puffins, and shawled in a blanket of tough, low-lying greenery. It's exposed to wind and salt air and rain and hard summer sun, all the environmental challenges that the plants on the roof will face. It's tough growing up in the wild: it might be tougher in the city.

Hemstock has no doubt the roof will be a success, though some doubts about its viability have been expressed. Nothing this big in Canada has been attempted, and if the roof greenery does fail to take -- and for such a wide expanse, the harsh environmental factors of drought, wind and salt air will be all that much more difficult to address -- then fixing it will be no easy matter. Or cheap. You can't just re-tar a green roof.

But Hemstock sees no reason why it shouldn't. All the plant types have been tested in similar conditions for hardiness. An irrigation system, using the grey water from the convention centre itself, and recycled rain water captured by drains on the roof, will be used to get the plants through periods of drought.

And at fruition, Hemstock sees an ecosystem that will help cool the building during summer, and keep it marginally warmer during the winter. It will greatly reduce the "heat island" effect that conventional roofs contribute to in urban settings. It will extend the life of the roof by shielding it from ultraviolet rays. It will produce oxygen and absorb pollutants. It will muffle the sound of float planes. It will provide a home to nesting songbirds and colonizing insects. It will also be a helluva lot less ugly to look at. If all goes well.

Maintenance?

Weeding crews and weed whackers. There is a limit to the roof's shagginess, Hemstock said, and when the grasses reach a foot and a half or so, it'll get a haircut.

But the one big irony of the green roof?

Few will see it. It's 10 stories above the street. For safety and maintenance reasons, there will be no public access to it. Office workers and residents in the highrises around the convention centre will look down on it, and conventioneers will only be able to see smaller portions of it where lower levels of the roof have been planted.

For the man on the street, whose tax dollars paid for it, the roof will remain a feel-good idea, not a visible tangible. The grandest and most ambitious architectural statement in the city will be unseen.

The plants, and the birds and insects that live there, will have the place to themselves.

pmcmartin@png.canwest.com or 604-605-2905





How about installing cameras atop the roof?

I thought the fact that it was off limits to the public, and a wildlife sanctuary of sorts, was very cool.

Alot of money for something that "shows" very little. The byword today is all show and no substance, and this project, being the reverse, is really a great change of philosophy.

I am very proud of this project.

New bookings brighten outlook for Vancouver's expanded convention centre

BY BRUCE CONSTANTINEAU
Vancouver Sun

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

VANCOUVER - A year ago, Tourism Vancouver's annual meeting was rocked by suggestions the city's $883.6-million convention centre project could become a white elephant attracting few big conventions.

What a difference a year makes.

Tourism Vancouver officials told the 2008 annual meeting Tuesday the expanded convention centre has already attracted enough new business to make 2011 the best year ever for city convention bookings.

"We are thrilled with the range and extent of new convention bookings for the expanded convention centre, " outgoing Tourism Vancouver chair Smith Munro told the meeting.

" . . . The [convention centre] expansion is on its way to being the busiest meeting place in all of Canada. The coming decade will see Vancouver as the world's gathering place, time and again."

Major conventions booked for the expanded facility in 2011 include the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

Tourism Vancouver says confirmed bookings in 2011, combined with those it is still bidding for, could attract 120,000 delegates and 300,000 room nights in 2011.

Incoming Tourism Vancouver chair Geoffrey Howes told the meeting Vancouver has made a short list of four potential hosts for an unnamed "mammoth" convention in 2020 that would attract more than 50,000 delegates and create an economic impact of $57.7 million. The winning bid will be announced later this year.

The upbeat discussion contrasts to remarks made at the meeting last year, when Fairmont Hotels & Resorts regional vice-president Phil Barnes said lacklustre bookings threatened to make the new centre "the biggest empty ballroom in town."

The expanded convention centre will triple the amount of meeting space at the Canada Place facility when it opens in March 2009. It will be used as the international broadcast centre for the 2010 Olympics.

bconstantineau@png.canwest.com

Great news for Vancity and the Convention Centre.

unnamed "mammoth" convention in 2020 that would attract more than 50,000 delegates and create an economic impact of $57.7 million.

:lol: .... this has to be either American lawyers or American realtors.

Great news for Vancity and the Convention Centre.



:lol: .... this has to be either American lawyers or American realtors.

ohhhhh....so we're either going to have 50,000 people with fake wigs or 50,000 people with yellow jackets. awesome! j/k

can someone post plans of what the Broadcast Center will look like in 2010

can someone post plans of what the Broadcast Center will look like in 2010

It's nothing special....it'll just be a lot of temporary walls/cubicles, media equipment, tons of wires, monitors, computers, studios, meeting rooms, satellites, etc.


In Torino, the old Fiat car factory building was converted into the media centre:
http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/hedge.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/satfarm.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/catriona.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/comms.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/boc.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/control.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/nbccafe.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/commisary.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sean.mckinnon@rogers.com/commcrew.jpg

^^
NBC crew had to have their own eating facilities?
I guess they either hated Italian food or they did not want to mix with the locals. :lol:
I know, I know, just for "convinience". No time to "do" to lunch.

posted by jlousa
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/jlousa/VCCEC-2.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/jlousa/VCCEC-1.jpg



posted by delirium
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/2555222760_acfb8c6cce_o.jpg

i like this guy's description of the new convention centre

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flungingpictures/2644202179/

i don't like the flickr comment or caption at all, not because i don't think the VCCEP could have been a lot more innovative but because I find it so bizarre to compare the sydney opera house to VCCEP. it's a convention centre, not a performance hall.

let's just say we transplant the opera hosue to the VCCEP's location, how would that look like? I think it would look out of place - i think anything that looks like it would look out of place. but that's just mho.

