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A PR IL 2018 | 57 Monarch at QE Park RENDERING COURTESY RDG CAMBIE DEVELOPMENT LTD. Monarch at QE Park by ZUZIA WODZYNSKA C onstruction finished on the latest addition to the Cambie Corridor in Vancouver, B.C. late last year. Developed by owners, RDG Cambie Development Ltd., and located near the impressive Queen Elizabeth Park, Monarch includes 52 luxury condo- miniums over six storeys and seven, two-storey townhomes. Building design inspiration came from surrounding developments and the his- torical post-war building forms found farther north along Cambie Street. "The main building's form is bro- ken down into a four-storey lower mass that has a heavier expression compared to the fifth and sixth floors above, which are set back and have a lighter expression," explains Michael Cox, lead architect on the project from Gateway Architecture Inc. "The lower mass of the building offers variation in treatment horizontally to reduce the apparent length of the facade." "The building form has been devel- oped in a contemporary manner that results from its site conditions and surrounding context," continues Cox. "The northern section is expressed as a stronger element and is predominantly brick to reinforce the outside corner of the building at the intersection of Cambie and 28th streets." This is in contrast to the southeast corner that looks across Cambie to the view of beautiful Queen Elizabeth Park and is treated with more openness. The south facade was pulled back 23 feet from the adjacent property to allow daylight access and for its future development. Exterior materials chosen were concrete, brick, acrylic stucco and glass. These combine seamlessly with a metal wall panel system to provide contrast, colour and lightness of form. "The top two floors are recessed back from the four-storey base on all faces of the building and are clad with a com- bination of metal panels and glazing," says Cox. "The resulting visual reduc- tion in the overall height and length of the building was enhanced by these changes of materials." Interior design for the project was provided by Creative DesignWorks Inc. "Windows in the exterior walls were designed to take advantage of the views of the City of Vancouver and mountain backdrop to north and west with the Queen Elizabeth Park to the southeast," comments Cox. Separating the condos from the townhomes is an eloquently land- scaped pedestrian laneway and private courtyard with tranquil seat- ing areas. "The open space provided is broken down into private and semi- private spaces and flows out with a children's linear activity area between the townhomes to engage the lane- ways," notes Cox. "Entry doors and living space windows facing the lane- way provide eyes on the street and enhance the feeling of safety to bring activity and life." It creates an inter- esting place to walk and cycle, and connects to the network of laneways along the Cambie Corridor. The main entrance lobby to the over- all building is highlighted by a bright red vestibule tunnel and is located fac- ing Cambie, recognizing the main street and reinforcing the point of change in grade of the ground floor units. An inner courtyard maximizes the usability of spaces through patios and planters. It has a strong pedestrian circulation loop that allows residents to access the lane and surrounding neighbourhood. "The large and livable ground level patios on the street sides are stepped up from the sidewalk grade to create a positive hierarchy of space," describes David Stoyko from Connect Landscape Architecture. Evergreen hedging and flowering shrubs establish privacy, soften wall edges, and fit with the tra- ditional yard patterns in the area. Stoyko adds, "The main goal of the landscaping was to develop a tough and low-maintenance strategy that provides suitable privacy at several levels, but also has significant visual interest in all seasons." Taking advantage of changing grades helped to maximize privacy and separation between patios. "Two separate outdoor amenity spaces were developed," explains Stoyko. "The first is an open lounge space that incorpo- rates a barbecue grill and permanent custom seating. The second is a child- scale play area that uses paving, seating elements, and bright acrylic screens to develop a series of small out- door rooms for children." Monarch fits into the growing trend along the Cambie Corridor's mid- to low-rise buildings in using concrete as opposed to wood frame structure. "Using concrete gives us a lot of differ- ent options in terms of how we terrace the building and how we dress it up," says Levi Stoelting of Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers. Monarch is a great example of this where there are generous green roof decks and populated courtyard spaces, making the building more animated and more interesting. It allows people to spill out of their unit and into garden or amenity spaces on a multitude of levels instead of just the penthouse. With a change in site grade empha- sized through terracing, the project then required several different unit layouts through the levels. "It chal- lenged how we arrayed the columns, how we transition and transfer them down over the height of the building," notes Stoelting. Monarch was designed to achieve LEED Gold standards and certification, and minimizing energy consumption was an important factor in the design and treatment of the exterior building envelope, as well as optimizing energy and water efficiency. The mechanical 9:58 AM 10:41 AM 7:53 AM

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