New renderings of tree-inspired condo and rental tower in downtown Vancouver | Daily Hive

2022 revised design of 1450 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Yamamoto Architecture/Wesgroup Properties)

Big revisions have been made to the design of the future 49-storey condominium and rental housing tower replacing the Georgian Towers building in downtown Vancouver.

Wesgroup Properties’ rezoning for the project was approved by Vancouver City Council in October 2021, and a newly submitted development permit application shows a highly refined design that adds more architectural motifs to establish a visually distinct tree-inspired concept.

The previous concept by Yamamoto Architecture for 1450 West Georgia Street during the rezoning process carried a more conventional, boxy design, while their latest revised design in the building permit process aligns more with the cluster of unique new architectural designs emerging in the vicinity of the area of West Georgia Street and Nicola Street.

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The tower’s podium base has now been completely redesigned with a sweeping, curving form that resembles the roots of a tree. The curving form also establishes a covered outdoor plaza, which can double as patio space for a restaurant unit — one of the two commercial retail spaces fronting West Georgia Street. Other uses contained within the podium include an indoor swimming pool and lounge.

Previous rezoning design:

Previous rezoning design of 1450 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Yamamoto Architecture/Wesgroup Properties)

Newly revised building permit design:

1450 west georgia street vancouver 2022 design

2022 revised design of 1450 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Yamamoto Architecture/Wesgroup Properties)

The rooftop of the roots-inspired podium doubles as the “raised forest floor,” which will be a dense, landscaped outdoor amenity space for residents. A permeable rainwater system coupled with significant soil volumes will allow the planting of trees. Additional indoor amenity space on this third level opens up to this forest-inspired outdoor amenity space.

Rising above the podium, the tower now carries a far more pronounced tree-inspired design, with the previous boxy design now replaced by an irregular form to resemble the tree trunk, branches, and the top of the tree. The tower’s facade will also receive a special metal paneling system to give the exterior a bark-like texture appearance.

A three-storey void in the mid-section of the tower resembles a “nest burrowed into the side of a tree,” containing additional indoor and outdoor amenity spaces.

2022 revised design of 1450 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Yamamoto Architecture/Wesgroup Properties)

The revised concept also fulfills the previous promise made during rezoning to integrate certain elements from the existing 1956-built Georgian Towers building, which previously saw hotel uses before its ultimate reconversion into apartments in the mid-1970s.

This includes a recreation of the building’s heritage “Welcome to Friendly Vancouver” sign at ground level using stone cladding, and the installation of a plaque commemorating the original Georgian Towers building and Lounge.

On the east side of the property line, the tower is setback to establish a mid-block, north-south publicly accessible pedestrian pathway between West Georgia and Alberni streets.

2022 revised design of 1450 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Yamamoto Architecture/Wesgroup Properties)

This 476-ft-tall tower will contain 135 condominium homes above the “nest” and 162 secured rental homes below. The rental housing component is a one-for-one replacement of the rental apartments of the existing Georgian Towers building.

Seven underground levels will provide 235 vehicle parking stalls and 673 secured bike parking spaces for residents.

The total floor area is 286,000 sq ft, representing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 14 times larger than the size of the lot.

Site of 1450 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

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