Rarely do we find our gaze drawn to the west coast by exceptionally interesting high-rise architecture.  Don’t get us wrong — we love the boutique style that downtown Vancouver has; it allows for everyone in the city to enjoy their breathtaking views of the mountains and ocean. But Vancitybuzz is reporting that a very “daring” high-rise design has been proposed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) Architects for the corner of Beach and Howe.

The proposed development is a 49-storey residential tower, rising from a nine-storey podium, and is basically a rectangular version of Cityzen and Fernbrook’s Absolute towers in Mississauga.  The tower will twist as it rises from a triangular base, making it stand out greatly from the rest of the buildings in the area.  The high-rise portion will be comprised of residential space, while the podium will contain rental residential units, commercial space, and a childcare facility.

The other part of the development on the Granville and Pacific Street side will be a six-storey building, consisting of retail space, a grocery store, a drugstore, a liquor store, and some office space.

The entire project area intends to cover 653,046 square feet; 424,800 being residential and 68,245 being rentals.  Overall, there will be 600 units, 180 rentals, 713 parking spaces, and 270 bicycle spots.

There is no doubt that this is a fascinating design, much like the rest of BIG’s work, but the truly interesting aspect is the height of the tower.  There are only a few other buildings in Vancouver’s downtown core that will rival 49 storeys.  The Beach and Howe development will be the tallest in the south end of downtown, and fourth-tallest in the city — that is, until the Ritz Carlton goes up, bumping it down to fifth.  With the Ritz Carlton coming soon, and this newly proposed Beach and Howe development, might this be the beginning of a high-rise surge in Vancouver?  Height is obviously an issue when building in downtown Vancouver because of their beautiful views that nobody wants blocked, but with Vancouver real estate growing in popularity, is it becoming necessary to build taller?  The lack of available residential space is probably one of the major reasons for the high prices the city is witnessing.

It seems as though Vancouver is going to need to make a choice soon: start building higher to accommodate the rising population, or continue to raise prices and make it an exclusive city in which to live.

What do you think?

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