1650 Quebec St
Developer: Bosa
Architect: Neale Staniszkis Doll Adams Architects
186 residential for sale units
90 rental units under STIR program
4,400 SF of commercial area
ARCHITECTURAL CONTEXT
The project consists of two separate buildings linked by underground parking.Fronting Quebec and Switchman Streets, a 19 storey residential tower scales back to two, 4 storey wings. This 186‐unit complex stands in relation to a separate, 8 storey, 90 unit building on Main Street that includes ground floor retail and 7 residential floors of rental housing.
The design strategy for both buildings uses an assemblage of interlocking building forms and contrasting materials to integrate into the distinctly different characters of the Olympic Village on one side and Main Street on the other. On Quebec Street, the tower’s height is accentuated through projecting and receding vertical, rectangular blocks, each uniquely delineated. The Main Street building re-establishes the last century’s 25 to 50’ width lots by breaking up the façade into a number of smaller components while also exploring era typical base, middle, and top treatments.
Between the two buildings, a landscaped right‐of‐way includes two gateway pergolas, a children’s play area, public seating, and colourful, drought resistant planting. This open space provides site lines through the volume of space that defines the neighbouring Onni development.
As one of a number of required “artistic elements”1, the historic False Creek shoreline is traced throughout the entire SEFC 80 acre development. On the 1650 Quebec Street site, this reference is manifest as an undulating path that connects the mid‐block crossing of the south lane to the right‐of‐way, and continues across Switchback Street to lead to Onni. Other selected landscape elements make reference to the railway spur that once occupied the south lane.
With the range of 4, 8, and 19‐storey rooftops, the development offers visual space around the building forms. Each of the roofs were developed as private and common terraces. Separate urban agriculture spaces are provided for both the rental building and the tower complex. The Main Street building provides rooftop gardening plots and a deck for casual gatherings. For market housing residents, the landscape plan locates urban agriculture plots, tool shed, and compost station in proximity to the right‐of‐way and children’s playground.
Townhouses surrounding the tower have individual entry gates and landscaping. At the corner of Quebec and Switchman Streets, a small plaza and water feature mark the main entrance to the tower. The vertical block of steel and glass that architecturally defines this corner drops below the roofline of the townhouses to further demarcate the entry. Bridging a shallow pool, visitors will encounter a water wall as they enter the building’s lobby.
Linear Mode
