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
June 07, 2016

Serpentine Gallery Completed in London by Bjarke Ingels

Bjarke Ingels was this year’s choice of architect to create a structure on the Serpentine Pavilion. Described by the Danish architect as “both transparent and opaque, both solid box and blob”. Located outside of Kensington Gardens, the public can both climb the exterior of it, as well as flow through the interior space. The idea behind it was […]

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March 02, 2016

PM Trudeau visits TELUS Garden – one of the greenest buildings in North America

At the launch of the Smart Prosperity initiative held at TELUS Garden, and attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, TELUS garden was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification by the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC). “TELUS continues to push the boundaries on sustainability through its focus on innovation, and that is even more […]

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March 01, 2016

Bloor Hot Docs Cinema – The Infinite Happiness

Renowned Danish architect Bjarke Ingels tackles the question: can we foster a sense of community in buildings that house hundreds or thousands of people? Find his answer in the famous ‘8’ building in Copenhagen—an ultramodern loop of apartments whose 500 residents can traverse all nine floors by bicycle, while children attend kindergarten on the ground floor. Taking us […]

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December 15, 2015

Oh, Christmas Tree

Versace Home and the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel have partnered on an artful holiday project. Using gold Versace Home chairs, the installation shines in the hotel lobby next to a 15-foot traditional tree.

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November 20, 2015

Vancouver’s Most Visible Grand Piano

TELUS Garden, part of the million square foot, mixed-use TELUS Garden development is not your run of the mill office tower. In every way it has been designed to inspire the workforce that inhabits its walls, from advanced environmental sustainability features (it is Vancouver’s first LEED Platinum office tower), to leading communications technology befitting a […]

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June 03, 2014

GWERK Profile No. 16,895: Scott Hawthorn

With the Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition having come to a close, we can’t help but reflect on — with a sense of pride and hope — the big bold ideas and incredible people we have met over the past two months. For this week’s GWERK Profiles, we chatted with Scott Hawthorn, an entrepreneur, all-around creative and CEO […]

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June 03, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: James Cheng Recap

On Sunday June 1, 2014, the Westbank Salon Series came to an end with architect James K.M. Cheng, speaking to a full house of fans and former colleagues. Introducing Cheng was Ian Gillespie, president of Westbank Projects Corp., who spoke to both the 17,000 people that came through the Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition — Vancouverites that care […]

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June 02, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Jeff Derksen Recap

On the last weekend of Gesamtkunstwerk, we held three Westbank Salon Series sessions to close out the exhibition — the first being with poet and Professor of English at Simon Fraser University, Jeff Derksen. Exhibition curator Trevor Boddy began the afternoon talk with an apropos statement: “Cities are built with words and ideas as much […]

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May 31, 2014

GWERK Profile No. 15,394: Travis Hanks and Shirley Shen

The Westbank Salon Series has brought together a group of fascinating people week after week since its launch, including the subjects for this week’s second set of GWERK Profiles: Travis Hanks and Shirley Shen, founders of Haeccity Studio. Tell us about yourself and what you do. Shirley: We are both designers, and together we run a […]

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May 28, 2014

GWERK Profile No. 15,101: Mark Busse

It’s the last week of the Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition, and we have a few more GWERK Profiles to share before it all comes to a close. First up is Mark Busse, partner at Industrial Brand, resident Foodist and host of CreativeMornings, Interesting Vancouver and Likemind Vancouver. Tell us about yourself and what you do. My bio includes a bunch of […]

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May 23, 2014

GWERK Profile No. 13,577: Margherita Porra

It’s been an amazing past few weeks talking to the wonderfully talented and creative people who make up Vancouver through our GWERK Profiles. The first of two for this week is with Margherita Porra, creative director of a design agency called arithmetic creative. Tell us about yourself and what you do. I run a branding & […]

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May 23, 2014

Bold City-Building Ideas Generated at Gesamtkunstwerk Exhibition

Gesamtkunstwerk, the multi-media exhibition on architecture and city-building, developed by Westbank Projects Corp. and designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), will be extended through May 30, due to popularity and overwhelming demand. In the eight weeks since opening, more than 15,000 visitors from 12 countries have looked at the thought, skills and passion that go […]

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May 22, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Bruce Haden Recap

One of the most thrilling things for those behind the Westbank Salon Series is seeing the interaction between our incredibly engaging salon speakers and attendees, many of whom are dedicated regulars. Our latest guest was Bruce Haden, a partner at DIALOG and DIALOG partner-in-charge for the Vancouver House collaboration with the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). […]

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May 20, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: James K.M. Cheng

