{"id":10118,"date":"2011-08-04T09:30:19","date_gmt":"2011-08-04T12:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingatlantic.ca\/?p=10118"},"modified":"2013-01-21T04:33:59","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T08:33:59","slug":"charlottetowns-new-ugly-duckling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/2011\/08\/04\/charlottetowns-new-ugly-duckling\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlottetown&#8217;s new ugly duckling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-10126\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/2011\/08\/04\/charlottetowns-new-ugly-duckling\/photo-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10126\" title=\"Holman Hotel Front\" src=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/photo1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/photo1.jpg 480w, https:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/photo1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>CHARLOTTETOWN<\/strong> &#8211; A  brand new boutique hotel, the Holman Grand, is opening later this month in  the city. As the final touches  are being added to the rooms, atrium and lobby and exterior, it&#8217;s causing quite a stir amongst Islanders. It was supposed to look like a heritage restoration of a department  store from the 1850s with visually appealing upper floors. Instead, its\u00a0fa\u00e7ade\u00a0has been muted and the upper floors look like they were built for  a government agency in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Overseen by Homburg Development,  the project has morphed from conception to delivery. How then,  did this come to be? Let the following photos be your guide and decide  for yourself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>First, a wee bit of background<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The  hotel is named after the original Holman Department Store that provided  many shopping and socializing opportunities for Islanders over the  years. Homburg successfully challenged building height restrictions and standing at 7 storeys, it is now one of the tallest structures in Charlottetown, which means the  hotel is visible from many vantage points in the downtown area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conception<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From  the outset, Homburg seemed committed to  preserving the original\u00a0fa\u00e7ade\u00a0of the building which had been covered  since the 1960s. Stones and bricks were removed, numbered and catalogued  so that they could be reincorporated into the building. Here is the  original facade of the department store, in all its glory, prior to  deconstruction. Two distinct building fronts can be seen, on the left is  a 2 storey mostly sandstone structure and to the right is the mostly  red brick 3 storey one.<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/3CicwSeXquiPR6oQWpK8BCGpeaY9pNeaRG4be1sY7JqcqxoLl6wv11BqSFhBko-HBriLIxtqfBAUEy2nWsBylQgl1AB0gooQf27XAjZ1z8KrLB4lPF8\" alt=\"\" width=\"500px;\" height=\"375px;\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Passers-by\u00a0walked by many a day, watching workers taking part in this pain-staking  process and after all of of the hours they devoted to this historical  preservation, very few stones and bricks were kept. An advertisement  released in the Guardian newspaper this month explained that: \u201cThe  decades [&#8230;] had not been the kindest to these original materials\u201d.  Everything but the original sandstone arches were ditched and new  building materials were ordered. The old windows were discarded, but not  before they were reproduced faithfully.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the image of the hotel that was released before construction began.\u00a0The 2 facades are still distinct,  there is two toned aluminum-like upper floors with pleasant-looking  signage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/dTZ5ADIK9fqHx0ppJ_6xowRbEeZpr14l3pFckvA77Q3lgsRC-jrPfQd__qXeeq534w5g4AZefP7nN8ZSUNFWg2diHTGMPtBD8lb5LW-GMJFFgXFr_hw\" alt=\"\" width=\"389\" height=\"269\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/9kBkYosCd_m_Q-R5WSV-FrVUMwv4Q4pXy_demvaYafi8gyZGdXMsi_sJ7xXPZORuiAJAvEFdFOn2Fctf8FgG4TC1VI0xFqC9e_WNMbcgdHloOhFKYPk\" alt=\"\" width=\"424px;\" height=\"353px;\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Delivery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Overtime  somehow, this original vision was swept under the rug and a new version  began to form. Sandstone was abandoned in favor of lots of red brick  and two-toned aluminum was traded in for monochromatic beige, as depicted below.\u00a0The street level facade has much less architectural flair and  the upper floors bring to mind a government institution built in the  \u201870s, when style reflected function.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/11E6bXSJxqJ8Zm1Rqu0rLO7fjKcncsldes-jSW7CWDdMGZE-V_eeqeO1Zn7CWHRZSl8ZuM9SXv_d5I_Plnd7lwPZ_J8eSGuYEBgu8N0wp6rUa8dqFIY\" alt=\"\" width=\"295px;\" height=\"322px;\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It  is really unfortunate that the lack of color, depth and absence of  nuanced building details on the upper floors creates such a drab  envelope of a building. Homburg has also opted for a change in signage  design, going for a more modern platform-like sign which juts out of the  building at a right angle and is supported by cables. The awnings are also no more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No ugly ducklings in other cities<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/rCeaj-RUOYvSJXkDpApihexXXRzHLb0iRrYhbDE1XCXIwUgJUbqkKeJidMRudazBd23czz0bPciO5AlHwMgLJJ0tVPSoGmAtueA66nLlzkij7YEgI1k\" alt=\"\" width=\"351\" height=\"266\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/DqgkRRVaNIZPLwg38CYgyuEKdcQ8jO9_wyN7sEceB4Kj1fXU3gPgY1ZMYO8ZzA7q3LPlyVwI_QYh33bwvJ9_zmVESR7AtJtxzrX1EOBD2Z-mutqCAog\" alt=\"\" width=\"393\" height=\"226\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Other  builders have recently managed to create buildings of similar size with  much more visual appeal. The two examples below hail from Toronto and  show how a mix of building materials, colors, textures and varied roof  lines help to draw the eye from feature to feature (the Vinegar lofts  and the Bohemian Embassy). Unfortunately, the eye can take in the Holman  Grand, in its entirety, in one fell swoop.<\/p>\n<p><em>Photos by Melanie Labelle, <a href=\" http:\/\/ruk.ca\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Rukavina<\/a> and from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.pe.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Guardian<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.homburg.nl\/hii\/projects\/canada,charlottetown\/The-Holman-Grand-Hotel.html\" target=\"_blank\">Holman Grand<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.streetcar.ca\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Queen City Vinegar Co.<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pembertongroup.com\/communities\/toronto\/bohemian_embassy\/building.php\" target=\"_blank\">Bohemian Embassy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHARLOTTETOWN &#8211; A brand new boutique hotel, the Holman Grand, is opening later this month in the city. As the final touches are being added to the rooms, atrium and lobby and exterior, it&#8217;s causing quite a stir amongst Islanders. It was supposed to look like a heritage restoration of a department store from the<a href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/2011\/08\/04\/charlottetowns-new-ugly-duckling\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;Charlottetown&#8217;s new ugly duckling&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8080,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[341],"tags":[355,373],"class_list":["post-10118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-urban-design","tag-charlottetown","tag-construction"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Charlottetown&#039;s new ugly duckling - Spacing Atlantic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/2011\/08\/04\/charlottetowns-new-ugly-duckling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Charlottetown&#039;s new ugly duckling - Spacing Atlantic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHARLOTTETOWN &#8211; A brand new boutique hotel, the Holman Grand, is opening later this month in the city. 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