CENTRAL CONDOMINIUMS : HALLWAY TRANSFORMATION

Above is a series of pictures showcasing one of the hallways located on the north section of Central 1. Although not all the pictures were taken on the same floor, they illustrate the transformation that has been taking place over the past couple months. With the walls now primed and painted, the doors and the light installed, you get a better idea of what the finished space will look and feel like. The finishing touches make a much larger impact on the overall product. Soon the floors will be installed and the first  units will be ready to move into. 

CENTRAL CONDOMINIUM : MIAMI MODEL STAGED

A couple months ago, I introduced the Miami floor plan from Central 1. The construction is moving along and a couple units are almost ready on the north side. In order to inspire buyers and owners, one of the unsold Miami units has recently been decorated by Central's main designer in Toronto. It's a great way to showcase what can be done with this space.

Here's a picture of the unit before when the gypsum board was being installed...


And here's a picture of the same space after it's been staged. In this unit you can see the Tuxedo cabinets, with the snow white countertop, the iron backsplash and the walnut floor.  In this case the accent color is red (you can actually see it from the street). Since the colors of the finishes are neutral, you can easily pick an accent color of your choosing to get a similar effect. Almost any accent color would work.


Here's the space from the kitchen's point of view before staging.


And here's the same view after staging. Noticed the sliding door is painted the same color as the wall. It's a good idea to paint the sliding door the same color as the wall for better continuity.


The color scheme continues throughout the space, as you can see below. This is a great method used in condos to help make them feel bigger.

OTTAWA INFILL HOME DOCUMENTARY

Travis Boisvenue recently sent me a sneak peak of a short documentary he's currently working on about infill houses in Ottawa. In this preview, the narrator is Phil Castro, who recently built an infill house in Hintonburg featured on Apt613 and Spacing Ottawa earlier this year. I thought you might enjoy it as well.

NCC'S INFO CENTRE CLOSES ITS DOORS

CBC News recently announced that NCC decided to close it's only tourist information centre because it would have been to expensive to update. Instead, they are going to abandon the building they already own, hire information officers with purchased electronic tablets to stand at various notable landmarks (good luck finding them when you're new to the city) and open a small kiosk inside the World Exchange Plaza that caters to office workers during the day and is usually deserted on the weekend. 

I'm not particularly fond of the building's architecture, but at least it was in the best possible  location : right in front of Parliament Hill, Ottawa's main tourist attraction!  And it was actually useful! According to the article the staff helps 325,000 people per year. This was actually a good thing for the city! Instead of scaling down the $5 million dollar reno or raising money to help with the renovation cost to keep it at it's prime location, the NCC has decided to move it further away from Parliament Hill in a little mall, making it harder for newcomers to find it. That should work right?  

Meanwhile in the city of London (UK), the old tourist information centre was replaced a couple years ago by an architectural gem that has since become a landmark in the city. The building is located on a main tourist route in London, so it's easy for tourists to find it.


So although NCC says it wants to improve the city and help it evolve, the decisions they make seem to point the city in the opposite direction. I wonder what's going to happen to the the building now that it will be abandoned. My guess is that it will probably join the group of decaying NCC owned buildings on Sparks Street. 


Photos :  NCC Watch | e-architect