Hong Kong-born James K.M. Cheng studied architecture at the University of Washington and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. James worked under Bing Thom as one of Arthur Erickson‘s team on Robson Square, then founded his own practice after co-winning the 1978 design competition for a Chinese Cultural Centre for Vancouver. The firm of James K.M. Cheng Architects has since developed a global reputation for housing, focusing on […]

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May 15, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Bruce Haden

Bruce Haden is a Principal Partner at the national architectural and planning firm DIALOG. He is the DIALOG Partner-In-Charge for the Vancouver House collaboration with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) of New York. He has also been a design leader for the firm on many widely recognized projects including the globally published and awarded Nk’Mip Desert Culture Centre and the LEED Platinum-targeted UBC Student Union Building. Bruce has twice chaired the City of […]

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May 09, 2014

GWERK Profile No. 12,037: Caroline Carter

Continuing our GWERK Profiles feature on the amazing contributors, influencers and people that make up Vancouver, this week we spoke to Caroline Carter, PR manager for Payfirma. Tell us about yourself and what you do. I’m the PR Manager for Payfirma, a local tech company that helps businesses accept payments on their phones, in their stores […]

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May 07, 2014

Public Art and Westbank: Part Two

“A transformative artwork “Spinning Chandelier” re-imagines an under-appreciated civic space, setting a new international precedent for conceptual art at city scale. For Vancouverites, this will become the new ‘Nine O’clock Gun’ — the gift of an extraordinary new urban ritual.” – Reid Shier, public art consultant and Director of Presentation House Gallery. “Spinning Chandelier”, by […]

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May 07, 2014

Public Art and Westbank: Part One

In a class of its own as a development industry patron of creativity, Westbank has embraced demanding, avant-garde work by the world’s finest artists, using its projects as vast canvases. Westbank-commissioned new public art are integrated into its Vancouver developments. Previous Westbank public art commissions include “Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971” by Stan Douglas, […]

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May 02, 2014

Visitor No. 9,814: Karin Bohne

Continuing our GWERK Profiles feature on the amazing contributors, influencers and people that make up Vancouver, today we introduce Karin Bohne, founder of Moeski Design Agency. Tell us about yourself and what you do.  I am the owner and art director of the Vancouver-based boutique interior design firm, Moeski Design Agency. We work in a wide […]

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May 02, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Scot Hein Recap

As the second month of our Westbank Salon Series approaches, we are thrilled with the success and overwhelming positive response and turnout to these intimate dialogues with Vancouver’s eminent city-builders and designers. Scot Hein is our fourth guest speaker of the series. He began this week’s salon with explaining his backstory to a crowd of […]

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April 28, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Scot Hein

Scot Hein is an architect who leads the City of Vancouver’s Urban Design Studio. Hein is the City of Vancouver’s Senior Urban Designer and has led the city’s high profile Urban Design Studio for the last 10 years. His current work includes the urban design and implementation of new plans for the city’s West End, […]

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April 26, 2014

Textbook Magazine Launch

The Gesamtkunstwerk gallery was a lively place on April 24, 2014, with launch of Textbook magazine, a beautiful creative journal for entrepreneurial minds. Guests had a blast flipping through the new publication (which has wide margins for folks to scribble down their ideas), playing sessions of Super Nintendo, sipping 33 Acres brew and noshing on […]

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April 24, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Chris Phillips Recap

Yesterday evening, Chris Phillips — founding partner of Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg Landscape Architects (now PFS Studio) — was our salon’s guest speaker. In his dialogue exchange with exhibition curator Trevor Boddy, he spoke about Vancouver’s longstanding connection to nature and how the 2010 Vancouver Olympics was a defining moment for him, seeing citizens interact with […]

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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 […]

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April 10, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Larry Beasley

Larry Beasley is the ‘Distinguished Practice’ Professor of Planning at the University of British Columbia, the founding principal of Beasley and Associates, an international planning and urban design practice, and was the Co-Director of Planning for the City of Vancouver during the formative years of its inner-city transformation. Beasley is a Fellow of the Canadian […]

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April 10, 2014

Tower and Podium: James M. Cheng

First at the foot of Howe at Beach Street, then with subsequent developments in Yaletown and Coal Harbour, architect James K.M. Cheng invented the combination of thin residential high rise with continuous townhouse base, the “tower and podium typology” is now recognized by architects and developers around the world. Cheng’s Vancouver buildings include 888 Beach, […]

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March 13, 2014

The Art of Development

From initiating Vancouver’s first developer-run public art competition for Bute Street alongside its Palisades and Residences on Georgia projects, to large scale urban commissions to Britain’s Liam Gillick at Fairmont Pacific Rim and Vancouver’s Stan Douglas at Woodward’s atrium, Westbank has led Canada’s development industry in integrating leading-edge contemporary art into its developments. The developer’s long-term commitment to public art includes commissions to […]

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