Vancouver Tower.
location:
Vancouver, BC, Canada.
client:
Pinnacle International.
role:
Principal / Diverse Projects.
area:
45,000m2.
budget:
withheld.
date/status:
2017/invited competition.
key points:
practice, pedestrian-friendly urban planning, affordable housing mix, retail, design competition, parametric facade, iconic skyline.
The new tower is to be situated along the waterfront of the city, flanking one of the main roads leading to the downtown center. On the site opposite the roadway, the new Vancouver House mixed use development is currently under construction, by Danish architect Bjärke Ingels and his firm BIG. The tower responds to the urban condition as well as the macro condition by mimicking the height and width of the BIG tower, to frame an entrance portal to the city, with a spectacular view of the mountains beyond downtown.
The program includes market-rate apartment as well as subsidized housing, with both requiring separate lobbies, elevator cores and services. The subsidized apartments take up the lower levels while the market rate apartments occupy the upper floors to maximize the views. All apartments have balconies, and the facade is designed to respond to the building’s solar orientation by permitting sunlight in the cold and rainy winter months and blocking direct sunlight in the summer, while still maximizing daylighting.
At the street level, a generous plaza with cultural and retail program opens up the area to the surrounding residents and visitors instead of placing the new tower on a podium, like many other developments in the area.