Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1408886
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 | 65 HOUSS P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E SY CO N W E S T HOUSS by ROBIN BRUNET I magine a beautiful Victorian-era house as the focal point of a mod- ernist glass and metal mixed-use building. This is the innovative design idea behind HOUSS by Conwest, in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neigh- bourhood where creative, tech, and other commercial spaces thrive along- side cozy heritage homes. The project began in 2016 with Conwest acquiring a single property to develop new industrial and com- mercial employment space. "Once on site, we realized the offering could be bettered by adding the adjacent prop- erty, which was home to the heritage Coulter House, built in 1901," says Ben Taddei, COO at Conwest. Conwest retained Taizo Yamamoto, owner and principal at Yamamoto Architecture, to design the new com- mercial building, comprising strata office and light industrial space (plus a unique main floor restaurant opportunity), as well as tackle the sub- stantial challenge of integrating the heritage component. "It took many iterations and input from Conwest to get the ratio between the new develop- ment and the Coulter House correct," says Yamamoto. "The proportions had to be exact in order for the two dispa- rate elements to work together." Peter Matthews, VP of construction at Conwest says, "We wanted to bring forward a clean and timeless deliv- ery of a commercial building, taking advantage of the views to the north as well as the excellent southern exposure for daylight. Outdoor spaces were also important, which resulted in numer- ous opportunities for exterior decks." In some design iterations, only the front of the Coulter House was used, as part of the new building facade; but heritage reviews called for a more substantive presence. "This gave the home some breathing room, while allowing the massing of the much larger new building to step back," says Yamamoto. It was decided to remove the upper floor structure to create a double volume interior space for a future res- taurant to front the new building, whose facade was developed as a series of glazed, staggered, and cantilevered blocks framed by metal. "The overhang created by the cantilever of one portion of the facade echoes the overhang of the original home, so there was reso- nance between the two buildings even though the language is different," says Yamamoto. The extensive glazing also served an esthetic purpose: at certain angles it would reflect the heritage homes across the street, thus framing the Coulter House. Interior public spaces were assigned to TK A+D Architecture + Design Inc. "Our intent was to carry the design of the exterior to the inside, one example being the exterior clad- ding carried through the all-glass three-storey vestibule," says interior designer Christina Fong. In many cases, the best design decisions were what Fong refers to as "quiet" ideas that did not overshadow Yamamoto's work maintaining the Coulter House front and centre. "We initially considered developing a sus- pended light feature for the vestibule to take advantage of the volume but ultimately rejected the idea because we didn't want to draw attention away from the house," says Fong. Similarly, a linear lighting feature running along the front of the facade was reworked to achieve "a more human scale," according to Fong; LOCATION 63 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. OWNER /DEVELOPER Conwest ARCHITECT Yamamoto Architecture / TKA+D Architecture + Design GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Ventana Construction STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Kor Structural MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Fluid Mechanical Engineering ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Opal Engineering BUILDING CODE CONSULTANT Camphora Engineering TOTAL SIZE 52,713 square feet TOTAL COST Undisclosed