Vancouver House (1400 Howe St) | 151.5m | 52Fl | Completed

[chrisel]

A value-engineered version of Vancouver House got proposed for Toronto last week :



source: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2022/10/towers-planned-canadian-tire-site-yonge-and-church

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by chrisel

A value-engineered version of Vancouver House got proposed for Toronto last week :

source: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2022/10/towers-planned-canadian-tire-site-yonge-and-church

They seem to mostly work on projects with other design architects? Also have done a lot of work with Westbank I guess they don't care lol

There's probably lots of similar facades prior to Vancouver House with that box grid pattern?

[chrisel]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

They seem to mostly work on projects with other design architects? Also have done a lot of work with Westbank I guess they don't care lol

There's probably lots of similar facades prior to Vancouver House with that box grid pattern?

Yes, they're usually the architect of record for starchitect projects it seems.

Vancouver House's facade is quite distinctive. I haven't seen a similar facade in prior builds.
Even BIG's tower in Calgary looks different:


Adamson went to the extent of replicating the stepped setbacks of Vancouver House in their proposal lol. That's just lazy design IMO.

[officedweller]

The brick patterned balcony is pretty common now.
i.e. Transity City in Vaughan.

[chrisel]

Cool photos in a Dezeen article this week (https://www.dezeen.com/2022/11/14/vancouver-house-skyscraper-big-canada/):

.. "The Vancouver house is a contemporary descendent of the Flatiron building in New York City reclaiming the lost spaces for living as the tower escapes the noise and traffic at its base," said Ingels.

"In the tradition of Flatiron the Vancouver House architecture is not the result of formal excess or architectural idiosyncrasies but rather a child of its circumstances. The trisected site and concerns for neighboring buildings and park spaces." ..

[VantageHD]

What a great building.

[GeeCee]

Have they fixed the leaks and other mechanical issues yet?

[Vin]

Originally Posted by chrisel

Yes, they're usually the architect of record for starchitect projects it seems.

Vancouver House's facade is quite distinctive. I haven't seen a similar facade in prior builds.
Even BIG's tower in Calgary looks different:


Adamson went to the extent of replicating the stepped setbacks of Vancouver House in their proposal lol. That's just lazy design IMO.

In a way, the Calgary one is better at night as the full facade faces have adjustable LED lighting features. During the passing of the Queen, the whole tower was turned into a Union Jack.

Vancouver House isn't prominently featured at night: it's a big waste.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Vin

In a way, the Calgary one is better at night as the full facade faces have adjustable LED lighting features. During the passing of the Queen, the whole tower was turned into a Union Jack.

Here, Telus Garden had Union Jacks on its LED screens under the protruding ends, as well as red, white and blue on the rest of the lighting.

I think the lighting on Telus Sky had more to do with Telus, than the condo owners.

[jollyburger]

The problem is how do you light Vancouver House without being super annoying to residents any lighting would cause massive reflections into the units.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

The problem is how do you light Vancouver House without being super annoying to residents any lighting would cause massive reflections into the units.

or neighbouring buildings since it's in a residential area.

Telus Sky seems to be in a commercial office district.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by officedweller

or neighbouring buildings since it's in a residential area.

Telus Sky seems to be in a commercial office district.

And the residential units aren't strata, they're rental. You can lease them on a daily basis, so they're effectively a hotel, with a long-stay option.

The lighting installation was an integral part of the design, and it's by Douglas Coupland, and called Northern Lights.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Here, Telus Garden had Union Jacks on its LED screens under the protruding ends, as well as red, white and blue on the rest of the lighting.

I think the lighting on Telus Sky had more to do with Telus, than the condo owners.

