Re: Rising up: Higher condos let architects get creative, March 28.
The trend that developers are beginning to build tall “signature”-style architecture in Ottawa can only help the look and enhance the vibrancy of downtown Ottawa. Ottawa has made two crucial urban planning mistakes in its day (besides building a hockey arena out way too far, and taking the train station out of downtown): building out instead of up; and, encouraging, or at least not stopping, ugly-looking urban sprawl.
Up until this point the towers that were put up in town were atrocious-looking rectangular boxes of glass and steel, so a change to more interesting looking buildings can only give Ottawa a decent and exciting looking skyline akin to a New York or a Chicago.
As they say, architecture is frozen music, but with the exception of the old colonial buildings in town most of the architectural sounds in Ottawa seriously scratch the ears. Many buildings that were built in the recent past have produced architectural noise. Ouch. Let’s turn the city into an architectural symphony. Hopefully it’s not too late.
Douglas Cornish, Ottawa
Share your views on this and other topics to the editor by writing to letters@ottawacitizen.com
