Project Tag: Local

1088 Burnaby

The proposal for development at 1088 Burnaby Street provides 300 purpose-built rental homes, including 20% below-market rental suites in the West End of Vancouver. Located on the sloping corner of Thurlow and Burnaby Streets, the site is well positioned to take its place within the vibrant community that provides proximity to Downtown, the Seawall, numerous recreational, shopping, and cultural resources, all within walking and cycling distance of the site.

Its approach to the ground plane and massing allow it to fit within the established context of mid- and high-rise apartment buildings and the treed boulevards of the surrounding streets.

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Lot P

The project is located in the Mount Pleasant Creative District, near the Great Northern Way-Emily Carr SkyTrain station and the Great Northern Way Campus shared by UBC, SFU, BCIT, and Emily Carr University of Art + Design. This emerging district is ideal for transit-oriented mixed-use development, including housing, workspace, retail, and public space.

The redevelopment, in consultation with Host Nations, contributes to the “Cultural Ribbon” concept proposed in the Broadway Plan, showcasing Coast Salish peoples’ history and culture. The proposed development integrates active ground-level retail commercial use, a podium containing office workspace and an amenity rooftop, four residential towers of mixed tenure including hotel, secured market rental, below-market rental, and strata live-work dwellings with below grade vehicle and bicycle parking.

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Langara

Situated in the unceded traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), this project represents a unique partnership between local and First Nation stakeholders. The development will feature a variety of housing types, a community YMCA, an inclusive public realm, and pedestrian links to Langara College, the golf course, and the transit station. Guided by the wisdom and traditions of the Musqueam people, the project aims to create a unique intersection of community and inclusive living.

The design incorporates cascading gardens and gathering places, engaging residents and visitors in high-quality public spaces. Views to the south and the Fraser River visually connect the site to its elevated position. The design integrates Musqueam culture and history, culminating in a south-facing gathering place that enhances the pedestrian experience and links to Langara College.

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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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Other Projects

(1) Arbutus Centre Redevelopment (2013)
(2) False Creek Towers (2009)
(3) CBC Building (2009)

In all our work, we strive to create buildings that are connected to their surrounding community, making the neighbourhood a more vibrant and enjoyable place to live. Each project provides a unique opportunity to enhance this connectivity through thoughtful design at all scales.

Projects like the Arbutus Centre Redevelopment, False Creek Towers, and CBC Building all showcase this interplay with the public realm and careful attention to the public/private transition.

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Planning Projects

(1) Cowichan First Nation
(2) Diamond Ave
(3) Bowen Island Seymour Landing
(4) Leq’á:mel First Nation Deroche
(5) Westbank First Nation Kelowna

Urban design and planning are essential to the creation of healthy vibrant cities. Because of this, we believe in focusing our practice on the large and small city-making undertakings that truly make a difference. We combine this with our core architectural practice to continue our goal of creating locally focused vibrant communities. In our work we have also found that smaller oftentimes forgotten, communities, especially some First Nations communities, benefit greatly from this wholistic approach.

We believe that the best urban environments are vibrant, sustainable, walkable, and designed to grow with the community itself. We work closely with our clients and partners to bring their vision to life, creating joyful, livable neighbourhoods and connected communities.

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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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