The Shipyards

The Shipyards is a mixed-used project on the North Vancouver waterfront that includes 100,000 sf of mixed retail, restaurant, and hotel space. These spaces wrap around a covered outdoor plaza, which operates as a water park in the summer and an ice rink in the winter. The site itself was the location of the Machine Shop Building of the former shipbuilder that occupied the entire precinct since the early 1900s. This redevelopment imagines the ghost of the Machine Shop being reconstructed to support the next century of activity on the North Vancouver waterfront. It is adjacent to the Spirit Trail pedestrian and cycling path.

The Shipyards was conceived of as a belt buckle of sorts, connecting a series of shoreline public spaces. The project acts quite literally as centre ice for the urban public life of North Vancouver while drawing visitors from far beyond. The project was completed as a collaboration between the City of North Vancouver and Quay Property Management.

Shane Oleksiuk was the design architect and project manager. He was the design lead and provided oversight of all aspects of design, document production, and construction.