New renderings of the approved 32-storey office tower in downtown Vancouver
A development application has been submitted for the redevelopment of 1166 West Pender Street in downtown Vancouver into a new 396-ft-tall, 32-storey office tower.
This follows Vancouver City Council’s approval of the proposal’s rezoning almost exactly a year ago. It will replace the existing 15-storey tower that was previously the longtime home of Canada Revenue Agency.
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Reliance Properties’ latest application includes new artistic renderings showing the architectural design in greater detail.
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
“The shape and form of the tower are directly informed by the surrounding buildings and the limitations of the site. Convex and concave exterior walls respond to the contours of the adjacent buildings to form an undulating body wrapped in ceramic-fritted curtain wall glazing. A curved white glass curtain wall affords unobstructed views and establishes a distinct character and impressive presence,” reads the design rationale by Hariri Pontarini Architects.
“The architectural language of the descending wedge meets at a point and runs down the entire height of the building, tying the top of the tower to the base.”
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
The tower’s uppermost floors are wedge-shaped to address the municipal government’s concerns with the building’s shadowing of a small area on the perimeter of Harbour Green Park, located two blocks north. This sloping facade, which faces north, will have special lighting to enhance the skyline.
In a previous interview, Reliance Properties’ president and CEO, Jon Stovell, told Daily Hive Urbanized his company would have pursued a 550-ft-tall office tower — meeting the ceiling of the city’s General Policy for Higher Buildings height limit — if it were not for city staff’s concerns on the park’s solar access. This amounts to an office floor area loss of about 150,000 sq. ft., enough workspace for approximately 1,000 people.
Instead, the redevelopment will offer 361,300 sq. ft. of total floor area, including retail space on the ground level and a level of amenity space for office workers. The floor space ratio density is 19.4 times the size of the 18,600-sq-ft, mid-block lot.
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
Six underground levels will offer 130 vehicle parking stalls and 242 bike parking spaces.
Across the laneway, just south of the development site, is the under-construction 1133 Melville Street office tower by Oxford Properties. This will be downtown Vancouver’s tallest office tower, with a height of 530 ft and 36 storeys.
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
July 2020 artistic rendering of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)
Diagram of 1166 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Reliance Properties)