The VCCEP looks pretty darn good from the North Shore and from Harbour Green Park/Stanley Park.....I gotta agree though that it doesn't look like much looking at its east glass facade from Canada Place.

I just noticed I haven't uploaded a set of pictures @ SSC. My apologies, but they were taken a WHILE ago... but still nice=)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2619733421_a62f7fb626_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3017/2620558486_8d948880b8_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/2619738015_51ec1c159b_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3048/2620570060_3876f6b019_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/2620572778_cc298c2bfd_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3165/2620577166_fbb837a867_b.jpg

credits to raggedy13:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3270/3078414767_b0889fec62_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3026/3078418093_e417bae085_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/3078416823_c531f2093a_b.jpg

Click for larger:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/3078423673_30a19f7b72_b.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/3078423673_7cd0cd020a_o.jpg)





http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/?src=http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/1&size=550

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/2.jpg

http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/?src=http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/3.jpg&size=550

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/4.jpg

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/5.jpg

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/6.jpg

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/7.jpg

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/8.jpg

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/gallery/1204concentre/2008/12/04/10.jpg




http://www.theprovince.com/1032616.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theprovince.com/1032633.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theprovince.com/1032632.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theprovince.com/1032630.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theprovince.com/1032629.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theprovince.com/1032628.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theprovince.com/1032620.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theprovince.com/1032619.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theprovince.com/1032615.bin?size=620x400

When I went to Australia in March I did
a full tour of the Sydney Opera House and
for some strange reason it just reminds me
of it...the interior that is... besides there not being purple carpet lol

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e114/peterWEST/AUSTRALIA187.jpg

See kind of.. Now looking at it maybe not..

sorry about the size!

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e114/peterWEST/AUSTRALIA187.jpg

See kind of.. Now looking at it maybe not..

Are you the one standing in the middle? :D jk

wow purple...

Yellowfever how'd you know? NO that's not me...
Anyways I wish they had the same door lighting fixture like
the ones at Surrey Central!

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e114/peterWEST/134183-Surrey-Central-0.jpg

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/3178335813_7c8f9d8e49_b.jpg
flickr.

nice!

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/3117096710_8f960d1116_o.jpg

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/2745068575_15b17c017a_b.jpg

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/2987988085_26bc43160e_b.jpg

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/3219668642_2d052d66bd_b.jpg
all flickr.

Looking good now. Can't believe it's finally done; still remember being all excited about the old proposals in the 90's.

Posted by mr.x at ssp

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/3279728528_3558fc69e6_b.jpg
photo by nobase2010

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/3243494600_f73a9ea27a_b.jpg
flickr.

Beautiful photos. thanks for the update.

This project is really growing on me in terms of the architecture. It resembles the bow of a ship heading out into Coal Harbour.

Elegant without the ostentatiousness or weirdness, of say, a Gehry design. Also, let's the "sails" remain the signature structure on the waterfront.

Me likes. :) Great set of pics posted, thanks.

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/3278908311_13402f5d4c_b.jpg
photo by nobase 2010, flickr.

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/eerror.jpg

Photo by eerror, flickr.


http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/simon.jpg

photo by simon, flickr.

taken today ,still alot going on

http://i40.tinypic.com/2vjvja0.jpg


http://i40.tinypic.com/28tc9ok.jpg


http://i42.tinypic.com/11r8ak2.jpg

^^ Nice update, thanks for posting!

New Convention centre


http://i42.tinypic.com/5exx01.jpg

^Beautiful pic, thanks! The convention centre looks great in it.

Opening of Convention Center!
Someone please go to the open house this weekend and take pics!
From The Sun:




Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre officially opens Friday
By BRUCE CONSTANTINEAU, Vancouver Sun April 2, 2009.

The Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre expansion that began life as a $495-million project officially opens Friday as an $883.2-million facility with more than triple the old centre’s meeting space.

Featuring Canada’s largest green roof with 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses spread over more than two hectares, the new centre will offer conventioneers about 500,000 square feet of meeting space and a 55,000-square-foot ballroom with five-storey ceilings and unique North Shore mountain views.

Cost overruns aside, PavCo president Warren Buckley said the investment was needed to keep Vancouver from losing more international convention business due to a lack of meeting space.

“We began losing business 10 years after the original centre opened (in 1986) because we couldn’t attract the kinds of conventions that wanted to come to Vancouver,” he said in an interview.

Buckley said about 60 new conventions that would have been too large for the old centre have already booked into the new space, with most occurring between now and the end of 2012. He said 2011 and 2012 are shaping up to be the largest Vancouver convention years on record.

About 100 international meeting planners are in Vancouver this week to view the new facility.

Buckley said the global recession hasn’t kept meeting organizers from planning new conventions in three or four years, when the economy is expected to be in better shape.

“We have not lost any conventions that are on the books,” he said. “Some have asked for help on things like (cutting their costs) on opening receptions. They have sharpened their pencils, but haven’t walked away.”

