Proposed Laneway Design at 54th and Cambie Street

Dec 19 2017, 9:47 pm

Design proposal along the Cambie Corridor will include an interesting laneway concept finished in wood frame construction designed to LEED Gold standards.

The building design consists of two 6 storey buildings along Cambie street and 54th Ave. At the back lane will include a two storey townhome and one amenity building.  These buildings combined together are designed in wood frame construction.  The choice of material is intended to be durable, energy efficient and affordable. Wood frame provides good energy performance and a lower carbon footprint than concrete construction.

Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

Ultimately, the design proposal will change zoning from residential to Comprehensive Development. The proposal includes:

  • 74 residential units
  • Max building height of 22.3 m (73 ft.)
  • 84 underground parking spaces
  • 102 bicycle parking spots

Constituents discuss the potential opportunities at a community open house set on Thursday, January 29, 2015, at the Peretz Centre (6184 Ash Street).   This proposal runs with the Cambie Corridor Planning Program, which will foster critical design in building blocks of sustainability.  Also, there is a strong focus on integration of the built form  to facilitate greater land use density and amenities.

The design shows a continuous garden wall that runs along the laneway edge, linking laneway structures and providing views into the courtyard. One lane home is expressed as a horizontal form resting atop the garden wall. The amenity building is provided with direct laneway access.

Image: City of Vancouver

Image: City of Vancouver

The buildings are both defined by rigorously ordered brick street walls. The southern building façade takes on a grid form with slightly horizontal proportions, highlighted by a wraparound opening at the important corner of Cambie Street and 54th Avenue.

The frame of the northern building has a vertical orientation. A secondary and supporting finer scale is incorporated into both frameworks through the use of perforated metal panels, either as an element of the window openings (both buildings) or as a facing layer to balconies (north building only).

Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

The masonry frame of the southern building extends 5 stories to recognize the importance of this corner, with the top floor expressed through the use of a visually lighter clapboard finish, increased glazing and a stepback implied through the design of the balconies.

The north building follows the 2 storey step-back more typical of the Cambie corridor and strong horizontal roof lines cap both buildings. At the Laneway, the 2 storey portion of the south building, the amenity building and townhouse use the same palette of forms and materials in a way that echoes the design of the front facades, however taking a more relaxed approach to the ordering principles.

Featured Image: City of Vancouver Rezoning

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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