Vancouver-based Henriquez Partners Architects has had plans approved for a major mixed-use development in the city comprising four towers. Among them is a 1,033-foot structure that would become Western Canada’s tallest building and the city’s first supertall tower.
Image courtesy of Holborn Group
Designed for developer Holborn Group, the proposal spans three sites at 501 and 595 West Georgia Street and 388 Abbott Street, connecting Vancouver’s central business district with the Downtown Eastside. More than three million square feet of development would accommodate housing, hotel, retail, conference, cultural, and public uses.
Image courtesy of Holborn Group
Three towers are proposed across two blocks on West Georgia Street, rising between 774 and 1,033 feet. The tallest would contain a hotel and feature a diagrid exoskeleton developed with structural engineer Arup, allowing for column-free interior spaces. Meanwhile, a 300-foot residential building at 388 Abbott Street would be provided to the City of Vancouver.
Image courtesy of Holborn Group
The design of the scheme is inspired by sea sponge reefs found off British Columbia’s coast. The concept informs the buildings’ silhouettes, structural systems, and sculptural balconies, while also providing a metaphor for their environmental strategy.
Image courtesy of Holborn Group
The development would provide 1,783 homes, comprising 1,270 market condominiums, 276 rental homes, and 237 non-market rental units. The Abbott Street building would also include a 37-space childcare facility and a 5,000-square-foot Indigenous art gallery.
Other components include a 920-room hotel, 70,000 square feet of conference facilities, more than 64,000 square feet of retail, and a public plaza along Georgia Street.
A publicly accessible observation deck with landscape design by PFS Studio is planned atop the tallest tower.