‘Ephemeral’ design sets tower apart
Residential building awaiting city approval
Reflective shingles on the facade of a proposed new residential tower on the West Georgia corridor are intended to make the building as ephemeral as possible, according to the Japanese architect who designed the building.
Kengo Kuma designed the 43-storey tower at 1550 Alberni St. with two deep recesses or scoops that set it apart from the traditional rectangular cuboid form of highrise towers.
“We wanted to respect our neighbouring towers by recessing our tower as much as possible,” Kuma said in an email interview.
“Not only does this preserve their views, but also creates an urban space, which in turn becomes the main entrance to the tower. The design is therefore based on an urban strategy that aims to improve the city and its relation to nature.”
Kuma is one of Japan’s leading architects. His design was recently chosen for Tokyo Stadium for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The tower at Alberni and Cardero streets will be his first major residential tower in North America.
Kuma will speak Tuesday at Small to Large, a sold-out event at the Chan Centre at the University of B.C.
Kuma’s Vancouver tower is being built by Westbank Projects Corp. whose other Vancouver buildings include the Telus Garden on West Georgia and Vancouver House, under construction beside the Granville Street Bridge. The project is still a proposal as city council hasn’t yet approved rezoning for the site.
Kuma’s work is celebrated worldwide, said Westbank president Ian Gillespie.
“As city-builders, I believe our firm has a tremendous responsibility to contribute meaningful buildings to our city — creating ‘special moments’ of architecture in the city,” Gillespie said in a news release.
“As with his other projects, there is a lightness and openness to his Vancouver design.”
Kuma said the tower’s form is intended to relate to the natural surroundings of Vancouver, including views of the mountains, tree-lined streets and the proximity of the waterfront.
“The light in Vancouver is beautiful because it is gentle and fleeting,” he said. “We want to respond to the subtle qualities of light and create a facade that would disappear and reappear like clouds.”
He said the shingled panels will create soft, blurred reflections on the facade.
The building’s balconies will be made of wood. Kuma said he likes to use wood because of its warmth as a material. Using it on balconies will give “each unit the feeling of being close to the ground, and to nature.”
Describing the scoops out of the volume as “deductions,” Kuma said they also create a connection to the ground, which will be filled with a Japanese moss garden with a wood ceiling.
“At a larger scale, this deduction frames views along the street and creates a symbolic portal to the downtown area,” he said.
“The materiality — wood balconies and ephemeral facade — responds to the abundance of nature and the beautiful characteristics of natural light in Vancouver.”
Wood and greenery are also major elements in Kuma’s design of Tokyo Stadium. An architectural journal described the stadium as a “thoughtful fusion of traditional
At a larger scale, this deduction frames views along the street and creates a symbolic portal to the downtown area.
forms and materials with contemporary technologies.”
The choice of Kuma’s design for the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo was not without controversy. Originally, a design for the stadium by Zaha Hadid, the Londonbased architect, was chosen for the 2020 Olympics. She was fired by Japanese officials over what they claimed to be massive cost overruns. Hadid spoke out repeatedly about the decision and called it unfair and political. She died suddenly last month.
Kuma is head of Kuma Laboratory at the University of Tokyo, where he is a professor at the graduate school of architecture.