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 01, 2014

Coming March 2014: The Gesamtkunstwerk Exhibition

On March 22, 2014, the Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition — designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group and produced by Westbank — will officially open its doors to the public.

The centre piece of the exhibition is a model of Vancouver House, their newest project slated to break ground in 12 months.  Designed by the internationally renowned firm, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) under the direction of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, who has spoken worldwide about “hedonistic sustainability,” Vancouver House will be a defining building in the city’s development.

Inspired by the best work of the Modernist architects and artists, Westbank believes the entire environment should be designed in the public interest. A must-see for anyone who cares about Vancouver and city-building, Gesamtkunstwerk will allow entrants to see every aspect of the design of Vancouver House.

BIG has been at the centre of the exhibition design while curation has been done by consulting urban designer and architecture writer/critic, Trevor Boddy. This exhibition, having taken the concept of ‘Total Design’ to a larger scale, showcases not just individual buildings, but city-building.

Always at the forefront, Westbank is also hosting a photography exhibition-within-an-exhibition, featuring work by some of the world’s top mobile photographers. Hailing from Vancouver, Toronto and Hong Kong, these creatives produce stunning images enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people on Instagram, the photo-based social network.

This exhibition tells the evolution of Vancouver, as it once was, to what it will be.

Still haven’t received an exhibition invite? Get one here.

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