Spa's Atlantic Retreat

[spa]

Robin: Thanks. It's kind of fun for me to pick ones with a bit of a story. I certainly have learned a fair bit about Halifax's past since I started this hobby.
SimNation: Thanks. The windows on the JW Johnston are very much in keeping with Jasoncw's style so I'm not surprised the comparison has jumped to mind.
Tag: Thanks
Iamgoingtoeatyou: Thanks. Right now, my favourite of everything I have done is the Bank of Nova Scotia Building.

Well since I last posted I have finished texturing the Johnston Building and I actually rendered it. Below is how it shaped up.

I ended up shrinking the size of the penthouse by several meters. It somehow ended up at nearly 6.5 meters per floor up there and being 2 storeys it really looked high. It's not nearly so bad now. When I started texturing the penthouse it ended up taking on a real modern feel so I ditched the old style chimnies and put up two modern fans to fill out the space. Much like the real building, this oldie was subject to a major renovation and refit The roof texture gave me a lot of fits, but I think it works. It was really tough to get something that would work with the facade and the almost white edges. Anyway below is a side shot

And a night shot

Night lighting on this one and Morse's Tea was really rewarding. There is something about the many small panes of glass that really makes the lighting pop on both of them!

I have kind of thought that like the Roy Building, the Johnston Building might work well crossing a whole block. So I made a lot with a plaza on the back.

The setback doesn't work nearly as well as the Roy Building, but it's not too bad either. Anyway, unless anyone sees something that is really out of whack I'm ready to declare this one complete.

[spa]

I'll take no news as good news. Well I have a new building. It's not so much underway as kind of done. I kept meaning to post in progress shots, but just never got around to it (part of the modelling was started a few weeks back when I was out in the country house sitting). The new one is the Dennis Building from downtown Halifax and, for now, is the last in my little group of old time Halifax mid-rises. Below are some pics of the real thing.

From the corner of George and Granville

From the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia courtyard (the cheapside) looking past Province House with pretty fall colours.

The Dennis Building has a long history (by North American standards anyway). It was built in 1863 to house a dry goods firm, T.E. Kenny. William Dennis, owner of the Halifax Herald, purchased the building in 1900. The Halifax Herald had just gotten comfortable, however, when the building was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1912. Dennis had deep pockets and he had the original granite facade reinforced and the interior gutted so that three additional floors could be added on top, giving the Dennis Building its current look. The Herald eventually relocated to Argyle Street, but the Dennis Building lived on as a provincial government office building. The Dennis Building's future is uncertain. It leaks and has air and mould issues. Its immediate neighbours were senselessly destroyed and turned into parking lots for a development that never happened leaving it orphaned and alone. This year, the Province acquired the empty adjacent lands. Since the Province now owns nearly the entire block, the Dennis Building is likely to eventually be part of a major redevelopment. Whether it survives intact or is levelled is an open question. Interesting bit of trivia, between Edward Kenny, Thomas Kenny, William Dennis and William Henry Dennis, the building has been owned by 3 senators, 2 cabinet ministers, 1 mp, the mayor of Halifax and the provincial lieutenant governor.

Anyway, enough story telling. Here's what I have come up with.

Front/Back

Sides

Not bad if I may say so myself. In game, the Dennis Building fits well on a 2x2 corner lot. As usual, I will mirror it and render a version for the other corner. The texturing took a while, especially the stone and brick. You might notice that I didn't include the window mounted ac units. I felt that the facade and glass was already busy enough and that putting them in would be visual overkill.

I have also done my, now, usual night lighting.

So unless anyone see's a show stopper I think I'm done with this one. I'm going to be heading to the country for Christmas soon so I probably won't have any updates until after New Year but you can bet I'll be batting something out there... I'm kind of thinking some old wooden residential buildings from the Maritimes might be in order

[simdad1957]

Excellent work SPA. It seems that you must have enough new projects ready for release for another week long "release party". I can't wait.

BTW - It looks like you have some new 1x1 commercials. These will be most welcome.

As a fellow Maritimer, I heartily endorse the concept of some typical growable traditional Maritime residential lots for the game. These would also be most welcome!!

