GBL Architects and Brenhill Developments collaborated on a high-rise development ?8X On The Park ? in Vancouver?s upscale Yaletown neighbourhood. The firm guided the project through a decade-long planning and design process culminating in a 35-storey mixed-use tower that sits at the corner of Richards and Helmcken Street.
Image courtesy of GBL Architects
GBL and Brenhill approached the design with a holistic urban and architectural vision that incorporates key design considerations for height, form, articulation, and tower programming that are informed by a network of visible and invisible contextual variables.

The LEED gold tower  is also shaped by other intangible planning factors. A compact site and two protected view corridors presented physical constraints and funding the non-market Jubilee House, as part of the project?s Community Amenity Contribution, created economic considerations.
Image courtesy of GBL Architects
The tower is subdivided into contextual zones, each with specifically tailored functional and aesthetic characteristics.

The building is bisected along its north/south axis into two primary volumes, with a  third volume that echoes the scale of the heritage Brookland Court building to the west. Continuity is maintained through eight storey modules that proportionally reference the height of the adjacent structure.

The base addresses the immediate urban context with stone clads and fins appearing monolithic when viewed obliquely.

Th...