Architect(s): BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group | DIALOG
Address: 1480 Howe St, VANCOUVER, Canada
Latitude/Longitude: 49.27491167871093,-123.13103313346885
Photographs: Ema Peter | Laurian Ghinițoiu
Vancouver House is located at the main entrance to Vancouver right where Granville bridge triforks when it reaches downtown. The resulting triangular slices of land had remained undeveloped until now. When engaged by Westbank to design a residential high-rise for the highly complex site, BIG started by mapping the constraints: setbacks from the streets; a 30m setback from the bridge; and a neighboring park had to be protected from shadows. After all the constraints, a small triangular site nearly too small to build on was left.
The 30m separation from the bridge was defined as a minimum distance until the building reached 30m up in the air, after which it could grow back out, allowing BIG to double the floor plate. The Vancouver House emerges from the ground, expands as it rises, appearing like a Genie let out of the bottle. What seems like a surreal gesture is in fact a highly responsive architecture – shaped by its environment.
Underneath the bridge, Vancouver artist Rodney Graham and BIG envisioned what we nicknamed the Sistine Chapel of street art: an art gallery turned upside down which would turn the negative impact of the bridge into a positive. This includes a gigantic Spinning Chandelier suspended above the street.
Text description provided by the architects.
Area: 60758m²
Partner in charge: Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Christoffersen, Beat Schenk
Project leaders: Agustin Perez-Torres, Julie Kaufman
Project leader (interiors): Francesca Portesine
Project managers: Carl Macdonald, Melissa Bauld
Project team: Aaron Mark, Agne Rapkeviciute, Agnieszka Majkowska, Alan Tansey, Alex Wu, Alexandra Gustafsson, Alina Tamosiunaite, Amina Blacksher, Aran Coakley, Arash Adel Ahmadian, Armen Menendian, Barbora Srpkova, Benjamin Johnson, Benjamin Novacinski, Benjamin Zunkeler, Benjamin Caldwell, Bennett Gale, Birk Daugaard, Blake Smith, Brian Foster, Brian Rome, Carolien Schippers, Chris Tron, Christopher Junkin, Christopher Malcolm Jr., David Brown, David Dottelonde, Davide Maggio, Deb Campbell, Dong-Joo Kim, Doug Stechschulte, Douglass Alligood, Edward Yung, Elena Bresciani, Ella Coco Murphy, Elnaz Rafati, Ema Hristova Bakalova, Filip Milovanovic, Florencia Kratsman, Gabriel Hernandez Solano, Gabriel Jewell-Vitale, Gaurav Janey, Hector Garcia-Castrillo, Ivy Hume, Jan Leenknegt, Janice Rim, John Kim, Jonas Swienty Andresen, Josiah Poland, Julian Liang, Julianne Gola, Kam Chi Cheng, Karol Bogdan Borkowski, Kelly Neill, Kurt Nieminen, Lauren Turner, Lorenz Krisai, Lucio Santos, Marcella Martinez, Matthew Dlugosz, Megan Ng, Michael Evola, Michael Robert Taylor, Otilia Pupezeanu, Paula Domka, Phillip Macdougall, Ryan Yang, Sean Franklin, Sebastian Grogaard, Shu Zhao, Simon Scheller, Spencer Hayden, Taylor Fulton, Terrence Chew, Terrence Lallak, Thomas Smith, Tianqi Zhang, Tobias Hjortdal, Tran Le, Ute Rinnebach, Valentina Mele, Won Ryu, Xinyu Wang, Yaziel Juarbe, Yoanna Shivarova, Zachary Walters, Zhifei Xu
Collaborators: Integral Group, PFS Studio, Buro Happold, Glotman Simpson, Nemetz & Associates, LMDG, Morrison Hershfield, BVDA Facade Engineering, HLB Lighting Design, James KM Cheng Architects, Icon Pacific
Contributed by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