The original convention centre on the east side of Canada Place will shut down between the end of April and September this year for a $36.2-million renovation.

Buckley said the new facility is essentially complete, although certain pieces of artwork and signage won’t be installed until the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee vacates the facility after the 2010 Games next year. The convention centre will serve as the International Broadcast Centre during the Games.

The American Bar Association will hold the first major international convention at the new facility, when 1,700 delegates use the centre from April 16 to April 18. The largest conference booked so far is the Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques meeting in 2011, when 25,000 delegates are expected to spend about $30 million in the city.

A public open house will be held at the new centre on Saturday and Sunday between 10 a.m and 4 p.m.

Funding sources for the new centre include the province of B.C. ($540.7 million), the federal government ($222.5 million), Tourism Vancouver ($90 million) and convention centre revenue ($30 million).

its open to public this sat and sun,since i lived like ... next door i will go and update interior of the baby:banana:

^^ we re all counting on you. :) Thanks in advance.






In the mean time, I've found some pics which were taken yesterday by Eyesplash Mikeul, flickr.



http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/eyesplashmikul.jpg


http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/1-1.jpg


http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/11-2.jpg


http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/111-1.jpg


http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/22-1.jpg


http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/eyesplashmikul-1.jpg

What is that big white ball thing?

Its called "bubble", no idea wth for.:(




http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/11-3.jpg

Photo by eyesplash mikeul, flickr.

I hope it's not a piece of "Art" and actually has some functional use.

^I checked it out last night. It's used at night as a projection screen showing random images. There is also a room inside which appeared to have some seating and there were a bunch of people standing around in there. One of the doors had a red velvet rope with some sort of bouncer like guy letting people in like it was a club. I'm pretty sure it is just temporary, for opening festivities and what not.

Camera phone photo:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/0403092150a.jpg

^^
What is that big white ball thing?

Great shot raggedy13!

I love it! I hope that it's permanent!

^ it's just temporary, for opening night celebrations.

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/2222.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/miss604.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/1111-1.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/222.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/111-1.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/22.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/11-1.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/2.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/1-1.jpg


All photos taken by Miss604 of flickr. on April 4th

Wow. That seawall promenade is sweet. I love the expansiveness of it and the "crooked" lighting poles.

taken today

http://i42.tinypic.com/doa1wo.jpg


http://i39.tinypic.com/2rrsbqf.jpg


http://i40.tinypic.com/2ujp25l.jpg


http://i43.tinypic.com/20v0mf4.jpg


http://i39.tinypic.com/x277gm.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/33xkkgp.jpg


http://i39.tinypic.com/ie2gp2.jpg


http://i42.tinypic.com/talzdu.jpg


http://i43.tinypic.com/2itsw2c.jpg


http://i44.tinypic.com/35n37g1.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/15wjf51.jpg


http://i44.tinypic.com/8wmtqf.jpg


http://i43.tinypic.com/21kgo03.jpg


http://i39.tinypic.com/kd1tme.jpg


http://i42.tinypic.com/r0zipv.jpg


http://i41.tinypic.com/2cnz1aa.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/k0ouqc.jpg


http://i42.tinypic.com/21lnbjt.jpg


http://i42.tinypic.com/2ns9qnk.jpg

^^
Spectacular pics vanboy!

Love the close up of the wall showing the detail of the wood work.

Looks like heavy crowds and beautiful day. Successful open house.

Great tour. If you have any more please post them!

My turn! Stupid Facebook compressed the photos.

http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329871_6666178.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-a.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329872_6666400.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-b.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329873_4036954.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329874_6367480.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-d.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329875_5899468.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-e.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329876_4320527.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-f.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329877_5698119.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329878_4734391.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329879_2820695.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-a.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329880_7288448.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329882_4590536.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-f.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329885_5548759.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329886_5596295.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329887_6399143.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-a.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329888_7349507.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-b.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329889_1088152.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329890_3812136.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329958_5458142.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329959_3886781.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-a.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329960_3668823.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-b.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329961_3808926.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329962_7312777.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-d.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329963_7375493.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-e.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329964_39700.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329966_4490478.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329967_213030.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-a.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329968_7247141.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-b.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329969_6397090.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329970_5674536.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-d.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329971_7182335.jpg
Still some construction of the Sea-Wall
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-e.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329972_1454937.jpg
Closed Area
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-f.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329973_6420622.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329974_4665048.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329975_7934002.jpg
Is that glass I see? =D
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-a.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329976_7135896.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-b.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329977_7333959.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329978_1528201.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-d.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329979_1397494.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-b.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329985_4384971.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2707/79/110/537325252/n537325252_6329986_8252644.jpg
Source: My Photo, Hosted on Facebook

Thank you, Vanboy and deasine! Your hard work is very much appreciated!

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/1-2.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/11-2.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/BCOLCCCP.jpg

All photos taken by BCOL CCCP of flickr.

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/photo6.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/photo7.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/photocarhappy3.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/photocarhappy4.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/photocarhappy5.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/phtocarhappy.jpg

All photos taken by Photocarhappy of flickr.

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/roamingtheplanet.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/roamingtheplanet2.jpg

Photos taken by roaming the plane of flickr.

It's kind of weird they went with inflatable domes and spheres for the installations inside and outside of the building... it's a bit of a contrast with the sharp corners and angles in the architecture surrounding them. Something's bound to pop!

