Passive House

New models of NYC-inspired towers at 1444 Alberni Street

March 26, 2019 By Peter Meiszner Leave a Comment

Proponents of a New York-style twin tower development in Coal Harbour are preparing for a May 27 date in front of Vancouver’s Development Permit Board.

Asia Standard Americas and Landa Global are proposing two residential towers (48-storey and 43-storey) at 1444 Alberni Street, on the site of a rental apartment tower and office building.

The formalist architecture of the towers will be clad in limestone, with bronze and granite accents. It will also be the largest Passive House development in the world.

Building models: 1444 Alberni Street

1444 Alberni Street detail — Detail of exterior cladding.

1444 Alberni Street detail entry — Entry detail.

1444 Alberni Street tower models — Tower models, laneway perspective.

1444 Alberni Street podium roof — Children’s play area.

1444 Alberni Street context — Context of towers.

1444 Alberni Street context close up — Context close up.

1444 Alberni Street courtyard — Entry courtyard.

1444 Alberni Street with Alberni Kuma — 1444 Alberni Street project with Alberni by Kuma in foreground.

1444 Alberni Street wood — Tower models.

The architects say the timeless design is a deliberate contrast to Vancouver’s predominately glass skyline.

“The last thirty years of construction in Vancouver has witnessed the rise of a thicket of glass towers. However, it is important to remember that for 100 years before then, almost all buildings, including residential buildings, in Vancouver were masonry structures with “punched” windows. This 150 years of architectural history in Vancouver is equally important if not more important than the 30 year glass period. We believe the Alberni buildings are an excellent opportunity for the West End to connect to this long tradition of masonry residential buildings in Vancouver,” states the design rationale.

Architects are Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership of Vancouver and Robert A. M. Stern Architects of New York City.

The two towers will have a total of 580 residential units, 129 of which will be market rental. There will also be a 56-space childcare facility located on level seven. There will be six levels of underground parking, with 547 stalls accessed from the lane.

Updated design for new Vancouver Art Gallery revealed, built to Passivhaus design standards

January 23, 2019 By Peter Meiszner Leave a Comment

The new Vancouver Art Gallery coming to West Georgia and Cambie Street has a new name, and an updated design after a major funding announcement.

The new gallery building will be known as the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts, after a $40 million donation by the Chan family, well-known for their philanthropic endeavours. It’s the largest-ever single private donation to an arts and culture organization in British Columbia.

Renderings: New Vancouver Art Gallery

New Vancouver Art Gallery day — Design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery at Cambie and West Georgia Street. Credit: Vancouver Art Gallery

New Vancouver Art Gallery entrance — Entrance. Credit: Vancouver Art Gallery

New Vancouver Art Gallery ground floor — Ground floor. Credit: Vancouver Art Gallery

New Vancouver Art Gallery walkway — Walkway. Credit: Vancouver Art Gallery

New Vancouver Art Gallery space — Gallery space. Credit: Vancouver Art Gallery

New Vancouver Art Gallery courtyard — Courtyard. Credit: Vancouver Art Gallery

New Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition — Exhibition space. Credit: Vancouver Art Gallery

Switzerland-based architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron unveiled their first iteration of the design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery in 2015, an Inukshuk-shaped building form of stacked boxes with a wood façade. It faced mixed reviews from architecture critics.

That original design has since been tweaked, and today an updated version with more glass was revealed.

The design for the new gallery now includes a façade made up of “glass logs,” described by the architects as “pure, soft and light, establishing a unique relation to covered wooden terraces all around the building.”

The new gallery is a Passivhaus design, a rigorous standard for energy efficiency in a building which reduces the building’s ecological footprint.

As with the first iteration, the design concentrates the larger volumes of the building at the top, with minimal mass on the lower levels. By having the bulk of the structure high above the street, the architects say it will allow light and air to filter down to an active, open-air courtyard below.

The new Vancouver Art Gallery will include community spaces, a 350 seat theatre, free access galleries, complementary admission programs, and a publicly accessible Resource Centre Library.

