Project Tag: Current

1188 Cardero

Situated in the West End, the design of 1188 Cardero draws on three key influences: the site’s ‘gateway’ position on the downward slope of Davie Street to English Bay; the historic Rogers Mansion to the east; and the rich context of mid-century modern apartment blocks that characterize the architectural language of the neighbourhood. This residential tower will provide secured rental housing, 20% of which will be below-market units, and features an amenity courtyard with children’s play area, a rooftop terrace with views to English Bay, and a variety of indoor amenity space for all residents.

The design incorporates precast concrete panels with a geometric motif referencing both the modernist context of the West End and the materiality of the stone on the neighbouring Rogers Mansion. The metal panel cladding adds dimension with slight variations in colour and depth, inspired by cedar bark. The building enhances the public realm through thoughtful landscape design, providing seating along Davie Street that creates a gentle transition to the more open, active entrance at the corner of Davie and Cardero.

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Howe Renovation

Building on the opportunities presented by both the existing architectural character and the surrounding site conditions, the following interventions help improve the public realm, tenant experience and the overall building safety and security:

The ‘Tongue’ – a new stone cladded canopy structure extends from sidewalk into the interior lobby to bring improved finishing, lighting and connection between building and street

The ‘Screen’ – a new painted aluminum picket screen that runs the length of the upper parking level, referencing the geometry of the existing building columns with a variety of angled shapes that ‘ripple’ along the building face

The ‘Welcome Mat’ – new paving and landscape treatments provides a more inviting interface with the sidewalk.

The ‘Wrap’ – a new painted gradient mural that wraps around the building from its frontage down to the lane, with its geometry referencing the angled form of building columns, to improve the pedestrian experience and deter vandalism

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River District Parcel 30

Located in Vancouver’s River District near the Fraser River, Parcel 30 is composed of two residential towers with a podium extension, joined by a single shared parkade. In response to its geographical context, this project is imagined as a tree sitting along the bank of the Fraser River, with a simple core ‘trunk’ and the slabs as ‘bows’ extending out to a lightened point. Like a misty morning on the riverbank, the building is shrouded in lightweight and lightly coloured screens and corrugated materials that obscure the structure behind with different levels of transparency depending on the perspective.

At grade, both buildings provide residential amenity space fronting the courtyard, while commercial retail spaces in the east building and ground-oriented flats in the west building further activate the streetscape. Masonry in warm, natural colours is used at lower down on the building to offer a more tactile and human-scaled experience, while the towers primarily employ cool-toned metal and glass to reinforce the mist-like effect.

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Dow Avenue

6465 Dow Ave is designed around activating all street edges, in particular Dow and Beresford with multiple uses and access points. Pedestrian scale design characterizes the retail and low-rise residential edges. The tower lobbies also engage with the pedestrian realm with gracious and protected entries. Building edges are set back creating spaces for patios and a generous landscaped boulevard.

The dynamic and active treatment continues up the façade where generous horizontal residential decks weave against the vertical forms, providing ample outdoor utilization for residents while also providing dramatic architectural colour, shape, and shadow to the towers. The overall feel of the project is welcoming and urban. The towers themselves are elegant and simple silhouettes that will contribute to the character of the emerging Maywood and Metrotown neighbourhood.

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Mission Master Plan

We had the opportunity to collaborate with O2 Planning and Design on the Waterfront Revitalization Master Plan for City of Mission. Bound by the Fraser River to the south and Lane Creek, Highway 11, and the CPR mainline to the north, the project area spans over 3.5km of river frontage and 296 acres of land. The design process placed emphasis on ensuring that the Master Plan is viable and implementable while still presenting a visionary future for the Waterfront. This Master Plan will create a place for new jobs, establish the City’s vibrant urban heartbeat, and build a renewed cultural and ecological connection with Downtown and nature on the Waterfront.