I'm not referring to who made the Union Jacks, I'm talking about how the Calgary Telus building was well-designed to be fully illuminated, as supported by the municipality. I think our policies, restrictions and conservative mentality made the idea of having a well-illuminated design to be a non-starter for many buildings here, including Vancouver House. Compared to the short Vancouver Telus Garden, the much taller Vancouver House is a way better building to be viewed from a distance as it is located at the edge of the water, and hence a waste to appear so dark at night. Imagine crossing Granville Bridge entering downtown and seeing a well-lit Vancouver House after dark.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Vin

I'm not referring to who made the Union Jacks, I'm talking about how the Calgary Telus building was well-designed to be fully illuminated, as supported by the municipality. I think our policies, restrictions and conservative mentality made the idea of having a well-illuminated design to be a non-starter for many buildings here, including Vancouver House. Compared to the short Vancouver Telus Garden, the much taller Vancouver House is a way better building to be viewed from a distance as it is located at the edge of the water, and hence a waste to appear so dark at night. Imagine crossing Granville Bridge entering downtown and seeing a well-lit Vancouver House after dark.

I'm saying that a condo tower probably isn't going to fund the ongoing operational costs of a "light show" type of display
- that'll have to be on a building with a significant commercial tenant (office or hotel).
Telus Sky's display is probably borne by Telus, even though the upper storeys are condos.

There are lots of residential condo buildings around that have turned off various light installations because of the cost to the strata corporation.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I'm saying that a condo tower probably isn't going to fund the ongoing operational costs of a "light show" type of display
- that'll have to be on a building with a significant commercial tenant (office or hotel).
Telus Sky's display is probably borne by Telus, even though the upper storeys are condos.

There are lots of residential condo buildings around that have turned off various light installations because of the cost to the strata corporation.

As noted above - they're not condos, they're rentals (still owned by Westbank) so it's easy to activate the lighting. No strata council.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Changing City

As noted above - they're not condos, they're rentals (still owned by Westbank) so it's easy to activate the lighting. No strata council.

Thanks, as you say, even easier and there's a financier.

[bepositive]

[whatnext]

From Justin McElroy's (CBC) twitter:

Justin McElroy
@j_mcelroy
Dec 23
Someone tried to flip a one bedroom condo in Vancouver House when it opened in 2020 for $829,000.

Sold for $770,000.

Went back on the market for $749,000.

Sold this month at $650,000.

The solution to our affordability crisis is simple: make the entire city Vancouver House.

https://twitter.com/j_mcelroy/status/1606427495250956289

[jollyburger]

Those units are probably the studio at ~400 square feet?

https://realestatecoalharbour.com/1480-h...-howe-street-vancouver-v6z-0g5.98137657/

Cellar storage is $68,000 for 280 sq feet.

https://realestatecoalharbour.com/1480-h...-howe-street-vancouver-v6z-0g5.97653913/

[jollyburger]

That didn't take long.

Defendants

Aviva Insurance Company of Canada and National Home Warranty Group Inc. and Howe Street Property Inc. andHowe Street Ventures Ltd. and Ian Gillespie and Icon West Construction Corp. and Dialog BC Architecture Engineering Interior Design Planning Inc. and Vance Harris and Joost Bakker and Marion LaRue and Bjarke Ingels Group NYC LLC and Bjarke Ingels Group A/S and Bjarke Ingels Group California Inc. and Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Christoffersen and Agustin Perez-Torres and Martin Voelkle and Morrison Hershfield Ltd. andIntegral Group Consulting (BC) LLP and BVDA Façade Engineering Ltd. and Mark Brook and RDH Building Science Inc. and Iljin Unisco Corp. and Glastech Glazing Contractors Ltd. and First Dimension Glass Ltd. andAlternate Glazing Systems Ltd. and Georgia Mechanical Systems (2008) Ltd. and AccessSMT Holdings Ltd. andRPM Canada dba Tremco and Black Gold Industries and Pacific Waterproofing Ltd. and City of Vancouver andJohn Does

Plaintiff

The Owners, Strata Plan EPS5752

Claim

Damages related to construction defects and breach of home warranty.

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/econo...ry-2-2023-6322825?itm_source=parsely-api

I wonder if this one is related to that hydro vault explosion?

Defendants

Westbank Projects Corp. and Icon West Construction Corp. and BD Hall Constructors Corp. and Wilco Civil Inc. and ABC Co.

Plaintiff

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Claim

$475,530 for property damage caused by defendants’ negligent excavation work.

https://biv.com/article/2022/12/whos-getting-sued-december-26-2022