“The new Vancouver Art Gallery is a vertical building, distinctly spectacular at first sight, with an arrangement that resonates with the place where it is built. It offers ample outdoor spaces that are sunny in summer and protected from rain in winter, to suit the climate and life in British Columbia,” described Herzog & de Meuron. “Visitors to the building will be able to perceive Vancouver’s urbanity and its amazing natural setting in many different ways.”

Conceptual design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery — Previous iteration of the Vancouver Art Gallery design, released in 2015.

Fundraising has slowed since the first building concept was revealed in 2015, but it’s hoped the updated design and gift from the Chan family will breathe new life into the campaign.

A total of $135 million in private and public sector funding has been secured, including an initial investment of $50 million from the Province of British Columbia. The City of Vancouver also designated the land, known as Larwill Park, specifically for the construction of the new Vancouver Art Gallery. Two office towers are proposed for the north of the property along Dunsmuir Street, but that plan is still in its conceptual stage.

Construction of the building is estimated at a minimum of $300 million.

The Vancouver Art Gallery says next steps will be to continue work with senior levels of government and the private sector to secure the additional funding needed to begin construction.

Herzog & de Meuron have designed many high-profile buildings, including the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China and the conversion of the Bankside power plant to Tate Modern in London.

Neighbourhood set to transform with The Post redevelopment, new art gallery

The neighbourhood surrounding the new Vancouver Art Gallery site will look significantly different over the next decade.

One block away, QuadReal has begun construction on the redevelopment of the former Canada Post office into a mixed-use office and retail development which will be home to Amazon, as well as a green grocer, food hall and additional retail.

Cross-section of The Post development. Credit: QuadReal

Kitty corner to The Post is Westbank and Allied’s new office tower at 400 West Georgia, currently under construction. The lantern-inspired building will be home to Deloitte Canada. Westbank is also involved in the upcoming redevelopment of the Central Steam Plant at West Georgia and Beatty Street.

400 West Georgia Street Amazon office — Rendering of new office building to be constructed at 400 West Georgia Street. Credit: Colliers Canada

Boutique condo building proposed for West End but some neighbours opposed

September 24, 2018 By Peter Meiszner Leave a Comment

A six-storey residential building built to Passive House standards is proposed for the corner of Harwood and Nicola streets in Vancouver’s West End.

The building will feature five large units (all three bedroom and one per floor), as well as an amenity room and guest room on level six.

The architecture firm, Cornerstone Architecture, says it’s exploring using insulated concrete forms (ICF) to help minimize construction waste. Wood soffits will add warmth to the building’s façade, and Juliet balconies will help break up the massing.

The entry of the building will front onto Nicola Street.

Current single-storey building on property containing rental units.

Neighbourhood opposition

The site is currently occupied by a single-storey building constructed in 1942, containing multiple rental suites.

A website against the project — fight1289nicola.com — has sprung up, protesting the loss of the existing rental units and the height of the project.

Other concerns cited include shadowing on adjacent properties and the increased density in the area.

It’s not clear who is behind the website, as there is no contact information listed and the WHOIS records for the domain have been scrubbed.

1289 Nicola Street West End condo — Side profile of building. Credit: Cornerstone Architecture

Daycare and preschool planned atop Gastown parkade

May 3, 2018 By Peter Meiszner Leave a Comment

Downtown parents will be delighted to hear about a development proposal in Gastown that will add a new daycare facility and preschool to the top of a large parkade.

Acton Ostry Architects has designed two buildings to go atop the Gastown parkade located at 150 Water Street, and 151 West Cordova Street. The parkade is divided by Trounce Alley.

The spaces will contain 37 full day child care spaces, comprised of 12 spaces for children ages 0 to 3 (toddler) and 25 spaces for children ages 3 to 5 (pre-schooler).

Both of the buildings will have outdoor play areas with acoustic glass screens on the edge of the parkade wall. A pedestrian walkway bridge is proposed to connect the two childcare facilities as the parkade is separated down the middle by Trounce Alley.

Gastown parkade daycare rendering — The daycare and preschool facility will be added on top of the EasyPark parkade in Gastown. Credit: Acton Ostry Architects/City of Vancouver

A tricycle court for practicing cycling is proposed for the West Cordova Street site.

