Paradox Hotel and Residences | 188m | 67 Fl | Completed

[mr.x]

Vancouver's second tallest tower after Shangri-La: Ritz Carlton


On June 8, 2005 the City of Vancouver Urban Design Panel unanimously approved the development of the new design - the city's newest and second tallest skyscraper, 1153 West Georgia. To be located on Vancouver's West Georgia Street in the Central Business District, this slim, triangular, elegant 183-metre/600 foot tower rotates 45 degrees between its base and its roof.

1133 West Georgia will be a mixed-use building, consisting of a 5-star, 200 room hotel (Ritz Carlton Vancouver) and high-end residential units. The recreational and spa amenities will be accessed by both hotel and residential users. Beginning at level 7 there will be 18 levels of hotel units. Level 25 contains mechanical equipment. Beyond level 25, all floors contain residential suites, primarily one and two bedroom units ranging from 500 to 1000 square feet, with larger suites on the upper floors. The top two floors contain two-storey penthouse suites that, in addition to open balconies, will enjoy very large green private terraces on the roof level. Balconies and roof terraces are defined and protected by horizontal and vertical extensions of the curtain wall glazing of the tower.

1133 West Georgia is designed by a collaboration of Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership, Davidson Yuen Simpson Architects and Arthur Erickson, design consultant.

Construction will commence in mid-2007 and will end in early-2010, with most of the structure ready for the 2010 Olympics.


- June 7, 2005: Arthur Erickson, working with architects MCMP, designs a slim, triangular shaped glass tower which appears to twist 45 degrees from bottom to top, calling it "hyperbolic paraboloids".
- June 8, 2005: New "twisted" redesign unanimously approved by UDP as 'stunning, evocative, and beautiful, complementing Living Shangri-La' across the street. Application for rezoning from DD to CD-1 reviewed.
- Similar in design to Sweden's HSB Turning Torso.
- Features a 5-star, 200 room hotel and high-end residential units with the top floors containing two-storey penthouse suites.
- From level 7 there are 18 levels of hotel units.
- Level 25 is a mechanical equipment floor, followed by residential units all the way to the top.
- Construction will commence in early 2006.
- Solar tubes on the roof help cut the building's power demands by up to 30 per cent.
- The 'palm court' public plaza is lit at night by fibre-optic lights embedded in the pavement.
- The costly design went through its sixth and final revision - window mullions and structure - during late June 2006.
- In July 2006 the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain was expected to announce its participation in the project.
- Height is 584 feet to top of uppermost floor and 600 feet to the the tip of the architectural highlight mechanical penthouse.
- The 51 enclosed balconies amount to 6,265 sq. ft.
- Ritz Carlton will be the operator of the hotel.


FINAL DESIGN










PREVIOUS DESIGNS:














Tallest tower: Shangri-La Vancouver - http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=312368
Second tallest tower: Ritz Carlton Vancouver - future website: http://www.ritzcarltonvancouver.com









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The site of Ritz Carlton is an unfinished skeleton of a building, one of Vancouver's worst eyesores:



The original nine-storey office building was built sometime in the 1960’s. In 1994, permits were issued to strip the existing office building of its exterior walls and interior finishes and to change the use of floors one through six from office use to a fitness club known as the “Newport Beach Club”. After work began, for unknown reasons, construction was suspended, with cranes, tarps, railings, etc left intact. After a while the permits expired. The site would sit as a vacant and derelict building for many years.

However, in the last few weeks, preparation work for demolition has begun to make way for the new helical tower:



Main elevator lobby:


Lobby, looking Southeast:

















April 26, 2007: Preparation work for demolition finally begins:

[osirisboy]

i drove by the site yesterday and they were taking down the sign along georgia street. dont know why but im sure they'll be putting something back up.

[raggedy13]

I drove by it yesterday and demolition is almost done of the existing building. The main core of the building appears to have been demolished to grade (or at least to ground floor - can't see as it's below the fencing either way). The parts nearest to the Terasen Centre are still about 2 storeys though.

[mr.x]

late-May 2007





late-August 2007 (Flickr)






Early-September 2007 (Flickr)

[Canadian Mind]

that was a real quick demo... i'm dissapointed we didn't get another implosion though.

[giallo]

That was quick. I thought it would have taken longer.

[Mininari]

Yeah, what was all that about the building being seismically upgraded and would make the demolition take longer, and be more expensive. Geez, they just tore it down.

What about demolishing the existing underground parking? That could take a while...

[davee930]

ritz pleeease come to calgary!

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by davee930

ritz pleeease come to calgary!

don't be greedy, you have encana.

[smasher000]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

don't be greedy, you have encana.

LOL.. now that ur a moderator, you coulda said

"don't be greedy, you have encana; one week ban.
.

[squeezied]

lol, mr.x2, how did u become moderator?

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by squeezied

lol, mr.x2, how did u become moderator?

bribed the admins. why do you think SSP can afford a Vancouver forum? it's costing them a fortune!


i've been a mod for Skyscrapercity for more than a year now, and when SSP created Local Vancouver i was like "why not?"

[towerguy3]

How many Parking levels do they have to jackhammer down to get to rock level? Will they be able to use these Parking levels in the new tower or does the size require a complete gutting of what's there?

[thefly]

Originally Posted by towerguy3

How many Parking levels do they have to jackhammer down to get to rock level? Will they be able to use these Parking levels in the new tower or does the size require a complete gutting of what's there?

They are completely gutting - expected to complete Feb/March

[Cypherus]

When might we see the building top-out? Fall 2010?

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by Cypherus

When might we see the building top-out? Fall 2010?

Unfortunately, yes.....if only they could finish it in time for 2010.....maybe we'll be lucky?

[SFUVancouver]

^ On the other hand, the Ritz-Carlton will still be climbing skywards with maybe 25-30 storeys completed during the Olympics, and that naturally will beg the question among passersby of "how high will this one go?".

By virtue of it being the tallest building in the city I am guessing that the inevitable flotilla news helicopters will focus on the Shangri-La as the orbit downtown getting stock footage. Virtually any airborne shot of the Shangri-La will show off the climbing, twisting Ritz-Carlton. It'll make some good tv.

[Canadian Mind]

I'm a bit more optimistic for the 40 storey range. If they complete demo work in feb 2008, the hole digging and foundation-pouring process shouldn't take more than a year-year and a half if other buildings in the city are to serve as an example. that would put the start of ground level construction at the latest august of 2009, which provides 24 weeks for construction (discounting statutory holidays). So thats the absolute minimum. If the more liberal guess of one year for foundation and parkade work is correct, than potentially we could see 50 weeks for construction, which at the pace of Shangri-la would put the building at 50 storeys, only 8 short of completion.

Hence why I say 35-40. It's in the middle of the two extremes of my guesswork... besides, not much of the twist will be visible at only 25 storeys, hell, even at the full 58 it still hardly appears to twist. would look much better if it were a 60 or even 90 degree turn IMO.

[excel]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

i drove by the site yesterday and they were taking down the sign along georgia street. dont know why but im sure they'll be putting something back up.

Drove by today and saw a guy putting the banners back up and cleaning them. Dont know why they took them down, but clearly some reason behind it.

[mr.x]

Pictures taken by look@round from SSC:


Demolition pictures from today.