© Nigel Young

Architects: Foster + Partners
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Co-architects: Walter Francl Architects Inc
Consultants: Yolles, Vermeulens Cost Consultants, Imec Mechanical Ltd., PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc., Claude Engle Lighting Consultant, Bridge Electric Corp., Imec Mechanical Ltd., Piers Heath Associates, Robert Lemon Architect Inc.
Client: Jameson House Ventures Inc, Pappajohns (previous client)
Year: 2004-2011
Photographs: Nigel Young / © Foster and Partners

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Courtesy of Acton Ostry Architects

Architects: Acton Ostry Architects Inc
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Size: 32,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2008
Photographs: Courtesy of Acton Ostry Architects

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© Bob Matheson

Architects: Acton Ostry Architects Inc
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 14,000 square feet
Completion: 2009
Photographs: Courtesy of Acton Ostry Architects

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© Nic Lehoux

Architects: Acton Ostry Architects Inc
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 40,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2009
Photographs: Nic Lehoux

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Courtesy of City of Vancouver

re:CONNECT open ideas competition invites the citizens of Vancouver, to join with local and international designers to ignite discussion and dream new possibilities for the future of the Viaducts and the City’s broader Eastern Core. The utility and necessity of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts has been an issue of polarized debate since they were reconstructed in their present form in the late 1960s. As the first piece of a larger freeway system that was planned but never realized, they stand as a symbol of an era of city-building that thankfully never more-fully materialized.

The future of the viaducts should be contemplated in the context of the broader Eastern Core of our city, which includes the strategically important industrial lands of the False Creek Flats. How we connect the downtown and Eastern Core is crucial to how our city functions and its economic future. More information on the competition after the break. read more »

© Peter Eckert

Architect: Scott | Edwards Architects
Location: Vancouver, Washington, USA
Project Team: Rick Berry, Kelly Edwards, Jason Wesolowski
Landscape Architect: Shapiro Didway
Contractor: Hammer &Hand
Project Area: 1,988 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Peter Eckert

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© Nic Lehoux

The new Rennie Art Gallery and Office project is a quiet, modern insertion within an extensive heritage revitalization of a pair of masonry buildings in Vancouver’s Chinatown. The project combines a 6-story tall laneway brick building with a 3-story street-front brick building dating to the late 1880’s.

Architect: Walter Francl Architects with mgb
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Project Architect: Walter Francl Architects: Walter Francl, MAIBC Project Architect; Scott Mitchell, MAIBC; Mark Ashby, MAIBC; Vince Knudsen, IA; Hazen Sise, MAIBC
Interior Architect: mcfarlane | green | biggar Architecture + Design Inc (mgb): Michelle Biggar, BBE Interior Design, Principal; Michael Green, MAIBC AIA AAA MRAIC, Principal; Steve McFarlane, MAIBC AAA MRAIC LEED® AP, Principal; Susan Scott, Associate; Tracey Mactavish, MAIBC, MRAIC. LEED® AP, Associate
Landscape Architect: Jonathan Losee Ltd.
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Nic Lehoux

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© Benjamin Benschneider

The new Vancouver Community Library in Vancouver, Washington, designed by The Miller Hull Partnership, recently opened to the public. With an almost 200-foot long, four-story atrium welcoming visitors to this new civic gathering space, the light-filled space features a sculptural concrete stair uniting the library’s five floors. A 50-foot high “Knowledge Wall” installation symbolizes the collection of information and ideas in the building. “The main goal was to create a new center for the community, ” said Adin Dunning, the lead architect for the library project who also grew up in Vancouver. “It was about bringing new users into the library and expanding what the library had to offer. The atrium space connects the program together and differentiates this building from any other building in the city.”

Architect: The Miller Hull Partnership
Location: Vancouver, Washington, USA
Project Area: 80,000 sqf
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Benjamin Benschneider

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Presented by the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and Architecture Canada | RAIC the 2011 Festival of Architecture will take place May 24 to 27th in Vancouver, Canada.

The 2011 Festival of Architecture, will take a sharp look at the cutting edge of change and the ways in which the profession continues to push envelopes. Over four days, this event will bring together architects and allied professionals from around the province and across the country to explore best practices, new challenges, and innovative ways in which architects are leaving their indelible mark on our built and natural environments.

