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.

Sign up to the Gesamtkunstwerk eMail Newsletter to receive a selection of consistently intelligent coverage of art, architecture and design culture.

Stay informed about the Westbank projects you're interested in

Philosophy
« Back To Home
April 14, 2014

Evolving Building Typologies

building

The challenges and potentials of the Beach and Howe site required fresh thinking, a radical design evolution for the shape and structural form of Vancouver residential towers.

One of New York City’s architectural gems — the 1903 Flatiron Building on Lower Broadway and 23rd in Manhattan designed by Chicagoan Daniel Burnham — in one of the inspirations for Vancouver House. Both buildings are set in triangular sites that had been previously passed up as un-buildable for tall buildings. The new technology of steel frame construction and Otis elevators made the New York building possible, while developments in computer technology, engineering and materials science make Vancouver House possible.

oxxpA2odpp7JgOAGZAJLHX7gsn9fvnTG_jJy6N8rN2U

Share

Get on the list

Stay informed about the Westbank projects you're interested in