Vancouver’s historic MacMillan Bloedel Buiding will officially be renamed Arthur Erickson Place.
Arthur Erickson designed the Modernist landmark at 1075 West Georgia Street with partner Geoffrey Massey for the forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel during a corporate building boom in the 1960s. The structure, made of reinforced bare concrete, rises above a spacious public plaza with reflecting pools that span the building’s length. The 27-storey building was the tallest in Vancouver when it was completed in 1968, and earned national heritage landmark status for its construction technique of cast-in-place concrete, subtly tapered walls and deeply recessed windows. The building won the esteemed 1970 Massey Medal for Architecture, among many other awards.
Now 53 years old, the concrete building has continued to be called MacBlo even though the company ceased to exist 22 years ago. Two years ago, Kingsett Capital, Crestpoint Real Estate Investments, and Reliance Properties jointly bought the building with a plan to re-establish it as the premier corporate office location in downtown Vancouver.
“With its heritage distinction, central downtown location, and strong visual identity, Arthur Erickson Place will continue to be the address with cachet,” said Jon Stovell, president & CEO of Reliance Properties.
“It is rare for an architect to be honoured in this way, and I know that Arthur would be very proud to have the building carry his name, as it encapsulates all he strove to achieve architecturally,” said Erickson’s nephew, Christopher Erickson. “The building’s classic beauty and clarity of structure expresses the ruggedness of our land and majesty of our forests with a powerful cadence that tapers into infinity as it rises from its roots.”