Participants will also explore West Coast approaches to place- and space-making: how the perspective from the Western edge of Canada lends itself to a global view for positive change.

© Lucas Finlay

This single-family residence in the Dunbar neighborhood of Vancouver was designed by Frits de Vries Architect both as a home for the clients, as well as a demonstration suite for their sustainable home building and renovation company. The home is the first LEED Platinum home certified by LEED for Homes in Western Canada and was recently honored with a 2011 RAIC Award of Excellence for Green Building.

Architect: Frits de Vries Architect Ltd.
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Project Team: Frits de Vries (MAIBC, MRAIC), Patrick Warren
Structural Engineer: Equilibrium Consulting Inc.
Builder: Galen Evans, Natural Balance Home Builders Inc.
Landscape Design: Claire Kennedy Design
Interior Design: Patrick Warren
Sustainable Building Advisor: Orianne Johnson, Frits de Vries Architect Ltd.
Green Rating/Energy Model: Troy Glasner, E3 Ecogroup
LEED Service Provider: Andriana Beauchemin, E3 Ecogroup
Project Area: 3,068
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Lucas Finlay and Courtesy of Frits de Vries Architect

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© Nic Lehoux

Situated on Vancouver’s waterfront with spectacular views of mountains, ocean, and parks, the Vancouver Convention Centre West is designed to bring together the natural ecology, vibrant local culture, and built environment, accentuating their interrelationships through the architecture. Opened in April 2009, the Convention Centre West expansion facility triples the total square footage and functional capacity as well as completes the development of the public realm on the waterfront.

Seattle-based LMN, in collaboration with Vancouver-based Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership and DA Architects & Planners, designed the Vancouver Convention Centre West as a compelling vision of what a civic building can be—a celebration of people and place and a model of sustainability. The project achieved LEED® Canada Platinum certification, the first convention center to gain such recognition in the world, and recently received a COTE 2011 Top Ten Green Project Award.

Architects: LMN, DA Architects & Planners, Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership (MCM)
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Project Owner: BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo)
Project Area: 1.2 million sqf
Project Year: 2009
Renderings and Drawings: LMN, LMN/Studio
Photographs: Nic Lehoux

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© Nic Lehoux

The Sunset Community Centre was conceived as a link between nature and the vibrant multi-cultural communities that surround it. Unique yet not foreign to its surroundings, Sunset Community Centre is an elegant and transparent building, carefully sited on a major thoroughfare to give the building visibility and accessibility to the community. The back and sides of the building serve as a background for outdoor activities with its spectacular southern views and setting among the fields, greenhouses and planting beds of the adjacent Vancouver Park Board site.

Architect: Bing Thom Architects
Location: 6810 Main Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Project Team: Michael Heeney, John Camfield Venelin Kokalov, Francis Yan, Arno Matis, Eric Boelling, Shinobu Homma, Marcos Hui
Structure Engineer: Gerry Epp & John Miller, Fast + Epp / StructureCraft
Mechanical/Electrical Engineer: Jason Weir, Roger Sum, Stantec
Landscape Architect: Blair Guppy, Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
Builder: Peter Bazilewich & Alex Strega, Haebler Construction
Code Equivalency: Ken Chow & Susana Chui, Pioneer Consultants
Cost: George Evans, LEC Quantity Surveyors
Parking: David Tam, Bunt & Associates
Acoustics: Bob Strachan, Brown Strachan Associates
Commissioning: Kevin May, Airmec Systems
Geotechnical/Civil Engineer: Steven Fofonoff, GeoPacific Consultants
Project Area: 30,000 sqf
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Nic Lehoux, Ergi Bozyigit

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© Andrew Doran Photography, Photo Courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects

The Ontario Pavilion for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games was designed as a physical and experiential gateway to Ontario. The pavilion provided a unique impression of Ontario’s lively character and had over 170,000 visitors. With an exterior translucent screen projecting varying degrees of visibility, the structure prompted visitors to shift their perception of what defines transparency.

