Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/493534
A PR IL 2015 | 101 Duet PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY CHARD DEVELOPMENT LTD. Duet N estled into the charm of the James Bay neighbourhood in Victoria, B.C., Duet has emerged as one of the city's newest luxury condo com- plexes. The two buildings – a low-rise, four-storey wood frame and an eight-sto- rey concrete and steel structure – were designed to blend in seamlessly with an established area located one block away from the B.C. Parliament buildings and two blocks from the landmark Fairmont Empress Hotel. "We have been working on this project for 11 years," says David Chard, president of Chard Development Ltd. "We purchased the land a long time ago and the process of rezoning, working with the neighbourhood and the City of Victoria was fairly lengthy. But in the end we had unanimous support by City Council for the project. As soon as we received that we began preparing our working drawings and started con- struction as quickly as possible." Charles Kierulf of de Hoog & Kierulf architects says Duet was driven not so much by style with heritage homes nearby, but from an urban design standpoint. "The massing and stepping of the Duet buildings acknowledges the fact that there used to be single-family houses along the Government Street edge," says Kierulf. "The view corridor between the two buildings was created for pedestrians, neighbouring struc- tures, and generating an illusion of space. We didn't want to put something up that looked like a wall of building along Michigan Street." While the suites are generally suited to one or two occupants, Kierulf says the western building has two-bedroom suites with two bathrooms that are designed for both family and room- mate living. "They feel larger in volume because the units typically have nine- foot ceilings and the top floors have a pop-up roof so they are almost 14-feet high. These suites are open and bright with extra-high windows. In the eight- storey building, the ceiling heights are at eight-foot six-inches with nine-foot ceilings on the penthouse floor." "This is a transitional site between the downtown core of Victoria and the James Bay neighbourhood so it had to really relate to both and fit in," says Mark Thompson, partner, design with Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership architects. "It's a modern apartment building but it still has a linkage to the surroundings by the use of materials including tra- ditional brick. Duet has three levels of underground parking which is difficult to do in Victoria because of the nature of the rock and subsoil, but when you have this type of development you put in the extra effort to make it work." The eight-storey tower features a glassed exit staircase for use by resi- dents, while the elevators are centrally located. "Normally the staircases are quite utilitarian in the way they are designed, but we took the opportunity to expose it and at night it is lit so it becomes a feature of the building and creates a vertical landmark," says Thompson. As beautiful as the exteriors are, the interior design options were a blend offering a variety of designer-selected schemes. "There are so many different things going on in the two buildings but we were trying to make it so that every- one could find their home, whether it is a family, a single person or downsizers," says Kerri Shinkewski, designer with Proscenium Architecture + Interiors. "There is quite a variety of suite types which determined the kitchen layouts and Chard keeps up with design trends with each development. For Duet we had limestone tile for the backsplash and it is beautiful. One is a lighter, creamier colour tone and the other is grey with beautiful veining. These are comple- mented nicely by matching quartz coun- tertops, which are subtle and simple." Shinkewski says that many of the kitchens have extra storage with pan- tries, a unique feature for apartments. The other feature that stands out is a hood fan instead of a microwave above the electric and gas ranges in Duet's larger suites. Open cupboards with two shelves at the end of the upper cabinets create another interesting detail and display opportunity. Throughout the build time, team effort was the key to success. "We worked on both buildings simultane- ously because it would have taken far too long to build otherwise," says Gerrit Vink, manager of operations for Farmer Construction Ltd. "The building proj- ect took 21 months from start to finish, which was a very aggressive schedule, and the trades did a great job. The prop- erty was an asphalt surface parking lot prior to Duet being built. Now there is a lot of new landscaping and trees on the site so we definitely added green space." Chard says the demographic for Duet residents is broad, ranging in age from 25 to 80 years old. "About 25 per cent of our buyers are from out of town including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. A lot of people are retiring to Victoria given the mild climate and abundance of ameni- ties in and around Victoria." Rooftop terraces have become a signature item for the Chard, and Duet is no exception with its fantastic views, covered barbe- cue area and lounge seating on the tower. "In the evening you can look over the Legislature and see all the lights," says Chard. "Another feature we put in the project is a dog-washing station. This is something that is rela- tively simple but has been very popular to purchasers. We are a pet friendly building and because Beacon Hill Park is so close, people like to walk their dogs to Dallas Road. When they come back, rather than muddying up the corridors they can wash and dry their pet before heading to their suite." With all of the attention to detail, prime location and the elusive "something for everyone," Duet is definitely a welcome addi- tion to downtown Victoria. A LOCATION 640 & 646 Michigan Street, Victoria, B.C. OWNER Michigan Street Limited Partnership ARCHITECT de Hoog & Kierulf architects / Musson Cattell Mackey (MCM) Partnership GENERAL CONTRACTOR Farmer Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Read Jones Christoffersen MECHANICAL CONSULTANT AME Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Applied Engineering Solutions Ltd. INTERIOR DESIGN Proscenium Architecture + Interiors Inc. TOTAL SIZE 75,000 square feet TOTAL COST $34 million by LAURIE JONES