[threestooges]

What else can I say except that these look amazing as usual, and that they always seem to get better. I particularly like the outline of the building on the side of the Dennis Building. I'm guessing it was there on the original, but will it match up with any other buildings in the game? Either way, it's an excellent touch, and is certainly a testament to the building's longevity.
-Matt

[tag_one]

Your buildings become taller and taller! When are you going to bat your first skyscraper? 

[JBSimio]

I really like this new one, Spa.  For a simple square building, there is an awful lot to look at and see.  The newer rear stair shaft, the wall treatments on the bare side, and the different brick styles all really make for some great visual interest.  Your last couple buildings have really got me itching to wrap up these school packs and get back to a few Smalltown and SHUR buildings again! 

Merry Christmas, my friend!
JB

[bat]

Nice work on your new buildings there, Spa! It is looking wonderful!

[rushman5]

I really like the accuracy on the backside of this building.  The Johnston building is good, but perhaps the flora planter out front are a little too big?  The building setback is just right though, and can easily be bounded by w2w or streets.  Nice work on that one.

[spa]

Simdad: Almost, almost. I have 6 ready so just one away from the 7. I just need to finish the Imperial Theater and then it'll be go time (I was picking at a bit over the holidays so sometime this month). Included in the release party, probably on day 1, will be Kingsway Shops volume 2. I did get into some Maritime residential buildings over the holidays. I think you'll be particularly pleased with the one I'm showing off this evening, Dundas Terrace, since I'm sure you know it well. I also have a set of Halifax duplex's half done, but more about them another day.
Matt: Thanks. I guess I'm always learning Since the Dennis Building's neighbours were all torn down, I was able to walk right around this one so yes, the outlines are all on the real building are what remains of the place's old neighbours. The real thing actually has some fake windows painted on it, but they were just too ugly for me to include.

I didn't really give it any thought as to how the building outlines would fit in game. Any lining up with other buildings would be accidental.
JB: Yeah it's definitely a very busy little square box. Whenever you're done the schools it would be great to see some more historic mid-rises from you. We can always use more of those
Bat: Thanks
Rushman: Thanks. About the planters, my first instinct was to use Cycledogg's since I think his prop pack is just amazing in its scope and what it offers lot makers. Cycledogg's planters also come with smaller options. That said though, I use Cycledogg's stuff all the time so I wanted to mix it up a little bit. The planters behind the JW Johnston are simgoobers with cycledogg's trees dropped on top.

So I got back from the country this weekend. It was really restful. I did spend sometime batting... actually a fair bit, but the model I was working with is a beast that proved really challenging and ate up most of my bat time. It's a old Maritime residential building (wood and brightly coloured), Dundas Terrace from Charlottetown, PEI. Below is a picture of the real thing.

I took pictures of Dundas Terrace when I was in Charlottetown this past summer and thought at the time that it has to be one of the best pieces of old architecture in Atlantic Canada. I like the wood and colour, it sits right on the waterfront on a nice old street and it just has so much visual interest. I only found out when I started to bat it that it actually has a really neat story to tell. It was built in 1890 and is a rare instance of a Queen Anne Style apartment building. It was named for a now vanished street, Dundas Esplanade, that use to connect Water and Sydney Streets. The building was built by the estate of Owen Connolly. Connolly was a wealthy businessman who owned a bunch properties and commercial ventures in PEI. When he died, his will instructed that his wealth be used to setup a charity to educate Irish Catholics (Connolly was an Irish immigrant). To guarantee a steady income for their charitable work, the Connolly Estate built a number of buildings, including Dundas Terrace. The Estate still operates today, but the real estate interests were sold in 1968. Dundas Terrace is currently privately owned and has remained virtually unchanged since its construction in 1890. Due to its unique history and its significant and unaltered architecutre, Dundas Terrace is a nationally recognized historic site. It is truly one of the Charlottetown's lesser known gems.

Anyway, that's the story of Dundas Terrace. Here's how my bat turned out.

I'm fairly pleased with it. It proved to be a real pain to make. All those angles and shapes, especially the roof and the roof trim. At times it was quite taxing. It's a small building, but a hefty model! Anyway, at this point I'm thinking of making a few other colour variations (maybe a red, a blue and a green) that can form a building family and go on a few different lots. About the lot (soon to be lots), I'm sticking close to Brian's stuff on this one. I use Brian's stuff extensively, but on this one it makes particular sense since his 19th century residential set is a great benchmark for old time residential buildings.

Oh and here's a night shot.

