Designed by Henriquez Partners Architects on behalf of the Holborn Group, the development spans three sites at 501 and 595 West Georgia Street and 388 Abbott Street. The project is intended to help bridge Vancouver\u2019s central business district with the Downtown Eastside area.<\/p>\n
In total, four towers are proposed. Three would rise along West Georgia Street, ranging in height from 783 feet to 1,033 feet, while a fourth tower on Abbott Street is planned at 402 feet tall. The tallest structure would be a stand-alone hotel located at 595 West Georgia Street.<\/p>\n
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Henriquez Partners Architects said the project challenges conventional ideas.<\/p>\n
“The project redefines public benefit in high-density urban development,” the firm said in a statement. “At the top of the hotel tower\u2014space typically reserved for private use\u2014a publicly accessible observation deck designed by PFS Studio\u2014 envisioned as a \u2018forest in the sky\u2019\u2014offers panoramic views of the city, mountains, and ocean.”<\/p>\n
That elevated green space is positioned as a key feature of the hotel tower, placing public access and nature at a height rarely available to the wider community. Rather than reserving the uppermost levels for exclusive amenities, the design<\/a> allocates one of the building\u2019s most dramatic vantage points to public use.<\/p>\n Architecturally, the hotel tower is defined by what the firm described as an “iconic structural diagrid exoskeleton.” According to Henriquez Partners Architects, this system allows for column-free interiors while maximizing strength and minimizing material use. Developed in collaboration with engineering firm Arup, the structural concept draws inspiration from an unusual source.<\/p>\n “The structural system references the skeletal lattice of sea sponges\u2014a concept researched at Harvard for its groundbreaking structural efficiency,” the firm said. The design approach uses this natural model to inform both the form and performance of the tower.<\/p>\n That connection to the natural environment was a guiding theme throughout the project, according to the architects. A spokesperson for Henriquez Partners Architects told Newsweek that inspiration was drawn directly from British Columbia\u2019s landscape and ecology. According to the company, the collective goal and vision for this project has always centered on “celebrating the historical, cultural, and natural landscape of Vancouver and British Columbia.”<\/p>\n Gregory Henriquez, principal architect at Henriquez Partners Architects, said the architectural language of the towers tells a distinctly local story.<\/p>\n “The architectural expression of the project tells a story that is unique to British Columbia and inspired by rare and ancient glass sea sponge reefs\u2014living structures found off the BC coast that demonstrate strength and adaptability,” Henriquez told Newsweek. He added that the metaphor is reflected not only in the silhouette and sculptural form of the tallest tower, but also in its environmental performance toward a net-zero carbon operation.<\/p>\n “Informed by the sea sponge\u2019s structural ingenuity and ecological purpose, the towers offer a uniquely Vancouver expression of sustainability, beauty, and vertical urbanism,” he said.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-View-of-Commercial-and-Residential-Towers-from-Seymour-and-W-Georgia-St-Holborn-Group.jpg\"\/)
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