Its called "bubble", no idea wth for.:(




http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/11-3.jpg

Photo by eyesplash mikeul, flickr.



It's a projection ball that is set up temporarily for the open house.
Inside, it projects scenes of BC in 360 degrees ....

It is not useless :)

^ Never mind...I see raggedy13 answered the question already.

Thanks, Allen! Welcome to SSC, we need more energetic members like you.:)

Thanks, Allen! Welcome to SSC, we need more energetic members like you.:)

Thanks for the welcome. I believe that you are on SSP as well?

great pics, i love how the glass is exactly the same colour as the water! (with the light that day anyway)

^ Good thing that you enjoyed it. It is more impressive when you see it in person :)

Thanks for the welcome. I believe that you are on SSP as well?

You bet! I'm sure you know who I am on ssp, I don't post there that often though.

You bet! I'm sure you know who I am on ssp, I don't post there that often though.

I can't recall your user name at the moment. I'll keep thinking :)
I do post there more but I'll try and save SSC

I'll try and save SSC


Thanks! Kid.:cheers:

what is SSP?

what is SSP?

It is the Skyscraper Page forum, a website similar to this one.

www.skyscraperpage.com

I thought everyone here is on both??

I thought everyone here is on both??

This is true, but most prefer to post the majority of their posts on one or the other. Some hang out almost exclusively at SSP.

I think that only the Vancouver section of SCC has that much crossover with another site.

This is true, but most prefer to post the majority of their posts on one or the other. Some hang out almost exclusively at SSP.

I think that only the Vancouver section of SCC has that much crossover with another site.

^ Exactly, no one can have enough time to be on both :lol:.
Anyways, I see that perfer this place better so I am looking forward to discuss more with you in the future :dance:

^ Exactly, no one can have enough time to be on both :lol:.
Anyways, I see that perfer this place better so I am looking forward to discuss more with you in the future.

Were glad you pick us Allen2! :banana:

Sometimes it gets a little lonely over here!

What's a SSP and can I eat it? :|

^^ read this quote from DrT

It is the Skyscraper Page forum, a website similar to this one.

www.skyscraperpage.com

I think a decent Skyscraper forum does need to get some updates everyday.
Only by working together may we be able to achieve this ultimate goal :)

^^ read this quote from DrT

Huhu was just kidding, I'm sure he knows what ssp is.



I think a decent Skyscraper forum does need to get some updates everyday.
Only by working together may we be able to achieve this ultimate goal :)

Way to go, kid!


Exactly, no one can have enough time to be on both .
Anyways, I see that perfer this place better so I am looking forward to discuss more with you in the future

I prefer ssc over ssp because I find that ssp is too big and I would get lost in it. :)

Some pictures today by me:

Actually this first pic is a week old, but i never got around to posting it.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5204/dsc09336.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2594/dsc09430.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5509/dsc09410.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/1853/dsc09411oao.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/9687/dsc09412s.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2271/dsc09413d.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8192/dsc09414o.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5463/dsc09416i.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3815/dsc09419b.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/526/dsc09420g.jpg

It also looks like they used some of the extra bamboo from the Shangri-la site.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/453/dsc09422.jpg

I kinda did my little tour in reverse, starting at the climatic summit/viewpoint and working my way towards the entrance...
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3297/dsc09423o.jpg

Besides the sexy architecture of the thing, the main thing that really impressed me was the vastness of everything... the plaza, the mountains, the heavy strokes in the lighting and landscaping, the roof being as thick as a single-storey building....

The only thing I didn't like was the signage, which were absolutely cryptic.

I prefer ssc over ssp because I find that ssp is too big and I would get lost in it. :)

Exactly, it is hard to keep track.

Is it that hard? Maybe I'm just used to huge large forum environments. If you think SSP is big... you haven't even seen those phone forums.

Great pictures dleung.

That building is truly impressive, on a global scale. I can't see a place that tops Vancouver on a sunny summer day. Maybe Paris, Valencia, perhaps a small Italian city on the Adriatic. It truly makes me jealous, as an Easterner. A spectacular achievement, and sure to impress for the Olympics.

just a question here,so what are they going to do with the old convention center?turn it to a hotel?

^The old convention centre will still remain fully operation. This new convention centre is just an expansion, not a replacement facility.

Not crashing your site but.....interesting to see your new Convention Centre just as ours in Melbourne is nearing completion on the opposite side of the world....yet both will aim for the same International market...I guess ? Vancouver looks a beautiful city.
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/3923/greenvale033.jpg (http://img185.imageshack.us/my.php?image=greenvale033.jpg)
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/4662/img00036v.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img00036v.jpg)
http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/2655/n52207976521221532893.jpg (http://img2.imageshack.us/my.php?image=n52207976521221532893.jpg)

That's a long lost architectural cousin if I ever saw one, right down to the lamp posts.

That's a long lost architectural cousin if I ever saw one, right down to the lamp posts.

Exactly...I can't believe that even the lamp posts are the same !!

the only thing is the size,Vancouver total is 473.000 sq ft(that included old convention 93,204 sq ft) while melbourne only 273.000 sq ft.and Melbourne only two levels.but it does looks similar to ours

I demand Vancouver VS Melbourne Deathmatch NOW!!! :horse:

I'm wondering who is the copy cat?

