Public Service Alliance of Canada headquarters, Gilmour & Metcalfe. (That’s the public service union, in case you’re not from Ottawa or you’ve been living under a rock.)
The building was designed in 1968 by the late Ottawa architect Paul Schoeler. I like it. It looks like a ship’s prow.
I’m not sure why a building should look like a ship, but I like it anyway.
More on Schoeler here, from the Ottawa Citizen:
Architect took risks to modernize Canada
A year ago today:
Pic 728
Fiddle player
February 27, 2010
Two years ago:
Pic 376
Waiting for the bus
February 27, 2009
Three years:
Pic 64
Brick wall 3
Feb 27, 2008
2 Comments
Ah, yes. Modernist “Helicopter planning”, as Jan Gehl calls it. Buildings that look great from a helicopter but don’t relate to the people who walk by it every day.
He gave a great talk last year on urban planning, cycling, and other nice things Ottawa doesn’t really have: http://bit.ly/gAX8fq
I see what you mean Charles. It’s nice in itself, but it doesn’t do anything for the people on the street. It’s kind of a waste of a block, unless you have a camera in your hand and you want to take a picture of it.
Can you describe a development in Centretown that you think is good?
I was thinking of the Shoppers development at Laurier and Bank. I never noticed how huge it is until I happened to look up, because I just thought of it as a Shopper’s at street level. Shoppers is a strore where lots of people want to buy stuff. The building is immense, but you don’t really notice.