Architects: Hariri Pontarini Architects
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Partner-in-Charge: Siamak Hariri
Collaborators: Lord Cultural Resources, Ellis Don Corporation, Nussli Event Construction, Infinite Stage Design, Iredale Group
Project Area: 14,600 sqf
Photographs: Andrew Doran Photography, Hariri Pontarini Architects

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© Hubert Kang

This LEED Silver project is the Vancouver office of Hughes Condon Marler Architects (HCMA). Natural light and outside views for every worker in the open-plan studio provides psychological benefit, while natural ventilation decreases costly dependence on HVAC equipment. The double-height studio with clerestory windows fills the space with a warm glow of sunlight, while a filter-coating added to the windows reduces glare on computer monitors.

Project description, drawings and images after the break.

Architect: Hughes Condon Marler Architects (HCMA)
Location: 1508 West 2nd Ave, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Project Area: 300 sqm
Project Year: 2005
Photographs: Hubert Kang

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© Hubert Kang

The design for the West Vancouver Community Centre involved a set of ambitious design goals. The client wished to consolidate a number of disparate facilities, to provide a front door to their recreation campus, and to take an aggressive approach to social health and environmental innovation. The project’s technical and administrative challenges came to define the Centre’s role in West Vancouver’s distinctly West Coast social fabric. This is a culture that enjoys a strong tradition of both civic activity and physical wellness. The preeminent architectural elements in the project, the three-storey atrium and the circulation spine, reflect these traditions.

Architect: Hughes Condon Marler Architects (HCMA)
Location: 2121 Marine Drive West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Project Area: 8,000 sqm
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Hubert Kang and Lucas Finlay

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© Shai Gil Photography

The new Langara Student Union is designed as a focal point and center of the main quad at Langara College. It flows out from between two existing buildings bringing students from the 49th Street entrance into the heart of the campus and public square – drawing life into the outdoor space.

Architects: Teeple Architects Inc in association with IBI/HB Architects
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Principal in Charge: Stephen Teeple (OAA, FRAIC )
Project Team: Myles Craig, Luc Bouliane, William Elsworthy, Rob Cheung, Jeff Christiansen, Billy Quan, Martin Bruckner
Structural: WSB
Mechanical: IMEC Mechanical
Electrical: Genivar
Geo-Tech: Geo Pacific
LEED: Enermodal Engineers
Landscape: Francesco Martire – Teeple Architects Inc
Envelope: Morrison Hershfield
Food Service & Waste: Teeple Architects Inc
Cost: Bird Construction Company
Code: LMDG
Construction Manager: Bird Construction Company
Owner: Langara College
Project Area: 17,900 sqf
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Shai Gil Photography

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Our friends at goodweather are working on a documentary and an exhibition about the Vancouver-based architect Daniel Evan White. His work will be featured in a major retrospective upcoming at the Museum of Vancouver on February 2012. There’s a trailer for the documentary now that we want to share with you. See more about Dan White right here.

© Shai Gil Photography

From the project’s inception, Langara College was looking to address the educational and spatial needs of the school, as well as create a sustainable environment to incorporate the new Library and Classroom program. In addition to designing the building, Teeple Architects designed a master plan that offers a strategy to realize the environmentally responsible vision of the College’s future. The decision to create a LEED Gold Campus, supported by sustainable built and natural features, was the starting point for the overall Langara scheme.

Architect: Teeple Architects
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Principal in Charge & Project Architect: Stephen Teeple (OAA, FRAIC)
Project Team: Cheryl Atkinson, Myles Craig, Luc Bouliane
Associate Architect: IBI/HB Architects
Structural Engineer: Glotman, Simpson
Landscape Architect: Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
Mechanical Engineer: Cobalt Engineering
Electrical Engineer: Spantek
General Contractor: Bird Construction
Project Area: 80,000 sqf
Project Year 2007
Photographs: Shai Gil Photography

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© Farah Nosh

Architects: Bricault design
Location: Vancouver BC, Canada
Project area: 124 sqm
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Farah Nosh

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Marianne Amodio Architecture Studio

Architects: Marianne Amodio Architecture Studio
Location: Vancouver BC, Canada
General contractor: Woodworks Custom Developments
Project area: 6,500 sq. ft.
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Courtesy of Marianne Amodio Architecture Studio

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