Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/807489
A PR IL 2017 | 69 Crown At Burquitlam Station RENDERINGS COURTESY BEEDIE LIVING Crown At Burquitlam Station by PETER STENNING T he West Coquitlam, B.C. area known as Burquitlam is a neighbourhood undergoing dramatic change, from a skyline of aging, detached homes to that of gleaming new residential towers and services, driven by its proximity to Simon Fraser University, Coquitlam's Regional Town Centre and the new Evergreen SkyTrain Line. Just as Burquitlam is evolving, so too is Beedie Development Group, as witnessed by the company's growing portfolio of residential projects under its Beedie Living division. So it's no surprise that the developer was especially motivated to give new residents to Burquitlam the best possible lifestyle experience with Crown. Designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects Inc., this 26-storey high rise is just steps away from the Evergreen Line and a quick walk from restaurants and recreation. The tower itself exhibits the elegant glazing and sleek lines of west coast contemporary multi-family residential architecture; but Beedie Living also tasked Chris Dikeakos and interior designer Cheryl Broadhead (principal of Bob's Your Uncle Design) with adding traditional elements throughout. "In the last few years there has been a desirable shift to multi-family development around transit, and our strategy was to impart a highly livable home for the families that Crown is intended to attract," says Curtis Neeser, director, residential development, for Beedie Living. "We'd been interested in acquiring property in Burquitlam ever since the North West route alignment for the Evergreen Line was announced in 2008, and in Spring 2012 we acquired the land in advance of preliminary construction, starting on the Evergreen Line in May 2012," says Neeser. Early on in the design and public consultation stage, the development team pursued an opportunity to partner with the neighbouring YWCA and City of Coquitlam that led to Beedie constructing an additional seven townhomes featuring two- and three- bedroom suites for the YWCA. "We saw this as an opportunity to enhance our mutual properties, expand the YWCA's program that works to support women transitioning from challenging environments and align with Beedie's longstanding history of working with non-profit organizations," says Neeser. This allowed a degree of visual synthesis at street level instead of what might have otherwise been two disparate properties, plus the townhomes and a new shared common turnaround driveway along with amenity spaces that enhance Crown's impact as an esthetically pleasing and family-oriented hub of activity. While so many tower developments focus exclusively on the front entrance at the expense of the back, Chris Dikeakos and his team took special care in treating the rear of Crown as if it were a grand entrance in its own right. "This was crucial because the back is also the access to the SkyTrain, so landscaping and the use of pavers as well as the placement of amenity spaces in this area gives a sense of ceremony," says Neeser. Indeed, of the 3,500 square feet of Crown's amenity space in total, 2,400 square feet is outdoors in the form of lounges, family-style outdoor dining and a kitchen/barbecue area. An equal amount of architectural detail was focused on the top of the building, with 18-foot ceilings in the penthouse suites and a roofline of dramatic right angles and pitches. "As for the rest of the tower, Chris designed