UDP Approves of New Vancouver Gateway Tower – Taller is Simply Better

601 Beach It may have only been three week ago, but this meeting of the Urban Design Panel seems a lot longer ago to me. That may be because 4 guest architects joined the usual panelists to form a so called “Super” meeting. Their mission was to review a building that hopes to become the...

No to a Gateway, No to Paid Parking, and No to Affordability – A Thumb is Placed on the Scales of Community Consultation

601 Beach When Darren and I attended the pre-application event for Vancouver's newest gateway tower, we noted how the opposition was divided; there were competing factions who were happy to block the others' view, if it preserved their own. That changed by this open house, as these groups seem to have coalesced around a “throw everything and...

12 Minutes of Daylight Savings Time Could Wipe Away Millions of Dollars of Job Space from Vancouver

1133 Melville When City Council approved the rezoning for Vancouver's tallest office building, there was a condition that some of the height would be shaved off to avoid casting shadows on a tree covered area of Harbour Green Park. Now submitted as a development application, the proposal complied with that demand, trimming 27 feet off...

Vancouver’s New Gateway Tower Dances Around Clumsy Opposition

601 Beach We recently shared the pre-application notice, along with some early info, about Vancouver's newest iconic tower proposal. Since then, there has been plenty of coverage about the renderings, and some other basic information, but nothing about the mood of the open house, or the finer details of the proposal. I guess it's a...

An Open House with the Future Tallest Office Building in Vancouver

1133 Melville - Open House  I arrived shortly after 5 pm, missing the crowd. By this time all of the really tasty treats were gone, but there was still a variety of cheeses and nuts on hand. The conference across the hall did have Thai-chicken skewers, but I didn't feel tempted enough to sneak any...