ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Strathcona Village in Vancouver, Canada by GBL ArchitectsNovember 28th, 2019 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: GBL Architects Strathcona Village is a mixed-use industrial and residential development that occupies an entire city block on East Hastings Street in Strathcona, one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods. The $112M mixed-use development, the first of its kind in North America, opened in July 2018 on time and on budget. The 300,000 square foot building accommodates market housing with much-needed affordable housing and job spaces for light industry. The development stands as a model of revitalization without displacement in a neighbourhood that strives for meaningful development policies that enable economic inclusion coupled with safe and adequate housing. This model for mixed-use projects that retain light industrial businesses is scalable to other urban centres across the country.  Image Courtesy © Ema Peter
 Image Courtesy © Ema Peter
 Image Courtesy © Ema Peter  Image Courtesy © Ema Peter Located near the downtown core, on the edge of the Port of Vancouver, the site has historically been one of industry, a typology that is increasingly being converted to residential use due to the pressures of the ever-expanding inner city. To maintain existing industrial space while increasing the local housing supply in the area an innovative approach was called for. The Strathcona Village project successfully pioneered the integration of previously considered incompatible programs into a new hybrid mixed-use typology for Vancouver.  Image Courtesy © Ema Peter  Image Courtesy © Ema Peter The development is a sustainable community model, providing affordable housing while maintaining and generating light industry in the neighbourhood where approximately thirty percent of its population work locally. The building includes 70 units of City-owned social housing, 23 of which are rented at shelter rates in addition to 17 that are designed for families with young children, meeting the Downtown Eastside Housing Plan. The development also aligns with the City’s vision to increase market and non-market housing supply while retaining job spaces for light industry and securing housing to low-income communities while integrating new market housing. Sustainability principles have been integrated throughout this LEED Silver development. The intentional low window to wall ratio on the east-west flanking walls allows the building to achieve a superior thermal performance. Water-efficient and eco-friendly landscaping also contribute to the building’s reduced carbon footprint. The building’s mass is distributed across three low rise residential towers that sit atop a substantial multilevel mixed-use podium. By taking advantage of the site’s one storey topographic drop between the main street and the lane way, the industrial program in combination with retail and office spaces, are located at grade across two, double-height levels of podium. By incorporating these light industrial spaces within the building, the development acts as a seamless transition from the industrial sites to residential sites that make up the neighbourhood. Measures to mitigate the industrial impact on the upper residential units include separate ventilation systems between uses and a maximum industrial unit size of 5,380 sq ft.  Image Courtesy © Ema Peter Careful design considerations and programmatic distribution create an animated cadence along the building’s main public elevation with the industrial spaces, defined as Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) interspersed with residential entrance lobbies. The robust and lively nature of the PDR space is celebrated through the inclusion of large doors and windows that open directly onto the main street providing superior working conditions within and enhancing interchange with the public realm. The street elevation zigzags along its length, emulating the historic ‘sawtooth’ massing pattern of the main street. This articulation provides open space at grade for residents in addition to creating a generous south facing public Plaza at the eastern end of the development. The 3,000 sq ft Plaza is a focal point for activities at street level, with a pedestrian access route through the building the public is invited to access the industrial spaces, including ancillary retail, and to share breathtaking mountain views overlooking the Port. Strathcona Village reflects its location not only in function, but in form as well. Taking cues from the neighboring infrastructure, the building volume is simple in stature while the dynamic façade is visually broken up by a loose rectangular grid, conceptually resembling stacked shipping containers mirroring the shapes and colours of the Port’s ever-present railway containers and loading cranes. The lively variation established by the use of alternating colours in the façade is enhanced by protruding open and enclosed balconies that punctuate the residential elevations, giving the building a unique presence in the city skyline teeming with glass towers.  Image Courtesy © GBL Architects Inc.  Image Courtesy © GBL Architects Inc.  Image Courtesy © GBL Architects Inc.
Contact GBL Architects
Categories: Building, House, Industrial, Mixed use, Office Building, Office space, Offices, Residential, Retail |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