Not too loud, but it's not the type of building that screams "light me up." I think the subtler lighting that I have used is a good fit. Going with some of the louder lights I have been putting in my commercial buildings just wouldn't work here.

Unless there is anything I have missed I'm going to go ahead and make some more colour variations.

[SimGoober]

I like the looks of this one.  Could be a "Bed & Breakfast" Commercial lot, or Residential apartments.  If BAT doesn't freak out, a mirrored version, put side by side, and maybe two deep (4 total) would make a nice larger Apartment Complex lot.

[threestooges]

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Dundas Terrace will certainly have a home in my region (or a few homes). Also, thanks for the info on the Dennis building. I agree about leaving the painted windows out, it looks great as it is. Great work.
-Matt

[simdad1957]

Yes, I know the Dundas Terrace very well. I grew up in downtown Charlottetown only a few blocks from there and it's kinda funny, I always admired this building, even as a teenager. I especially liked the way this building was situated on it's waterfront lot, next to the yacht club. It always seemed very elegant to me. You have done this building proud.

Since you are doing some Charlottetown BAT's, have you ever thought about doing Province House? It is unquestionably one of the most historic buildings in Canada, being the site of the 1864 conference where the Fathers of Confederation first met to discuss the concept of the Dominion of Canada. It can legitimately be considered the birthplace of Canada and is a very elegant Georgian style building. I believe that it was built in the 1840's.

[metasmurf]

I love that last building. It reminds me of the kind we have in my hometown. Like this one:

[XiahouDun]

Could be a "Bed & Breakfast" Commercial lot, or Residential apartments.

Bed and Breakfast was the first thing to cross my mind as well. I really like this BAT Keep up the great work.

[spa]

Goober: Thanks. It is definitely one of those old style buildings that have been converted into inns and b&bs. I hadn't thought about making some mirrored versions. I'll test it out.
Matt: Thanks
Simdad: Yeah its definitely an elegant building. I hadn't really thought of doing Province House. I have considered the Nova Scotia legislature but I kind of go for functionality in my choices. A legislative building would take a lot of time and provide a lot less use for me in game compared to commercial and residential buildings that get reused over and over. That said, I have toyed with the idea of a civic set (maybe the memorial library here and the clock tower for starters). If that ever happens maybe I'll throw in a legislature.
Metasmurf: Yeah I can see why it rang a bell. That's a really pretty old building. It kind of looks like it might once have had a door on the corner that has been, unfortunately, removed. You're actually not the first Scandanavian who commented on some of my Maritime bats reminding them of home. Something about being a cold, wet northern land seems to have drawn both Atlantic Canadians and Scandanavians to wood and colour (wood being plentiful and colour to compensate for grey winters perhaps).
XiahouDun: Thanks. Maybe I'll make a commercial lot. I wasn't really planning on it as it would probably seem short for a commercial building, but maybe I'll give it a go.

So nothing major tonight. Just wondering if anyone likes pink?

I'm not sure about it. Maybe I'll try a deeper red. I'm still planning a blue and probably a green. A brown version might also be possible.

[metasmurf]

I like the pink

Maybe another variation with a colour like this one?



Btw, this is another building from my hometown

[tag_one]

Looks great Samuel! 

[JBSimio]

I like this newest one a lot, Spa.  Bed & Breakfast was the first thing that popped into my mind as well.  I like both color variations, although I think the pink could be desaturated just the tiniest bit.  I don't think you need to switch to a deeper red or anything... just make it a touch less "loud"

JB

[spa]

Meta: I didn't end up hitting on that colour but I have four others besides the pink and yellow. That building is definitely not like anything around Atlantic Canada
Tag: Thanks
JB: I toned down the pink just the tiniest bit

So I have 4 other colour variations to add to the mix.

I think of the new batch the brown and green are my favourite. I'm planning to mirror 3 of the alternate colours and leave the rest as is. I'll then make two building families (one for the 3 mirrored and one for the 3 unmirrored) to maximize the variety on the lots. At this point, I think they're pretty much ready for the render.

[threestooges]

Excellent work as usual. The color versions turned out great, the blue seems a bit bolder than the others, but they all look good. One question though, when you say they are ready for the render, how did they get on the lots you have shown? Is there some different rendering method you use for the final version? I'll be waiting to get these things in game. Take it easy.
-Matt