“James K. M. Cheng Architects Inc. submitted a rezoning application to the City of Vancouver that outlines a plan for a multi-use site at 750 Pacific Blvd., known commonly as the Plaza of Nations. Commercial use would include small-scale retail, hotel, office, restaurants and cafes, while community use would include a sports-science centre, a daycare and an ice rink that could serve as a part-time practice arena for the Canucks.
The proposed pièce de résistance is a residential structure, with between 1,700 and 2,000 units, that takes the form of a giant arch. The development would provide a mix of housing types and include private ownership and purpose-built rentals for residents of various ages and income levels, according to the application.
James Cheng said the arch-shaped building will serve as a window through to BC Place. “Vancouver has been criticized for having so many towers, and everything looking the same,” he said. “What we tried to do is create an urban piece that is strong enough to stand up to the stadium, but still have a relationship to it.” —
“The developments in that section of our city, which is our largest and last big waterfront property, should be a special place,” said Councillor Raymond Louie. “For a long time, it sat empty. This is an opportunity for us to develop it in a sustainable fashion where it is able to serve the people who will eventually live there, but the wider community as well.”
- from ‘Proposed complex would pump life into dead zone’, G&M 4 Jul 2012 [hat-tip Joe]
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A tad reminiscent of Paris’ ‘Grande Arche de la Defense’ (above), only even more poorly proportioned and even less pleasing on the eye.
Bad sci-fi design. (“Could I get my star-fighter through that?”)
- vreaa
James Cheng is responsible for ruining the Vancouver skyline. His teal and cyan atrocities are scattered across the city.
Its time the city grows some cojones and approves more bold designs that compliment Vancouver’s Pacific West Coast location. Enough with awful glass towers, arch or not.
Is it considered West Coast because there are a few trees scattered around the development?
Give the job to Henriquez, their Woodwards design is one of the most appealing new builds in Vancouver for the past decade. The Telus Garden proposal is also more interesting than this atrocity.
Gosh these are sad times in Vancouver history, the whole damn city planning board needs a boot. They are approving some awful, generic, bland and uninspired buildings. Its because of this that the developers are not interested in looking outside the box and creating more visually stimulating projects.
Time for a change in more ways than one.
I’ll bet they can’t get financing. The banks know what’s in the wind even if they still sound bullish.
I’m all for it. The more they build, the bigger the supply, the deeper the crash.
Architecturally – at least it’s not the same as everything else.
I gave my three year old a box of Lego and she produced something remarkably similar.
Tee hee, I like the comments here so far. Tee hee hee
They should design 5 buildings that spell the word CRASH.
This is pretty good:
Before the bubble bursts: understanding the real estate market
http://ow.ly/c5Qgx
It’s not even original. I saw this in Estoril, outside Lisbon, last year. Looked hideous there and would look just as bad here!
http://www.architecturezine.com/architecture-estoril-sol-residence-by-goncalo-byrne/http://www.architecturezine.com/architecture-estoril-sol-residence-by-goncalo-byrne/
At least the Grande arche in Paris is part of a functioning public space that is entirely car free and very walkable. This thing is just another condo tower in the vertical suburb that is Yaletown.
http://www.nuk3.com/gallery/images/comedy/full/380.jpg
If ever a second justification was needed for the coming real estate apocalypse, it would be the prevention of this thing.
Kill it with fire and send everyone involved to Toronto.
Who would have ever thought that Vancouver would be at risk of becoming the ugliest city in Canada?
PS if this gets built, at least we can lay the whole “is there a God” question to rest.
What God would allow that
star fighter? That thing is designed to fly helicopters through
*I* kinda like it. But I have to wonder exactly how much extra steel and concrete would be needed to keep it upright in a big earthquake.
Y’all should be gracious in victory. In Vancouver as well as in Toronto, the new guessing game should be which projects are close enough to fully pre-sold and/or have enough sunk costs, and which ones don’t and will be cancelled.
I like it too, despite the fact that my initial reaction was negative. It kinda grew on me.
pffft! …. http://tinyurl.com/7h6dye7
Looks like a carwash!
Yeah, for a jacked-up chrome Hummer.
The whole image somehow being a very nice Vancouver bubble accessory. Much excess and inefficiency.
complementary manifold … http://tinyurl.com/79efvj2 …. oop ack!
I like the idea but not necessarily that style of execution or location.
It does remind me of the CAA headquarters in LA:
http://www.davidgould.com/Studios/Images/News/CAABuilding.jpg