The facilities will be owned by the City of Vancouver, who will lease them to a non-profit operator. The project will be designed to target a Certified Passive House level of performance.

The parkades were rebuilt by the City of Vancouver after the Woodwards department store closed in 1995. The new design by Henriquez Partners Architects was completed in 2004, and was rated as one of the “coolest” in the world according to a parking industry magazine.

Rental apartments proposed for Commercial Drive and Adanac Street

April 16, 2018 By Peter Meiszner Leave a Comment

Vancouver’s apartment vacancy rate has been below one per cent for several years, and developers are responding to a tight rental market with several new rental apartment buildings.

One new proposal is on Commercial Drive at Adanac Street where a six-storey, 38 unit secured market rental building is planned.

It will be constructed with a concrete parkade and main floor, with the top five floors being wood frame construction. Three ground floor retail units will front onto Commercial Drive.

The development will be built to a Passive House (Passivhaus) standard, and will consume up to 90 per cent less heating and cooling energy over a conventional building.

As commonplace in Passive House buildings, heat recovery ventilators will supply fresh air to living and sleeping areas, and will continuously exhaust bathroom and kitchen areas. Because of this, the building will be designated non-smoking for all tenants as part of the tenancy agreement. All toilets, showers and washing machines will be low flow. Tenants will be provided an information package on Passive House buildings at move-in.

The façade of the building will consist of brick on the bottom two floors, and siding on the upper levels. Balcony glass will be fritted and feature accent colours.

815-825 Commercial Drive and 1680 Adanac Street rendering — A six-storey rental apartment building constructed to Passive House standards is proposed for the corner of Commercial Drive and Adanac Street. Credit: Cornerstone Architecture/City of Vancouver

Two amenity rooms will be available for residents, one on the main floor with a patio and play area for children, and the other on the fifth floor, adjacent to a rooftop deck for all residents.

The architect is Cornerstone Architecture.

The site is next to the Kettle Friendship Society. The society is planning to redevelop their property in partnership with Boffo Properties, with the hopes of adding between 150 to 200 market residential units and 30 social housing units run by the Kettle Friendship Society. The redevelopment will also add new space for the society’s programs and services.

Rendering of the proposed development by Boffo and the Kettle Friendship Society. Credit: The Kettle Boffo Project

A few blocks north, Cressey is planning a four-storey mixed use building at the corner of Commercial Drive and East Pender Street, combining rental units, condominiums, office and retail space.

Commercial Pender Cressey drawing — Drawing of Cressey’s mixed-use residential and commercial proposal at Commercial Drive and East Pender Street. Credit: City of Vancouver/Gair Williamson Architect Inc.

Passive House rental apartment building planned for East Hastings Street

March 20, 2018 By Peter Meiszner Leave a Comment

A six-storey rental apartment building built to Passive House (Passivhaus) standards is proposed for East Hastings Street near the Vancouver-Burnaby border.

Cornerstone Architecture has applied to the city to rezone a mid-block lot at 3435 East Hastings Street.

The new building will include 45 secured market rental units, 2,712 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, and 28 underground parking spaces.

The unit mix will be as follows:

13 studios
16 1-bed units
10 2-bed units
six 3-bed units

Common areas will include an outdoor amenity space with children’s play area on level two. There will also be a roof garden.

The façade on the ground floor will be clad in brick, and cementitious siding will be used on the remainder of the building.

Passive House rental apartments Vancouver East Hastings — Rendering of building frontage on East Hastings Street, east of the Cassiar Connector. Credit: City of Vancouver/Cornerstone Architecture

Passive House buildings designed to be energy efficient

Passive House or Passivhaus buildings consume up to 90 per cent less heating and cooling energy than a traditional building.

It’s a standard that was developed in Europe but is growing in popularity in North America, especially in Vancouver, where the city has aggressive climate protection goals.

In a Passive House building, the primary goal is to achieve a well-insulated and tightly sealed building envelope. Fresh air is introduced through a high-efficiency heat recovery ventilation system (HRV).

Waste during building construction will be minimized, as the building will be framed with pre-cut studs for exterior walls, and pre-cut floor systems. 75 per cent of waste generated during construction will be diverted.