^ Who designed that one?

Melbourne Convention Centre




As of September 2007, a new Convention Centre is under construction on land adjacent to the Exhibition Centre. Developed by a consortium led by Multiplex and Plenary Group and designed by Larry Oltmanns, the new complex is expected to be completed in 2009. At a cost of A$1 billion, the development consists of a 5000 seat convention centre as well as a Hilton hotel, office, residential and retail space. The development will utilise a range of features in order to achieve a Six Green Star environmental rating and to become the first convention centre in the world with that rating. The architects for the development are NH Architecture and Woods Bagot.

Vancouver Convention centre

is being completed by BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo). PavCo is a wholly-owned Crown Corporation of the Province of British Columbia that was formed by the April 1, 2008 amalgamation of BC Pavilion Corporation and Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project Ltd.

The expansion is made possible by a funding partnership of the Province of British Columbia , the Government of Canada and Tourism Vancouver. The expansion project will more than triple the Convention Centre's available space and will serve as the international broadcast centre for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

more info about Vancouver Convention centre

overview

Opened on July 4, 1987 , the existing Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre (VCEC) got its start as the Canada Pavilion during Expo 86.

Within 10 years, the convention centre was at capacity with an obvious need for additional space, particularly as Vancouver became known as one of North America 's leading meeting and convention destinations.

In fact, in 2003, some $100 million in delegate spending was lost because Vancouver did not have enough meeting space to accommodate groups wishing to hold conventions in the city.

The expansion of the convention centre followed a review by the Convention Centre Task Force, made up of members of the business community. The task force needed to make a thorough business and marketing case for public funding before the Province decided to proceed with the project on the land and water site adjacent to the west side of Canada Place.

The project is managed by Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project, which became a Division of BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo) on April 1, 2008, following the amalgamation of Vancouver Convention Centre Project Ltd. and BC Pavilion Corporation. PavCo is wholly-owned by the Province of British Columbia. The 1.1 million sq ft project will triple the convention centre's existing capacity and help generate an additional $107 million annually in delegate spending.

The expansion will increase the number of delegate days each year from the current 150,000 to nearly 370,000 within the first five years after opening. On average, a delegate will spend about $350 per day during their visit to Vancouver, with about one-third of convention delegates traveling to other parts of the province as part of their stay.

Built over land and water on some 1,000 piles, the expansion will be completed in Spring 2009. In 2010, the VCEC will be home of the 2010 Olympic Games media and broadcast centres.

In order to ensure that the expansion and existing facility are fully integrated, a glass-walled connector will link the facilities, providing delegates with exceptional harbour views as well as a seamless transition.

Featuring floor-to-ceiling glass throughout the expansion, the project will also include a six-acre living roof, one of the largest of its kind in the world. This unique ecosystem is one of many environmental innovations included in the expansion.

In 2005, the Province approved an expanded public amenities package that resulted from recommendations during the Project's development approval process. These additional public amenities include more accessible outdoor and plaza space, and added commercial and waterfront developments. Subsequently the Province has recognized increases in the cost of construction and has approved increases in its contribution to the Project Budget.

Current sources of funding are:

$M
Government of Canada (Infrastructure Canada)

222.5

Government of Canada
(Western Economic Diversification)

2.1
Tourism Vancouver
90.0
Project Revenue
71.1
Province of British Columbia
497.5
Total Project Cost
883.2

In addition to creating more than 6,700 person years of employment during construction, the project will generate more than 7,500 direct and indirect full-time jobs once it is opened in 2009.

www.bcpavco.com

^ thanks for the info.

the melbourne one has better colours :(

I think Vancouver has a better advantage of getting US conventions

^^REally? I was going to say that the Melbourne one won't age nearly as well. Colours like orange and lime green are already so 2003. Also it has too many different ideas going on; whereas the Vancouver one makes a singular architectural statement, with every other element working towards that. One leaves the Melbourne convention centre remembering various plays on angles but not necessarily the building as a whole... whereas no one will ever forget the VCC after 2010.

the only thing is the size,Vancouver total is 473.000 sq ft(that included old convention 93,204 sq ft) while melbourne only 273.000 sq ft.and Melbourne only two levels.but it does looks similar to ours

That includes the exhibition space though doesn't it? The total space of the MCEC (existing exhibition space + new convention centre) is 323,000 sq ft + the new centre which I can't find any information on the size.

^ They are both great exhibition halls/convention centres despite the size!


Melbourne Exhibition Centre: 30,000 m²
Melbourne Covention Centre: 2,021 m²

orange is a classic :)

orange is a classic :)


It does look quite nice!

It looks like a stealth fighter. One can tell from the re-appeareance of the same dude in different places, that I stitched 2 photos together.
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/8108/dsc09490b.jpg
photo by me from yesterday

I thought they're twins..:D Cool pic!

Nice!

Oh no :ohno:





Vancouver's $900M convention centre springs a leak

CBC News
Vancouver's new convention centre opened on April 3 at a cost of nearly $900 million. (CBC)
A water leak at Vancouver's new convention centre has reportedly flooded two floors and forced 1,000 delegates of a Public Service Alliance convention out onto the street.

One worker said the situation is bad and the damaged flooring may have to be replaced. In the meantime, convention delegates have been told to return to their hotels and come back at 2 p.m. PT for an update.

