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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April 17, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Chris Phillips

Chris Phillips is founding partner of Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg (now PFS Studio) Landscape Architects.

A fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, Chris Phillips is widely respected for his ability to create deeply memorable designs for a wide range of complex urban design and public open space projects. Over the past twenty years, he has been principal in charge of many award winning urban development, community, waterfront, civic spaces and park projects.

Chris is interested in the integration of regional context, metaphor and meaning and their collective contribution to the design of urban open space and the public realm. Central to his design philosophy is the importance of public open space as a locus of public life and an expression of democracy. His unique design process focuses on the creation of highly functional, aesthetic landscapes that are compelling, evocative and inclusive.

He has encouraged the inclusion of public art in his work, and is a past chair of the City of Vancouver Public Art Advisory Committee. Chris has brought his extensive professional experience and innovative design thinking to roles on the Vancouver City Planning Commission, the British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects (BCSLA), the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) and numerous art and design juries.

We’re thrilled to have him as part of our Westbank Salon Series on April 22, 2014. To attend, please register here!

Keep on tweeting us your city-building and design questions to @gwerkca with the hashtag #gwerksalon — we’ll share them during the interactive Q&A! We’re also choosing a winner this week to continue the conversation with Trevor Boddy, Chris Phillips and other guests at ORU after the salon.

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