Posted Jan 30, 2021, 2:55 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2015
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I don't know if this has been discussed before: U.K. architects design condos near Vancouver’s Stanley Park as tall, curvy trees
Quote:
Rendering of a highrise project proposal for Vancouver. The two towers, at 1728 Alberni
St and 735 Bidwell St., are made to look like trees. Photo by Picture Plane Ltd /PNG
Is Vancouver ready for tree houses?
Two new residential towers proposed for Alberni and Bidwell streets in the West End are designed to mimic large undulating cedars to lend a Vancouver character and identify to the project, according to the design architects, Heatherwick studio from the U.K.
The design uses the “tree as our inspiration,” with the “idea of gentle curving vertical structures that connect the public on the ground flour to the top of the towers,” the architects say in materials to support its rezoning application for the land.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, instead of the usual open house for the project, the city is holding an online question and answer period, from Feb. 22 to March 14.The application is being considered under the rezoning policy for the West End, and the city is inviting comments on how the proposal would fit into the surrounding neighbourhood.
The project is the first highrise complex that the world-renowned architectural firm has designed in Canada. In the report, the designers say they wanted to counter the “generic glass and steel towers which look and feel the same no matter where you are in the world.”
It called that style “boring and sterile” and lacking in character and identity.
It offers critiques of a half-dozen existing condo buildings on Alberni and none is flattering. It notes the “imposing facade” of one and the “unwelcoming entrance” of another. A third building has a “defensive landscape” and a fourth offers “empty spaces” at street level.
“It’s difficult to have a positive emotional connection with a huge, flat building,” the architects said.
Artists renderings Photo by Picture Plane Ltd /PNG
The two tree towers, one 30 storeys, the other 34, at 1728 Alberni St. and 735 Bidwell St., would be made up of 401 strata residential units — studios and one-, two- and three bedrooms — with balconies and views to the mountains, Stanley Park and the harbour.
The project proposes more spaces for bikes (524) than for cars (499). The buildings would replace two mid-1980s-era apartment towers on the land.
The new towers would sit on a five-storey, “mixed use podium” that would incorporate varied architectural materials, including wood and lots of greenery. Each of the buildings’ two bases is styled after a “green mountain” that would house restaurants and shops, and have a ground-floor plaza designed to be closed off in winter and opened up in summer.
Rendering of a hi-rise project proposal for Vancouver. Photo by Francis Georgian /PNG
Design elements are borrowed from nearby Denman and Davie villages to incorporate the vibrancy of that street life, and from low-rise neighbourhoods, which have sunlight for pedestrians, grass among the pavement and mini-parks.
It said the complex is designed with an “active ground plain” intended to attract a diversity of people, be accessible and lively, and foster community belonging.
The project is to be jointly developed by Bosa properties and Kingswood properties.
“The concept aims to bring a new level of global design excellence to Vancouver, featuring two curvaceous, light-filled towers and a publicly accessible ground-level plaza for community engagement,” Heatherwick, said in a statement.
It’s not known when the buildings, if approved, would be completed.
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