Officials with the convention centre have yet to comment on the leak.

The Vancouver Convention Centre was opened earlier this month at a cost of nearly $900 million, and is slated to be the main international press centre and broadcast facility during the upcoming 2010 Winter Games in February.








http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/04/27/bc-vancovuer-convention-centre-leak.html (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/04/27/bc-vancovuer-convention-centre-leak.html)

^^
Ahh, that's too bad. Alot of people worked hard to see this project done. I bet it was a plumbing issue on a water pipe supply line. I hope that it is quickly rectified and doesn't become a PR problem.

Only damage is carpet...which can be dried

If this happened during the Olympics... just imagine the embarrassment and never-ending jokes about Vancouver being a "wet" city.

well its ok,at least today Vancouver rank at four place the best city to live in the world.so a little wet np

If the convention Center floods because of a water main breakage, it may have to be repaired before the 2010 Olympics and we have only 10 months before the event begins. Was the damage to the convention centre severe?

^ only carpet damage in the ball room. Nothing big, So...don't worry to much :banana:

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/eyesplashmikul-3.jpg
photo by eyesplash mikul, flickr.

nice pic

You should ask that person to join the VCC group I started on flickr!!! lol

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/aneagleinyourmind4.jpg
taken by an eagle in your mind, flickr.


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/1-9.jpg
by estaticist, flickr.

I really like the pic by:

eyesplash mikul


It is my desktop pic currently :)

^^It was mine too last week. The last pic by estaticist is my wall paper currently, I change it every week.

Locked In @ SSP

Landscaping update:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9FW9P3-u1EI/SgtmoDlIskI/AAAAAAAAAlA/Mq4EZ2jt-Yc/s800/IMG_9304.JPG

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/avision.jpg
photo by a vision, flickr.


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/macdonaldallen.jpg
by macdonald allen, flickr.


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/skdebell.jpg
by skdebell, flickr.


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/rufohill.jpg
by rufohill, flickr.

Nice day today so I decided to drop by the new convention centre which I've never visited. There was a mini convention there and later I found out that it was the Animation conference. The people attended that event dressed like the Japanese comic characters and I took some pics of them...



http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/capilanoConvention031.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/capilanoConvention032.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/capilanoConvention038.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/capilanoConvention041.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/capilanoConvention040.jpg


http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/capilanoConvention039.jpg

More...



Sailor Moon is cute.

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/a1.jpg




http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/a4.jpg




http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/a-1.jpg

Run out of battery on my camera, so I used my cell to take these.

that bench is new

I hope all these people on flickr joined the VCC group I started!

I don't know what "bench" & 'VCC' you guys were talking about?

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq248/le_thieu/avision.jpg
photo by a vision, flickr.





he meant this bench

^^ Lol, I see! This bench looks like just a temporary long chair.

Stumbled on some excellent shots of the CC. All pics taken from flickr:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/3628279898_b0b183c0f9_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88443470@N00/3628279898/sizes/l/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/3627365842_cb95f19a1e_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennistt/3627365842/sizes/l/in/set-72157616700351397/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/3626538237_9f1e33c2d2_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennistt/3626538237/sizes/l/in/set-72157616700351397/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/3627397134_a478045758_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennistt/3627397134/in/set-72157616700351397/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/3627408018_452b42e110_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennistt/3627408018/sizes/l/in/set-72157616700351397/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/3626573343_0846975be9_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennistt/3626573343/sizes/l/in/set-72157616700351397/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/3627367798_73e097d58c_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennistt/3627367798/sizes/l/in/set-72157616700351397/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/vannmann/3626592489_f477668349_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennistt/3626592489/sizes/l/in/set-72157616700351397/

Random shot of the underground walkway by me. Liking this layered-city effect

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8128/dsc09647p.jpg

The similarities between the Melbourne and Vancouver convention and exhibition centres are quite amazing.

They look very similar, they have both just had major expanisions completed, they are both in a waterfront location and they each have a combined total exhibition/meeting/ballroom/hall space of approximately 43,000 square metres!

The only signficant difference is that Vancouver has more meeting rooms overall but Melbourne has a 5000 seat Pleneary Hall.

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/StanleyParkEnglishBay058.jpg


http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/StanleyParkEnglishBay042.jpg

My photos.

few update taken yesterday by me

http://i31.tinypic.com/301dn5l.jpg

http://i30.tinypic.com/108a334.jpg

and this is old convention

http://i25.tinypic.com/5mg3tu.jpg

and I saw this crane just right behind the VCC,does anyone know what are they try to build there?

http://i30.tinypic.com/14175ah.jpg

http://i27.tinypic.com/wunl90.jpg

It's a great looking building. I was very pleased with the photos I got of it when I was there in Sept!

It's a great looking building. I was very pleased with the photos I got of it when I was there in Sept!

I think it looks great in some angles, and not so nice in others. The street presence of the building just lacks a bit of architectural significance, but if you look at the building from the West to the East, it sure does look amazing, not to mention, looking from the vantage point in the Burrard Inlet.

what a kick ass location and building. We truly do live in the best place on Earth :) t.m.

hi.. this is a great forum. been a lurker here for a long time..but since the weather is really terrible outside (its like gotham city) so i dicided to join...

been to this convention center several times. first time was during the canada day. and yes i tried to take a peek at the green roof but couldnt see it up close you need to walk all the way going to stanley park to see a little view of it.

and also i saw buckets on the floors for the leaks coming from above.. never in my life i see a newly constructed building with that much leaks already..

just wondering though.. who is the engineer for this convention centre? because it looks like it was not designed by an architect..his name should be known.

i would still like to see the wavy white roof up there(like in the original design)..lol! someday perhaps!

