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
April 28, 2016

Designboom Talks to Kengo Kuma About Alberni

designboom was invited to the official presentation of the Westbank project in Vancouver where they spoke with Kengo Kuma about the Alberni project, and what he wanted to achieve in this, his first skyscraper in Canada. Kuma noted that Vancouver is a beautiful place. The wild nature and the beautiful ocean is in the centre of the […]

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April 20, 2016

An Evening With Kengo Kuma: Recap

On April 12th, a mix of Vancouverites, architects, planners, city builders, artists and students gathered at the University of British Columbia’s Chan Centre for “Small to Large, an Evening with Kengo Kuma”. Kuma took the audience on his journey from Small to Large, first exploring the small, soulful scale of his early Small Scale Projects. […]

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March 30, 2016

Cherry Blossom Festival

Vancouver’s Cherry Blossom Festival has started at VanDusen Gardens. The festival will run until April 17th, 2016. This will mark it’s 10th anniversary for this beautiful festival, for more information you can visit the official website: Cherry Blossom Festival. This beautiful photograph was taken at Sewell’s Marina where our upcoming project Horseshoe Bay – West Vancouver will […]

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March 03, 2016

#BIGToronto: In Conversation with Bjarke Ingels and Guests

When the world was introduced to Habitat 67, designed by the Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie as the Canadian Pavilion for the World Exposition of 1967, it was intended as an experimental solution for high-quality housing in dense urban environments. Safdie’s pioneering design was not only revolutionary in its time, Habitat 67 has continued to influence […]

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February 23, 2016

Panel of celebrated urbanists welcome Bjarke to Toronto

“How can architecture build community?” That’s the title of Bjarke Ingels’ discussion in Toronto this week, and it captures the ambition of BIG’s design for a site on downtown Toronto’s King Street West. A panel of celebrated urbanists will join Bjarke, moderated by Denise Donlon, for an evening of conversation of how architecture creates community. Join us as […]

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February 02, 2016

How can architecture create communities?

We see our projects as active engagements with community, as part of a dialogue between what is built, the place where it is situated and the people who live there. Our projects are conceptualized and designed with an awareness of a much larger urban narrative. Last August we announced that we had retained Bjarke Ingels […]

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January 17, 2016

New Yorks Times Likes Your Style, Canada

A recent article gracing the front page of the New York Times’ Style section, along with a picture of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, gushes about Canada’s cool factor. In the months since his election, Mr. Trudeau, 44, the 6-foot–2 self-described feminist, who has been a television actor, snowboarding instructor and amateur boxer, has assumed the […]

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December 04, 2015

Welcome to Markham House

Markham House is a city building lab and community hub showcasing the creativity of the neighbourhood and the city. Once Anne Mirvish’s art studio, Markham House is a place where you can explore the vibrancy and diversity of the future Mirvish Village through installations, workshops and events. This is also the place to learn more about […]

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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: Linda Fraser Recap

This past Sunday June 1, 2014, we welcomed Linda Fraser as a guest speaker. As the archivist and chief curator of the Canadian Architectural Archives (CAA), home to many significant collections including the early works of Arthur Erickson. Fraser has curated exhibitions using CAA collections, and written and presented papers on architectural photography, archival theory and practice, and architectural exhibitions. […]

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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 28, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Jeff Derksen

Jeff Derksen is a poet and Professor of English at Simon Fraser University. Derksen’s books of poetry include The Vestiges, Transnational Muscle Cars, Dwell and Down Time. His book of essays Annihilated Time: Poetry and Other Politics was followed his essays on art and urbanism, After Euphoria. He is a member of the research collective […]

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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

GWERK Profile No. 3,589: Roy Yen

It’s been fantastic speaking to all the amazing contributors, influencers and people that make up Vancouver in our GWERK Profiles feature! This week we spent some time with Roy Yen, Producer and Principal of soomö Entertainment Company. Tell us about yourself and what you do. Fairly typical to native Vancouverites, I was born and raised here on […]

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May 15, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Mike Harcourt Recap

We welcomed Mike Harcourt, the former mayor of Vancouver and former premier of British Columbia, as the seventh guest speaker of the Westbank Salon Series. Engaging and remarkably insightful, Mike began his talk by telling attendees about his career start as a young lawyer with an interest in community equity and human rights, before getting […]

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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 13, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Andy Yan Recap

It was our pleasure to welcome Andy Yan, a senior urban planner at Bing Thom Architects and researcher at BTworks, as the latest Westbank Salon Series guest speaker. On the evening’s agenda was “Figuring Out Vancouver: Trends to Consider in City-Building”, presented by Andy in a series of graphs with insightful data and images on the […]

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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 08, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Reid Shier Recap

The Westbank Salon Series stepped into spring with Reid Shier, the Director/Curator of Presentation House Gallery in North Vancouver and public art consultant for private developers and public agencies across Canada. Reid, an Emily Carr University alum, spoke to the crowd about on working with Governor General prize-winning firm Patkau Architects on a new Presentation […]

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May 07, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Mike Harcourt

On Tuesday May 13, 2014, we will be welcoming Mike Harcourt as our Westbank Salon Series guest speaker. Mike Harcourt is an Urbanist, Former Mayor of Vancouver, and the Former Premier of British Columbia. As both former Premier of British Columbia, and former Mayor and City Councillor in Vancouver, Mike Harcourt helped British Columbia earn its reputation as one of the most livable […]

