1059-1075 Nelson Street
It is rare that Vancouver ever gets to claim the tallest of any type of structure due to the significant height restrictions over the Downtown Peninsula. Despite being the heart of Canada’s third largest urban area, our tallest building, Living Shangri-La, does not even crack the top thirty in the country. With sizable towers in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and two planned in Burnaby, things have certainly changed since 1912 when our ~82 meter Sun Tower was the tallest in the country.
However, instead of merely striving for height, our city set its targets on creating a livable, environmentally sustainable urban environment for all income levels. Which is why, despite the recent approval of the world’s tallest passive house, another taller one is already being proposed here. Though it will not be among the top 60 tallest buildings in Canada, its design will easily be one of the best.
The materials proposed to clad it are of equally high quality, as they will be comprised of aluminium panelling treated to prevent glare, and solar responsive glass. The later is key to the project achieving its passive house targets, and will likely resemble the new Industrial Alliance office building at Oak and Broadway. This should also help the wavy design stand out more, though the trees along its spine will help too.
Regrettably, those waves do not carry down to the ground level. While one might assume the applicant is just cutting costs on this portion as it will provide below-market housing, in reality it was a decision forced by Vancouver’s Planning Department. Simply put, they wanted to give the 108 year old, Washinton Court apartments a bit more breathing room.
That might not be the only changes the Planning Department demands, as I learned there was some concern about the bulky appearance the waves have created. Though not required by policy, there was debate on whether it was okay for this form to cast a slight shadow on Nelson Park at around 8am in the Spring and Fall. That seems unfair to the design team, as the rules only prohibit shadowing on parks after 9am, something this proposal avoids.
Community input will likely determine this aspect’s fate, and there was a lot of it, as over 70 people came by in the first twenty minutes. Unsurprisingly, most were from the 8 year old Patina tower, who were also opposed to the nearby Butterfly, and 1040-1080 Barclay Street proposal. One even interrupted Darren’s conversation with a city staff member, and when Darren tried to interject, he was told in less polite terms to buzz off, as they remembered him from a previous event.
Sadly, as city staff are forced to respond to these loud, angry voices, those who are supportive or curious are unintentionally neglected as a result. This is a fault in the consultation process itself, not with these professionals, as even the head of the planning department Gil Kelley was in attendance, trying to address the concerns of the roughly 175 people who came out that night.
Many of them actually support the application because of its social benefit as, in addition to 323 strata and 49 rental homes, another 113 will be given over to the city for use as social housing. Others were wowed by the design, and some were there to support its high level of sustainability. No matter your thoughts, it is clear they not only matter, but that they influence this project too. Make sure they are heard by leaving them here.
City Duo 
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