GESAMTKUNSTWERK

Westbank has built a practice around long-term commitments to artistry, sustainability and city-building. These commitments underlie an orientation towards projects like Woodwards, Vancouver House, Mirvish Village, Telus Garden and Oakridge – catalysts for larger change that go beyond the borders of the projects themselves. We are here to create. To provoke. To ignite. We are the vehicle for a new movement of cultural expression.

As the practice matures, we have become more ambitious. With every new project reflecting our commitment to the philosophy behind Gesamkunstwerk, or in our recent work the Japanese philosophy behind layering, the net effect is that our work becomes much more complex and far-reaching.

The core of Westbank’s mission is to create a body of work with a high degree of artistry that helps foster more equitable and beautiful cities. Westbank is active across Canada and in the United States, with projects including luxury residential, Five Star hotels, retail, office, rental, district energy systems, affordable housing initiatives and public art. Established in 1992, we are one of North America’s leading developers, with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Seattle, Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and over 25 billion dollars of projects completed or under development.

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Philosophy
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March 10, 2015

Fairmont Pacific Rim unveils Bocci’s largest public art work in Canada

16 is made of an armature of stainless steel forms that resemble trees, terminating with large, lit glass ‘leaves’. The leaves consist of three layers of glass – milk white, transparent grey, clear – each individually poured on top of the other. By virtue of the fabrication technique, no two leaves are the same in shape. The leaves are assembled in pairs and set in the trees in a process similar to that of setting cabochon stones in jewelry.

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The ‘grove’ of abstract trees will run the 30 metre (100 foot) length of the hotel’s main entrance and stand upwards of nine metres (30 feet) tall.

16 joins a growing collection of exterior and interior art at Fairmont Pacific Rim – eclectic in nature – under the direction of owners/developers, Westbank and the Peterson Group.

Our public art projects continue to increase in ambition, imagination and scale and most importantly, increase the role of artists, like Bocci and Omer, as active collaborators in creating art that evokes conversation.

–Ian Gillespie

The collection is not themed, rather driven by interest and passion. Priority has been placed on showcasing the best of local Vancouver artists, at the same time ensuring international and commissioned works are prominent.

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