The groundbreaking ceremony for Harry Gugger Studio ’s first building to be built in North America was held this morning in Vancouver, Canada.
‘The Exchange’ tower, scheduled for completion in 2016, will be the first LEED Platinum Heritage Conversion in Canada and at 31 floors will also be Harry Gugger Studio ’s first high-rise building to begin construction. Surrounded by water and framed by mountains, the unique urban cityscape of Vancouver’s downtown is defined by its spectacular natural setting.
‘The Exchange’ is located in the heart of this downtown area. As one of the selected few new high-density office developments in the city’s central business district this new tower will bring valuable diversity, revenue and jobs to the neighbourhood and to the city as a whole.
The design rationale for the new tower is entirely derived from its surrounding context and environment; in particular the existing Old Stock Exchange building, which is to be preserved and rehabilitated on the site. The refined vertical pilasters of this handsome and elegant building accentuate its height whilst grounding the building within the streetscape of the city.
The new tower does not attempt to dominate or compete with the strengths of this prominent original building but rather to successfully work together with it in order to create an overall composition that looks at once to Vancouver’s future without obscuring its past. The stratification and stepping of the tower’s form, coupled with the chamfering of its corners also reduces its overall bulk and the impact on its neighbours.
By both breaking up the mass of the tower over its entire height and by recessing its bulk from the perimeter of the site above the Old Stock Exchange, the new building allows the existing structure to fully define the streetscape, retaining and confirming its proud position within the city.
Restricted from creating a strong intervention on the city’s skyline, ‘The Exchange’ instead looks to create a distinctive icon within the space of the city itself. Viewed from the street, its cantilevered form coupled with the elegant pinstripe of its façade mullions creates a unique identity for the tower at the heart of Vancouver’s downtown.
Location: Vancouver, Canada Architects: Harry Gugger Studio Project Team: José Pedro Azevedo, Severin Berchtold, Wtanya Chanvitan, Alasdair Graham, Harry Gugger, Katja Kleinhert, Korbinian Schneider Architect Of Record: Iredale Group Architecture Area: 37370.0 sqm Year: 2014 End Costruction: 2016 Client: Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund International