In our April issue
Spring has sprung! Our April issue looks at a fresh crop of housing projects on Canada’s West Coast.
Leading off the line-up, our cover story by Trevor Boddy previews four innovative high-rises taking shape on Vancouver’s Alberni Street. “Vancouver’s Alberni Street is emerging as the continent’s leading zoological park for creative luxury high-rises,” writes Boddy, explaining that the street represents “a rare-in-Canada spirit of architectural ambition.” His article tours us through current designs by Kengo Kuma, Thomas Heatherwick, Buro Ole Scheeren, and Revery.
In West Vancouver, a recently completed mixed-use project, Grosvenor Ambleside, was a rare opportunity to design a new heart for a well-established neighbourhood. Sean Ruthen explains how the design team at James K.M. Cheng Architects thought of the project as an act of “‘urban mending’—where an outdated commercial or industrial area is reworked as part of a more sustainable community.”
Heading over to Victoria, we visit a handsome group of rowhouses by D’Arcy Jones Architects for Aryze Developments, which occupies an unusual triangular infill lot. “Confident, yet subdued, the design of Pearl Block finds balance in a modulated and family-friendly approach that builds on the typology of the rowhouse, incorporating elements that are at once new and historical,” writes Paul Koopman.
We also consider the end-point of homes, with a peek into the workings of Vancouver company Unbuilders. Instead of demolishing houses, Adam Corneil and his team meticulously deconstructs them, recovering 90-95% of their materials for recycling or reuse.
Rounding out the issue, we’ve got a review by Annmarie Adams of the CCA’s current exhibition, A Section of Now. We also look at Vancouver professor Leslie Van Duzer’s book on Japanese practice Atelier Nishikata, a volume she describes as “a hybrid between an architectural monograph and a magic instruction book.” Adele Weder interviews ecological designer Nina-Marie Lister, winner of last year’s $50K Margolese Prize. And my editorial looks at the benefits of the City of Toronto’s designation of recently completed buildings as heritage properties.
Happy reading!
-Elsa Lam, editor