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May 07, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Andy Yan

On Sunday May 11, 2014, Andy Yan will be our sixth guest speaker of the Westbank Salon Series. Born and raised in Vancouver, Andy Yan is a Senior Urban Planner with Bing Thom Architects and a researcher with BTAworks, the firm’s research and development division. BTAworks research projects have included studies of ownership, occupancy, prices and “empty condo” patterns in Downtown Vancouver, […]

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May 05, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Reid Shier

Reid Shier is our first guest speaker going into the second month of the Westbank Salon Series! He is the Director/Curator of Presentation House Gallery in North Vancouver, which is currently working with Patkau Architects on plans for a new waterfront facility.  Shier also works with private developers and public agencies as public art consultant for projects throughout Canada. Shier […]

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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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May 02, 2014

Visitor No. 8,479: Graham Handford

Continuing our GWERK Profiles feature on the amazing contributors, influencers and people that make up Vancouver, today we introduce Graham Handford, in-house Graphic Designer at Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership Architects Designers Planners (MCM) and architectural photography aficionado. Tell us about yourself and what you do. My roots run deep in Vancouver – my great-great-grandfather Barney […]

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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

Visitor No. 5,386: Geoffrey Erickson

This week, we’re launching GWERK Profiles, a new feature on the amazing contributors, influencers and people that make up Vancouver. In the series, we get to know a few of the 8,000+ visitors who have come through our exhibition doors, learn about their personal GWERK experiences and continue the dialogue on why they think city-building […]

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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

Leslie Van Duzer Salon Video Is Now Online

For those unable to attend the first of our Westbank Salon Series with guest speaker Leslie Van Duzer, director of the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, video from the evening is now available to view online on our YouTube page. To RSVP for upcoming salons, please click here.

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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 09, 2014

#GwerkSalon Winner: Lance Sy

Last night was the launch of our Westbank Salon Series, which kicked off with Leslie Van Duzer, the Director of the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia. The Q&A portion of the evening included #gwerksalon contest questions posed on Twitter by those interested in city-building and design. Congratulations to […]

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April 07, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Leslie Van Duzer

Leslie Van Duzer is a Professor of Architecture and the Director of the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia. Originally from Berkeley, California, she came to the University of British Columbia in 2010 after teaching for two decades in architecture schools across Europe and North America. She has lectured and written […]

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April 05, 2014

#GwerkSalon Contest Launches

To help kick off our Westbank Salon Series, we’re launching the #gwerkSalon contest! We’re asking the public to tweet questions about city building and urban design to @Gwerkca with the hashtag #gwerkSalon for a chance to win an evening of conversation with that week’s salon series speaker and guests at ORU at the Fairmont Pacific Rim […]

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April 03, 2014

Westbank Salon Series Registration Is Now Open

Registration for the upcoming Westbank Salon Series is now open to the public! Our first salon at the exhibition space is on April 8, 2014, at 6:00pm with Leslie Van Duzer, a Professor of Architecture and the Director of the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia. To register for the […]

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March 27, 2014

Westbank Experience Winner!

Congratulations to the winner of the Westbank Experience Facebook contest: Catherine Jeffrey of New Westminster! Her grand prize includes a two-night stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, dinner for two at ORU Restaurant, a spa package and the chance to meet Bjarke Ingels. Enjoy your stay, Catherine!  

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March 26, 2014

Westbank Salon Series

As an extension of the Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition, the Westbank Salon Series is a curated series of intimate dialogues about the state of the city, held in our space. Intended to be interactive, the format is a question and answer dialogue on the state of city-building in Vancouver, and the applicability of “Total Design” to improve our […]

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March 20, 2014

Gesamtkunstwerk: The Exhibition one of Vancouver’s Top Events this week

The storage building beside the Granville Street Bridge flashing the big neon “Gesamtkunstwerk” will soon transform into Vancouver House, the city’s coolest skyscraper, and this exhibition, inside that warehouse, celebrates not only the spiralling marvel to come, but Vancouver’s coming-of-age as well. Architects of the new tower, the renowned Bjarke Ingels Group, also designed the exhibition, […]

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March 08, 2014

Gesamtkunstwerk Exhibition: The Venue

The Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition gallery will be about endless creativity and interaction. Contemporary in design and nostalgic by nature, the bright 3,000 square foot space will house an exhibition that opens up the design, context and background of Vancouver House to public understanding with powerful visuals and commentary, showing how “Total Design” can transform contemporary high rise residential living through the synthesis of […]

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March 03, 2014

Why is Westbank Producing This Exhibition?

Why is Westbank producing the Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition? Because cities matter. More than half of all Canadians live in but four cities. Cities are economic and cultural engines. Well functioning cities offer solutions to many of the grand challenges we face. Cities are made, crafted and designed but making them is seldom transparent. The exhibition opens […]

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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, […]

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February 27, 2014

The History of Gesamtkunstwerk

There’s a bright new light in Vancouver, in the form of a neon installation just off the Granville Street Bridge, spelling out a tongue-twister of a word: Gesamtkunstwerk. A brave many attempted to say it (pronounced get-zahmt-KOONST-VAIRK), and an even braver few guessed what it meant. Coined in the 1820s, this German word was popularized […]

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