Though Vancouver Convention Centre West spans 22 acres on the downtown waterfront and includes infrastructure for such future amenities as a seaplane terminal, the center is one of the city’s more humble buildings. LMN Architects, with DA Architects + Planners and Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership, shaped 1 million square feet of exhibit halls, conference rooms, and event spaces into a sloping, grass-covered building that looks more like a stepped hillock wrapped in glass than a business complex.
Before the center’s completion, in 2009, this swath of downtown Vancouver abruptly ended at a brownfield site on Coal Harbor. To connect the land back to the city, LMN brought the urban grid to the waterfront with public promenades. The architects saw the structure (built partly over the water) not just as a bridge between harbor and city but also as a platform for extending the area’s marine and wildlife habitats. The center’s living roof hosts bee colonies, for instance, and tiered concrete steps around the foundation piles create shallow waters for salmon. “We were really interested in seeing how the activities of people intersect the landscape and the marine systems, and trying to make them all better because they’re connecting in one composition,” LMN partner Mark Reddington says of the LEED Platinum building.
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.