Manitoba Hydro Place, Tornado Tower among world's 'best tall buildings,' according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

A Balanced Perspective from an Independent Thinker.
I''m not trying to change anyone''s opinion, and I respect all diverse viewpoints. I''m merely sharing my perspective if I may. 1. Amenities - Although our bldg does not have amenities such as cafeteria, showers, gym, etc., we do have the basic kitchenettes in the bldg. All other amenities such as eateries (from subsidised cafeterias to fast food kiosks to white table cloth restaurants), gym (fully equiped with machines, showers, pools, & instructors), indoor parking, banks, etc. are conviniently accessible within short walking distances in climate-controlled corridors & skywalks. In our 21st century of globalisation where the whole world is our village, can we expand our horizon to say that the whole system of inter-connected downtown buildings is our workplace? Whilst it is true that these amenities are not all free-of-charge, and that we don''t make doctor & dentist salaries (for their education & training & life-saving mission, I don''t begrudge them at all!), I would venture to say that all employees here make decent salaries so that affordability is not a problem. It really boils down to personal choice, priorities, needs & wants. 2. HVAC, elevators , etc. - As we all know, all new systems need de-bugging & fine-tuning, & these systems are no exception. For HVAC, for example, it will take at least a year to go through the 4 seasons to fine-tune, which cannot even start until the bldg is fully occupied, and we''re not there yet. 3. Noise - We have learned to use our "360 Portage" voice to minimise distracting one another, whether in our work stations or in conference rooms. For confidential personal phone calls, we have individual ph booths away from the other work stations. For confidential business calls, we can use conf rooms in other depts such that our confidential business is not their interest & they pay no attention even if they can hear us. For large group meetings, we have fully equipped & sound-proof conf rooms. 4. Ugly Interiors - The only thing that I can see as ugly are the unpainted concrete posts & beam. However, who looks at them all day anyway? We''ve got more interesting things to do, projects to manage, specs to write, contracts to negotiate, and yes, of course, the magnificent view that entices the occasional glance of inspiration. 4. Glare - There are creative ways to adapt. Some have used their monitor arm to adjust the angle of the monitor as needed, other have... 5. Ugly exterior - Much nicer than the converted warehouse from where we came from. 6. Downtown traffic - Can be avoided by adjusting work hours and still cover the core business hours of 9am to 3pm. 7. Conclusion - Humans are adaptable & creative, and any change can be turned into a positive experience. Yes, I like my new work place, and no, nobody bribed me to say all this.

The new Hydro place is beautiful to look at from the outside. It's definitely a unique structure. Since moving into this building our group has found that there is a great deal of finish work yet to be completed. As with any new building there are many areas to be worked out. The heating and cooling is still only partially functional. Noise levels are very disruptive when meetings are in progress, due to the open meeting rooms. These items we are told are being worked on and I hope will be addressed satisfactorily. I enjoy the downtown experience so far, and would like to give this building a chance. Since it isn't finished yet, I don't really want to fully judge it.
I have to agree that the elevators should be looked at. I've never felt this much shaking in an elevator. The only one that I recall being this bad was a freight elevator at a Pool Eleveator.
As pointed out already the interior finish has left a bit to be desired, and has brought comments from outside consultants that have visited, but I don't even look at it anymore, so this really isn't a concern. The view is still amazing from the upper floors. All in all I'm hoping for a positive experience overall. This first year of growing pains will hopefully be made up for by a positive lifetime for the building overall.

I wonder if your judgement about Hydro Place would be shared by the unfortunate Hydro employees who must work there. We have no amenities. We have poor tempertaure controls, slow elevators, problems with glare from the windows and noise from unsealed meeting rooms. To top it off the building is ugly inside and out, a glass enclosed cement palace. A visiting consultant called it a hospital inside a prison. It is bland and without any warmth or character. I can only imagine that your judgement excludes the one most important thing about an office building which is the comfort and work efficiency created for the employees. Way to go!