Intentionally complementing Mission’s historic downtown, the Waterfront brings a new identity and urban energy to the City without compromising the parts residents already love most. The Master Plan will preserve and enhance the natural elements of the Waterfront and improve the ecological integrity of areas where it has been diminished, creating opportunities for everyone to touch the water on naturalized shorelines and experience the region’s stunning nature from a more protected and ecologically integrated vantage point.

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Coronation Park

Boasting mountain views to the west and situated adjacent to Inlet Centre SkyTrain Station, Coronation Park is the ideal location for a people-centered mixed-use development that envisions the transformation of 14.8 acres of an existing single-family residential area into a series of parks, open space, and podium gardens amid low and high-rise residential buildings incorporating office, retail, daycare, amenity spaces, and homes. The project is designed as an essential piece of the Port Moody urban fabric as a place of community interactivity, small-scale commerce, and a sense of home. These critical design elements are not just for those who choose to live and work here, but for the greater community beyond. The Central Green (City-owned park) overlooking the Inlet will become a jewel for Port Moody, locals could gather and take part in any number of diverse activities.

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The Green House

Tucked into a grove of trees, along a stream, at the end of a field on a small farm in Gibsons ‘The Green House’ strikes a familiar and modest architectural profile. This small family home is oriented to enjoy the views of the forest and field surrounding it. Entering from the west, the double-height entrance corridor divides the public and private areas of the home.

The private areas to the north enjoy intimate views of the trees and nearby creek while the main gathering and living space on the south has generous glazing and doors out onto the south-facing outdoor patio. Overlooking the living space is a mezzanine with an office and peek-a-boo tree top views from a pair of windows.

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River District OCP

River District, also known as East Fraser Lands, is embedded in layers of rich history, and meaning. Our design for the Waterfront Precinct seeks to unite the community with the Fraser River, making the riverfront an inseparable part of the East Fraser Lands experience. As the ‘soul’ of the project, the Waterfront Precinct includes the pedestrian-oriented High Street (now named River District Crossing), that gently curves towards the water, opening views out to the river, and terminates at a highly active and unique waterfront area.

The precinct contains the tallest buildings in the East Fraser Lands, making it the focal point of the community. All these buildings feature a mix of uses and a variety of housing tenure options including affordable, rental and market housing units. The Community Centre, local shops and services, waterfront retail, riverfront parks and plazas form part of this area and are key components of this vibrant waterfront.

Area 1’s master plan process (OCP and rezoning) has concluded, while Area 3 is currently in-process.

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Harlin

Harlin (River District Parcel 29) is a gateway tower to the waterfront precinct of the River District. It will function as both a conduit and a platform for the emergent urban life of the waterfront area. The courtyard space between Parcel 29 and Parcel 30 to the south will act as an important public space for local residents. We have imagined the building edges and courtyard spaces as moments of interference to the predominant flow of people running north south along river district crossing. Inspired by the river ‘Eddy’ we imagine that the spaces around the building can offer opportunities for people to pause and to gather.

The central public space is a critical gathering area for the neighbourhood, connecting to the future public areas to the south and the future community centre. The central courtyard is characterized by a terraced grassy knoll that offers a unique connectivity to the adjacent building edges adjacent to it. The ‘rippled edges’ of the cast-in-place ribbed façade profile reference the site’s history in the heavy logging industry and proximity to the Fraser River.

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Ardea

Ardea is located in the southwest precinct of Area 2 of the East Fraser Lands. This precinct’s identity draws from its naturalistic setting and the established appeal of the Kerr Street pier. Eight blocks frame a gently curving east-west street envisioned as a richly landscaped pedestrian-friendly environment. Terraced mid-rise blocks frame a series of generous garden spaces opening onto the foreshore and modulate the streetwall along the Kent Avenue corridor.

Ardea sits at the eastern end of Riverwalk Ave and adjacent to the future Kinross Park. It is also bound by the Fraser River and foreshore walkway to the south. The project is envisioned as a series of building pavilions within the landscape. The lush, naturalized landscape is welcomed into the site and abuts each building. The simple rectilinear forms of the buildings are situated as a counter point to this organic landscape.

Visit Ardea by Wesgroup

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