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 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, which begins with Arthur Erickson’s rarely seen 1955 sketch of a futuristic Vancouver, proceeds to projects by James Cheng and others who created “Vancouverism,” and leads to an unprecedented look at the thinking behind the design of Vancouver House’s architecture, interiors and urbanism (including the spinning chandelier public art work, by Rodney Graham), via models, videos and more. As for “Gesamtkunstwerk?” For the Danish star architect Bjarke, it’s the only word to do the multi-dimensional Vancouver House project justice. It’s German for “total design,” or the integration of all the creative arts.

March 22 to May 19 | 1460 Howe St.

Open Monday to Sunday 11am – 5pm daily.

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