Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/178290
building's name re lects its essence. It sets it apart, builds pro ile and establishes itself as a landmark. Westbank Projects Corporation chose not to name its newest development, 700 West 8th, in the traditional sense but rather after its street address. "We wanted to get away from the typical, frankly often cheesy, names common to many buildings," says Michael Braun, marketing manager, Westbank Projects Corp. "Instead, we looked to New York City where some of the world's most prestigious residential real estate is known by its street address." Designed by Henriquez Partners Architects, 700 West 8th, at the corner of Heather Street and 8th Avenue along Vancouver's Fairview Slopes, projects a self-con idence born of its individuality. The building didn't need a name, says Braun. Its distinctive, distilled design speaks for itself. Anything but cookie cutter, there are some 80 different loor plans within the 128 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes of this LEED Silver, zero-lot design development. Two mini towers, one 17 storeys and the other 12, surround a central roof-top garden and serve to anchor the development as it cascades forward to greet a street-level podium along 8th Avenue. That podium houses four twolevel, two-bedroom condominiums, with a third residential level above. Some 166,000 gross square feet of living space are built on 54,000 square feet of land. 700 West 8th A PHOTOS: ROBERT STEFANOWICZ by Heidi Castle The development is separate from but integrated with the Holiday Inn on Broadway, one of Vancouver's major commercial arteries. It sits immediately north and adjacent to the existing hotel on what was the hotel's surface parking lot. 700 West 8th's 17-storey tower butts up in an interlocked design but separate from the hotel's blank north facing wall. The hotel faces east west along Broadway. 700 West 8th presents north. Viewed from across False Creek, 700 West 8th appears cradled into the surrounding commercial towers. Its apex, a geodetic height of 74.95 metres above sea level, matches the existing Holiday Inn at 50 metres. The development steps down to neighbouring three- to ive-level residential complexes common to the Fairview Slopes area. The majority of homes lay claim to panoramic, unadulterated views of Vancouver's city skyline, the North Shore mountains and Burrard Inlet. Five of the 128 units are social housing and form part of a housing cooperative immediately to the west. Bike lane enhancements along Heather Street and street upgrades to the Holiday Inn add to the community amenities. Westbank Projects Corp. and Henriquez Partners Architects have teamed up on several distinct Vancouver area developments including the $375-million iconic Woodwards redevelopment which provided some 200 units of social housing. 700 West 8th is the recipient of density transfer from that effort. "This design adds a lot to the 8th Avenue streetscape," says Braun. "For its density, this is an unobtrusive building." Three-level underground parking services both the residences and the hotel. Some 160 new parking stalls are for residential use only. Combined access for both 700 West 8th and the hotel are off a partial alley to the west. The hotel service area is also off that alley. "This was a challenging project as far as a residential building in Vancouver is concerned," says Anthony El-Araj, project manager, Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers. Its atypical design with differing loor plates and unit layouts meant atypical column locations. Glotman Simpson met that challenge using post-tensioned slab concrete. "This allowed for longer, thinner slab spans which meant less columns, which in turn offers more lexibiblity for unit layout," says El-Araj. 700 West 8th's east face supports a ive- loor green wall that is cantilevered out from the building starting at the second loor. To accommodate that load walls were added between the residences that act as cantilevered beams which eliminated the need for exposed columns at the irst level. The design incorporates a series of dramatic multi-level APRIL 2012 p.54-59 700 west8_Penguins.indd 55 /55 3/26/12 2:27:35 PM