Paris Block:Paris Annex in British Columbia, Canada by Gair Williamson Architects

Article source: Gair Williamson Architects

Program and Client

The Paris Block:Paris Annex, which is located at 53 West Hastings Street, is in the transition from Downtown to Gastown on a consolidated 64 foot site, and represents a project that benefited from the Heritage Building Rehabilitation Program, which nurtured Heritage retention through density bonusing and property tax relief.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

• Architects: Gair Williamson Architects
• Project: Paris Block:Paris Annex
• Location: British Columbia, Canada

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

The architectural program proposed for this project is a 46 unit live/work entity conjoining a new 6 storey horizontal addition, that is clearly of its time, to a 6 storey Heritage B abandoned warehouse.

The integration of the Paris Block with the Paris Annex provided a unique opportunity for the client to develop an otherwise non-viable lot in a manner borne out of, and wholly consistent with, the stated policies and goals of the City in relation to this most challenging of urban neighborhoods, these being the revitalization of the Downtown Eastside, retention of Heritage buildings, maintaining the fine grain of existing lots and reduction in car usage.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

The project is innovative with respect to the program and the client’s budget in that the residential efficiency of the Paris Annex is nearly 100% due to its sharing of the core as well as storage lockers, bicycle lockers, common roof deck and service functions with those that have been retrofitted into the Paris Block, thereby removing the necessity for a basement in the Annex.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Theory and Design Principles

This project is focussed on the idea of continuity, both physical and historical.

It reinforces our desire to create legible and vibrant neighborhoods through the densification of orphan sites and a concern for the City as a repository of cultural memory.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

With this project we are, in a sense, making a ‘third idea’: there is the original building, there is the intervention and then the third idea- a hybrid building.

Not only are history and the present physically bound together with the shared core and servicing, but the entrance to the contemporary Paris Annex is through the historic structure, creating a literal experience of moving through history.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Context and Site

The derelict 1907 Paris Block was fully rehabilitated in 2009 as a residential project with retail at grade and, during its reconstruction, the new core was rotated 90 degrees to accept the horizontal addition of the new, contiguous Paris Annex.

The existing urban condition informed the design of the Annex addition with the building being set back at the fourth level on both the street and lane to reference the scale and memory of the previous 1945 building on that portion of the site, as well as to maintain the sawtooth character of the Heritage precinct.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

The diffuse glass balconies of the Annex align with the cornice lines of the Heritage Block, reinforcing the visual continuity of the 2 phases. Within the 3 storey street frontage of the Annex, there is a nineteen foot high retail space with two residential units above, reflecting the historic relationship of ‘living over the shop’ and, finally, a lane oriented live/work suite in the Paris Block further contributes to the revitalization of the area as ‘eyes on the lane’.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Sustainability Principles

With respect to the integration of sustainable design, the project has developed an innovative design strategy that allows for the densification of the neighborhood through twinning an orphan site to a reclaimed heritage building whose fabric is an inherited investment of energy and materials.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Wherever possible, the material inventory of the 1907 building was refurbished and reused.

Through negotiations with the City of Vancouver, the parking requirement was reduced by the introduction of a co-op car program and leases on underutilized nearby parking garages.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Budget and Time Constraints

In the reconstruction of existing historic properties there are many unknowns that may compromise the schedule. In this instance, the proposed schedule of the complete project was extended by 4 months, although the Paris Annex phase construction was suspended by 2 years due to market conditions. The project was completed on budget.

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Image Courtesy © Gair Williamson Architects

Tags: British Columbia, Canada

Categories: Apartments, Residential

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 29th, 2016 at 6:53 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.