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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April 12, 2016
Explore our partnership with the world's premier piano manufacturer.

The Fazioli Pianos

Our partnership with the Fazioli Company, the world’s premier piano manufacturer, has brought a certain level of sophistication to many of our projects.  The beautifully crafted pianos effortlessly become a crown jewel, allowing their distinct sound to fill any space. It began with the Shangri-La, Vancouver, where we commissioned a custom-made black lacquer Fazioli that complements the dark chocolate and caramel tones of the interiors of the hotel.

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Next was the customized white piano at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, with an intricate walnut inlay under the lid that echoes the 180 feet-long origami sculpture by Joseph Wu that juts out from Oru Restaurant into the hotel lobby.

Ezio Bolzonello _MAG8741 fairmont-9a

 

The customized Fazioli for the Shangri-La, Toronto highlights the culture of great Canadian artists and no one represents that more purely than Joni Mitchell.  The opening stanza of “My Old Man” is engraved on the piano lid, with the sheet music embroidered on the piano cover. Both Pablo Fazioli and Joni Mitchell have autographed the inside of the piano that now sits in the lobby of the hotel.

_NOV8910Joni Mitchell

 

Our latest piano is located in the new TELUS Garden Office lobby in Vancouver.  Probably now one of the city’s most visible pianos, it can be clearly seen by the 80,000 daily passersby on West Georgia – between Seymour and Richards.  The architect of the building, Gregory Henriquez, was also commissioned to design this one-of-a-kind piano, choosing a natural wood finish, echoing the dramatic, sculptural glulam beams of the expansive plaza canopy.

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