1550 Alberni
Vancouver, Canada
The design of 1550 Alberni Street is shaped by its environment: the 43-storey tower is carved by two emphatic scoops that form deep balconies furnished in wood. In both instances, the carvings create semienclosures that strengthen the building’s relationship with its urban and geographical context while optimizing daylighting and neighbouring views.
Credits
Client
Westbank Development
Area
25255 m²
Status
Under Construction
Urban Concept Diagrams
The architecture is formed by preserving the view corridors and minimising its daylight impact to its surrounding context. Because of the way the otherwise orthogonal tower is carved, its silhouette constantly changes, creating illusionary profiles of arching cantilevers. The reality is far more structured as the carved deductions are diagonally symmetrical, the lower portion helping to counterbalance the hanging volume above.
1:500 Study model - Structural Rationale
Level 41 - Penthouse Floor Plan
Framed by the horizontal and vertical elements of the building, the distant scenery is “borrowed” to strengthen the presence of nature. By blurring the limits of the scenery, an illusion of a continuous, expansive garden is created.
All units are designed with this concept in mind. The minimal frame, full height glazed façades allow each unit to have a unique view, a ‘‘borrowed scenery’ out towards English Bay along the North coast.
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We acknowledge we are on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.