To be honest, I don't really like the design that much, especially the roof. When the grass is short and green, it doesn't look too bad.. but some days, all you can see is a messy, unmowed yellow lawn up there and its quite an eye sore!

Beyond the Edge

In advance of this winter's Olympic games, an ambitious extension of Vancouver's shoreline accommodates a much-needed convention centre facility and additional public space along the waterfront.

PROJECT Vancouver Convention Centre West, Vancouver, British Columbia
ARCHITECTS DA Architects + Planners, Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership, LMN Architects
TEXT Frances Bula
PHOTOS DA Architects + Planners

The most popular images of the new Vancouver Convention Centre West show it from above or afar--images that emphasize its vast acreage of green roof set amid the city's downtown towers or its waterfront profile of low hills faced in glass. Neither of those distant images conveys the experience that the average person has at ground level up close. Approaching the centre along the seawall that runs from Stanley Park--a walk that is among one of the city's most popular--is akin to a small boat gliding alongside the world's largest ship.

The glass walls of the 11-storey-high-equivalent convention centre slope out the way the hull of a freighter does from its narrow underwater keel. High above is the roof edge, the deck rail of this mammoth. The roofline continues, angling up and finally extending to a point beyond the edge of the building, forming a triangular prow high above. That's just one of the many unusual physical experiences of the building that the photographer's lens can't capture. It's also a distinct contrast to the original convention centre to the east, where public access on terraces high above the water make it feel more like the deck of a cruise ship.

Inside, the view of the city through the exceptionally clear, tilted-out glass walls--reminiscent of an airport lounge--makes Vancouver's towers and streets look like the most vivid museum display imaginable. The famous six-acre living roof, which has been planted to reproduce the look of a verdant island off the coast of BC, pops into view at unusual points inside and outside the building, jolting visitors with touches of cognitive dissonance as they register the line of ragged wild grasses waving in the wind next to the city's sleek glass office towers.

And it's not until one is inside, walking through the vast hallway spaces that surround the interior meeting rooms, that the wood pattern in the building is understood. From the outside, all that is seen is the warm glow of cedar and hemlock. Inside, it's evident that the wood panelling is designed to look like lumber stacked in a mill yard. On the walls running from east to west are the regular lines of what look like 1" x 4" strips of wood. On the walls extending from north to south, it appears as though the ragged ends of milled boards haven't been properly aligned; this result is achieved by gluing on wood caps in varying sizes to create an uneven mosaic.

That disconnect between the faraway images and the up-close reality has happened for many people in this city, including architects who once feared that the centre was going to become a hulking, life-draining box in the middle of prime harbourside land.

Ever since LMN Architects of Seattle--renowned convention-centre builders working with the Vancouver firms of Downs Archambault and Musson Cattell Mackey--came out with the first designs for the convention centre in 2003, people worried about how a 1.2-million-square-foot building was going to fit into the fabric of Vancouver's unique downtown, where a couple of generations of planners have worked to ensure that mountain views are preserved and that city streets feel comfortable and human-scaled. As they looked at the models and the drawings, images that shrank the centre to miniature scale, they imagined what it would look like in real life and were almost always concerned about the sheer bulk. That was even though LMN kept emphasizing that they weren't building the usual black-box convention centre. They kept reminding people that they would be putting the meeting rooms inside or underground, wrapping those functional spaces in wood, and then designing glass façades on all sides so that there would be a sense of connection between visitors and passersby alike, both inside and out.

The project got poor reviews twice by the city's influential Urban Design Panel during 2003 and 2004, which included one formal vote of non-support. As a corollary to their concerns about the bulkiness of the building's massing, the panel members noted on several occasions that the interior and exterior spaces needed to incorporate quality materials because they were covering such vast spaces. Cheapening out on a few details in a small structure can go unnoticed, but mediocre-quality pavers or wall materials covering a few acres would be the equivalent of looking at skin blemishes through a magnifying glass.

A second major concern was how the centre would contribute to Vancouver's urbanism and create a sense of civic life around it. Another contentious point was its relation to the original, smaller convention centre designed by Eb Zeidler, whose Teflon-coated sail-shaped roofline has become one of the symbols of the city. Architects and planners didn't want the new centre to compete with the old one, but at the same time they wanted it to be distinctive and beautiful.

Finally, the green roof--one of the building's most commented-on features--generated considerable attention. Landscape architect Bruce Hemstock's original idea was to make the roof look like an uninhabited island off the BC coast, with planes rising and folding up from the water. But it's expensive to recreate BC topography, so the roof eventually became a simplified collection of angled planes. And because the roof needed to be strong enough to support the soil required for the vegetation, its edges became very deep. The aesthetic of that broad edge became the focus of many subsequent critiques.

When the centre finally got approval in 2005, it was only by a slim 4-3 margin. At the next stage in the process, under the review of the Vancouver Development Permit Board, there was equal ambivalence from the Advisory Committee. Craig Henschel, an architect whose role it was to represent the public, voted against the project, calling its design awkward and clumsy.

