Okay, so you're saying the situation in Victoria has been deliberately screwed up? It is curious how all of these new developments in other cities are still allowed to have large windows, even though all of those other cities have extreme summers and extreme winters and Victoria does not.

And here I thought I asked a fairly simple question.

I'll give you my list right after Pam Madoff, Ken Johnson, the JBNA, and the Downtown Residents' Association give us their lists of the best 20 developments in Victoria in the past 20 years.

I've looked at some of my old posts and I can see how I've gone back and forth re: the benefits and perils of having hard plans and visions for future development. It's that whole debate re: organic versus inorganic.

I've wanted things to be planned, but over time I've also come to realize how the unexpected and unplanned things can often end up being the definitive things. The Y-lot area was planned and visioned one way, but ended up turning out another way. Critics complained bitterly about how it turned out. You know what? It turned out well, very Victorian, and much better than it would have turned out if the visioning had become the reality. But I'd say the final few pieces now have the potential to send things backward somewhat. Overthinking? Spoiling the formula that was never really anyone's formula to begin with?

I think downtown residential redevelopment in general was more interesting and successful when it was catching people off guard. I've recalled the reaction to the Mermaid Wharf proposal many times. Politicians and CoV people were admitting they didn't know what to make of it. Residential development in the old town, and on Swift Street of all streets? I would file Chard's early projects and the Hudson redevelopment in this same category. Nobody had a long-term vision for the department store to move out, or for the parkade to be demolished, etc. I'd also say the Songhees started to become much more interesting when the old visions were finally tossed in the bin. But now that the new stuff has been so successful, the final few pieces risk mucking it up. You see what I'm saying?

Anyway, we're just talking here. No worries. (I can always tell when I've touched a nerve with Mike K. because he bombards me with private messages and the subject lines are full of expletives. Over the years I've learned to read him in this regard.)

The windows issue is indeed a BC step code issue, and not all jurisdictions in the province are immediately adopting the Step Code.

There are ways to design nice building under the BCESC. We're at Step 3 for most all multifamily construction here in Richmond, have been for... Two years now? Before Step Code was introduced we targeted LEED Silver in all city centre developments.