Bocci to build new seven-storey headquarters in Vancouver

Artistic rendering of Bocci's future 86 HQ at 1490 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Mallen Gowing Berzins Architecture)

A new seven-storey, mixed-use office and industrial building in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood will serve as the new office headquarters and manufacturing hub of Bocci.

The Vancouver-based firm specializes in the design and fabrication of high-quality sculptural lighting installations, and its work can be found both locally and around the world, including at museums and high-end hotels.

According to a new development permit application filed to the City of Vancouver, Mallen Gowing Berzins Architecture is seeking to redevelop 1490 East Georgia Street — the southwest corner of the intersection of McLean Drive and East Georgia Street, immediately west of Woodland Park — into the new Bocci building. The company is currently based in Railtown.

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86 HQ, the name of the building, will contain 13,500 sq ft of office space, 34,600 sq ft of light manufactural space, including a gallery area, and a 3,300 sq ft ground-level restaurant. The total floor area will reach about 51,500 sq ft.

The first two floors would feature an interconnected glass atelier, studio, office, warehouse, production facility, prototyping area, and archive.

1490 East Georgia Street Vancouver Bocci Headquarters 86 HQ

Artistic rendering of Bocci’s future 86 HQ at 1490 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Mallen Gowing Berzins Architecture)

By “lifting” the manufacturing facility uses of the lower levels, the ground level will “house a public-oriented program” to connect the neighbourhood and activate the frontage with the adjacent public park.

This is anything but a conventional industrial building for the area; the building will use a newly refined construction technique of a concrete pour over a “fabric formwork,” which conceals the facade through a web-like concrete membrane.

Both the building facade and rooftop will be covered by local plants to provide a bird-friendly environment.

Private outdoor amenity residents for Bocci workers are provided as balconies on the exterior of the building and on the rooftop, which also includes an extensive green space.

Artistic rendering of Bocci’s future 86 HQ at 1490 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Mallen Gowing Berzins Architecture)

“Our unparalleled experience with concrete fabric forming from past projects places us in a unique position to advance this technique on a larger scale with the aim of creating world-class architecture in Vancouver,” reads the architect’s design rationale.

“The building’s combination of durable materials juxtaposed with plantings creates a dynamic aesthetic that changes throughout the season and as the building matures.”

Bocci’s new facility will be one of the first fully electric glass shops in North America, moving away from the typical use of natural gas. Its green building design features include heating and cooling through the use of displacement ventilation, geothermal energy, and heat recovery and heat reclamation from the glass furnaces.

It is anticipated the excess heat from the building’s industrial equipment — in combination with the geothermal system — will be sufficient to heat the entire building throughout the year.

Example of Bocci sculptural lighting designs. (Bocci)

Four underground levels will accommodate 83 vehicle parking stalls. Due to spatial constraints, the bottom two underground levels — P3 and P4 — will be accessed by car elevator only.

Currently, the development site is occupied by a 1951-built, single-storey building previously home to a car repair business.

Site of Bocci’s future 86 HQ at 1490 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

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