Today, the finished building has pleasantly surprised the project's detractors. "It appears to me that they have largely pulled it off architecturally," says architect Bruce Haden, who was on the Urban Design Panel when the convention centre was being reviewed. "They made some smart moves in materials. In terms of the level and quality of details, it's better than I expected."

He is concerned, though, about how well the building connects to the city. It's still too early to tell how the wide walkways on two sides and the city's biggest public plaza on a third will be energized over time. The city's planning department and Urban Design Panel had consistently urged the centre's design team to wrap the lower level of the building with retail to attract more people to the area. The storefronts exist, but only on the north side, and they won't be leased until after the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games are over. The restaurant, a complementary building on the west side of the plaza, also won't open until after that time. And the planned small-boat dock is yet to be built, so it's hard to know how the completed urban space will operate.

And there are still some regrets by various other architectural observers who consider it a lost opportunity that the public cannot gain access to the huge green roof as originally planned. Others think that the roof edge looks too heavy, with little thought into making it a design element instead of what might be the world's largest roof gutter. And there are still others who complain about other unresolved elements, like the second-floor north-facing terrace that looks like a large fire escape with a blank wooden wall behind it.

But the public is prepared to embrace this new facility. More than 65,000 people came out to visit the centre on its opening weekend in April. Since then, it has also attracted a steady stream of walkers, joggers and picture-takers because of all the pathways through the site. It not only extends the city's enormously popular seawall along its north side, but it also includes a grand staircase further south and, in between the staircase and seawall, there are angled walkways that allow people to wander through what feels like a green hillside that rises slowly from the west.

That public approval is sweet relief to the provincial government. During construction, the project, which was mostly paid for by the province with some money from the federal government and Tourism Vancouver--eventually doubled in cost to $883 million. Several negative headlines were generated during construction because of both cost overruns and the tremendous noise resulting from 1,443 concrete pillars being driven into Burrard Inlet to support the portion of the centre that is built out over the water.

For the architects who worked on the centre, that public interaction with the building is a key point. Mark Reddington of LMN believes the building succeeds because it addresses so much, from large to small. The roof, the greywater recycling, the daylighting, the addition of a concrete skirt underwater to encourage marine life, and many more features make it a sustainable building. The major plaza is the city's biggest, and it's a people-welcoming space. And the thought given to even small architectural details--the fine-mesh aluminum grating that is used extensively to provide a lacy screen in front of mechanical elements--give the building a visual lightness that is unusual for a structure so large. Reddington doesn't mention it, but the wood beams suspended from the ceiling do the same. They look structural, but they're really just a visual trick, one that makes the ceiling look like it's entirely made of wood, even though the mechanical systems are visible above the beams.

There's so much in this building to look at--now Vancouver's biggest indoor space apart from sports stadiums--that it will keep laypeople and architects busy debating for years to come about which elements are successful and which aren't. As Vancouver architect Oliver Lang says about the centre, it works because the team took some chances. "It has a real presence. It says we're here and we can go head to head with anyone on the West Coast. In terms of materials, it's very contemporary and doesn't try to mimic something from the past. It takes positions and they're confident ones." CA

Frances Bula is a journalist specializing in Vancouver urban issues and city politics. She has a regular column in Vancouver magazine, and makes frequent contributions to The Globe and Mail.

Client Province of British Columbia (PAVCO) with Project Management by Stantec Consulting
DA Architects + Planners Team Ron Beaton (Partner in Charge), Christian Audet, Michael Canak, Tomas Cho, Mark Ehman, David Galpin, Sean Hemenway, Patrick McTaggart, Alex Piro, Natasha Saksman, Svetlana Sharipova, Alan Shatwell, Peter Smith, Jessica Winters, Patricia Yam
Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership Team Jacques Beaudreault (partner in charge), Usman Aziz, Harvey Huey, Dale Kosowan, Alan Kwan, Beatriz Leon, Felito Liao, Elena Martynova, Paul Mason, John Moorcroft, Tyra Moorcroft, Frank Musson, Janet Nepromuceno, Gustavo Rodriguez, Mark Thompson, David Weir, Mark Whitehead, Edith Wormsbecker, Ivona Zebrowski
LMN Architects Team Rob Widmeyer (partner in charge), Chris Baxter, Jim Brown, Tom Burgess, John Chau, Rina Chinen, Kirk Hostetter, Joseph Lee, Fred Novota, Niti Parikh, Mark Reddington, Brian Tennyson, Lori Wilwerding, John Woloszyn
Structural Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers and Earth Tech (Canada) Inc.
Mechanical Stantec Consulting
Electrical Schenke/Bawol Engineering Ltd.
Marine/Foundation Westmar Consultants Inc.
Landscape PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc.
Building Envelope Morrison Hershfield
Environmental EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd
Specialty Lighting Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design
Acoustical Arup Acoustics and Daniel Lyzun & Associates
Building Code LMDG Building Code Consultants Ltd.
Fire Protection Engineers GHL Consultants Ltd.
Construction Manager PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc.
Budget $625.9 M
Completion Spring 2009
Via Canadian Architect

A roof like that on the convention center, with so many plants and water storage should have been the most important thing in my book.

i would still prefer the original roof design for the convention centre. its breaks the monotonous view of the area.