Award

A PR IL 2017 | 55 The Wohlsein The Wohlsein by NATALIE BRUCKNER-MENCHELLI W hen Jameson Development Corp. purchased the land at 311 East 6th Avenue on the corner of Scotia Street in Vancouver, B.C., they realized this was no ordinary site. Located at the heart of Mount Pleasant, an area renowned for its charming vibe, amazing choice of eateries, rich cultural history and thriving brewery district, the owners knew "it was a very special site in a unique location in Vancouver, and that we could do something a little bit different here," explains Lindsay Maciver from Magnum Projects Ltd., the owners representative. And so, drawing inspiration from its surroundings and the local community, Jameson Development Corp. decided to build a six-storey, high-quality concrete and brick condo that would feature 110 market/artist suites with 14 suites allocated to The Vancouver Resource Society (VRS), which provides accessible housing. Even the name itself, which translates from German to well being and is used to toast good health and new beginnings, takes inspiration from this culturally rich neighbourhood. While being located on a sloped and tight site obviously caused some of the usual project challenges for Ian Baird, project manager at Metro-Can Construction, structural consultants Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers and architects IBI Group, it was another surprise during excavation that baffled Baird's team. "We hit a major seam of good quality coal in the soil, so we had to dig deep and create deeper footings for some parts of the site," says Baird. During construction, another challenge of course was the weather that Vancouver has experienced of late. "We were under a tight timeline, with construction starting in July 2015 and a completion and move-in date of March 2017. During 2016 we experienced two to three months of the worst rainy weather, which was followed by the coldest and snowiest month Vancouver has seen in years," says Baird. However, innovating and adapting on the fly meant the team was able to complete on schedule with the first occupancy on February 9. "We take great pride in that," says Baird, and rightly so, for so many reasons. Today the site is home to the six- storey building that boasts sophisticated lines, the expansive use of glazing and an extremely striking brickwork design. "The design was very much about the contextual fit," says Jeff Mok, architect at IBI Group. "There's a lot of brick buildings in the area and we wanted to do something that took cues from that but not follow it literally." The contemporary brick pattern that features predominantly on two sides of the building uses five different colours and is a nod to the past and the future. "The foreman definitely had to be on top of the colour coding to ensure he got it right," laughs Baird. Around the base of the building, IBI designed a number of private entries along East 6th that serve to animate the street. "Along the back lane, as a way of getting more frontages and density onto the site, we carved out a beautiful courtyard, which acted as the loading bay for moving day," adds Mok. LOCATION 311 East 6th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER Jameson Development Corp. ARCHITECT/LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT IBI Group GENERAL CONTRACTOR Metro-Can Construction STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers MECHANICAL CONSULTANT MCW Consultants Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Nemetz (S/A) & Associates INTERIOR DESIGN CONSULTANT Port & Quarter CODE CONSULTANT Camphora Engineering TOTAL COST Undisclosed PHOTOGRAPHY BY BOB MATHESON ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY/COURTESY METRO-CAN CONSTRUCTION 2:39 PM

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