Kitchener TEK Tower | 144.5m | 45s | IN8 Developments | srm Architects

SRM architects is wildly overrepresented in KW. They seem to have most of the major downtown high-rise commissions in the bag. Why?
I kind of know the answer, but would rather avert my eyes. They're our very own Graziani & Corraza. Or Vranich. Easy, lumpy n' cheap.
I'd really like to see Kitchener either aim high for some starchitects. Some architectural competitions. It could be local, too: Lintack did such a good job on the Augusta Block in Hamilton, I'd be great to see them get work here. Or Partisans.
A smattering of impressive, variegated and notable projects could pay off in spades.
 
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The Parking Garage is getting enclosed fairly quickly.



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CanadianNational said:
SRM architects is wildly overrepresented in KW. They seem to have most of the major downtown high-rise commissions in the bag. Why?
I kind of know the answer, but would rather avert my eyes. They're our very own Graziani & Corraza. Or Vranich. Easy, lumpy n' cheap.
I'd really like to see Kitchener either aim high for some starchitects. Some architectural competitions. It could be local, too: Lintack did such a good job on the Augusta Block in Hamilton, I'd be great to see them get work here. Or Partisans.
A smattering of impressive, variegated and notable projects could pay off in spades.
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100% agree. Their track record is terrible. Very apt comparison to Vrancor in Hamilton.
 
Above ground is the only option when building this tall and this dense in a place like Kitchener. The condo market is driven by international investors for international students. There's no value in hiring a starchitect. It's height and its by products vs Hamilton's Augusta.

I don't think much of Partisans. They come across as students or amateurs with top of the line software that don't know when to break when pushing that envelope or, more common, when recycling it. I'm not aware of any of their work being built. That could change my impression.
 
maestro said:
Above ground is the only option when building this tall and this dense in a place like Kitchener. The condo market is driven by international investors for international students. There's no value in hiring a starchitect. It's height and its by products vs Hamilton's Augusta.

I don't think much of Partisans. They come across as students or amateurs with top of the line software that don't know when to break when pushing that envelope or, more common, when recycling it. I'm not aware of any of their work being built. That could change my impression.
Click to expand...
Ding Ding Ding!

They've got some retail, restaurant, interiors, and private house / cottage commissions but that's it. They are not capable of taking on a much larger project on their own.
 
maestro said:
Above ground is the only option when building this tall and this dense in a place like Kitchener. The condo market is driven by international investors for international students. There's no value in hiring a starchitect. It's height and its by products vs Hamilton's Augusta.

I don't think much of Partisans. They come across as students or amateurs with top of the line software that don't know when to break when pushing that envelope or, more common, when recycling it. I'm not aware of any of their work being built. That could change my impression.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have to reluctantly agree with you on this one, so far. I guess I so loved Bar Raval that I've been holding out hope ever since.
 
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Seeing these new milk-blue panels with black-grey grames from a distance, I approached the project today fearing the worst. Happily they seem to be the inside of the external wall, not the outside.
Of course, the opportunity to be let down is still a-waiting. Let's hope there's a least a soupçon of style - or at least unobtrusiveness - to what we're gonna get.


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