Location: 1075 Nelson Street, Vancouver
Developer: Brivia Group
Architect: IBI Group
Rather than easing into a new market, Brivia Group is going both grand and green with its first Vancouver project.
The Montreal-based developer recently submitted a development application for a 60-storey mixed-use residential tower in downtown Vancouver’s West End that will alter the city’s skyline and take energy efficient buildings to new heights.
Located near the northeast corner of Thurlow Street and Nelson Street, upon completion the 586-foot tower will be the tallest passive house green building in the world.
Passive house technology forgoes a conventional heating system, incorporating design elements including superinsulation, advanced window technology and passive ventilation to produce buildings that use limited energy for heating and cooling.
The project will include 102 social housing units on the tower’s lower levels, 49 units of secured market rental homes, and 350 condominium units on the building’s upper levels.
“We’re incredibly delighted to expand our work to the thriving West Coast market and look forward to working with communities and stakeholders in B.C. as we prepare to develop this exciting world-class project,” said Kheng Ly, Brivia Group’s founder, CEO and president, in a statement.
IBI Group is handling design elements for the project, which will replace 51 market rental units in a series of low-storey structures that were constructed in the 1950s.
The design team was inspired by the shape of the Stanley Park portion of the downtown peninsula, producing a unique visual element formed by two sinuous waved bands with greenery in between.
Adhering to building standards set out in Vancouver’s West End Community Plan, the development falls under the city’s Higher Buildings Policy, which requires towers to establish “a significant and recognizable new benchmark for architectural creativity and excellence, while making a significant contribution to the beauty and visual power of Vancouver’s skyline.”
The building will feature two separate entrances. Condominium and market rental housing will be accessible through a doorway on Nelson Street, while social housing can be accessed through a laneway entrance.
Indoor and outdoor amenity spaces for social housing will be located on the ground level, while the 16th floor will feature a separate indoor amenity space for the market residential units.
The total floor area is 427,000 square feet, producing a floor space ratio density of 24.7 times the size of the 17,300-square-foot lot.
Ten levels of underground parking will provide space for 321 vehicle parking stalls and 1,042 bicycle parking spaces.
