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 10, 2014

Tower and Podium: James M. Cheng

7_RmK6QiFcHA-_zqqSL1-iDueaKua4TE9Gy2mCpvyR8OGPoYxNo9iVEBUajE6xYRI3uDjot-BWK4CUvydBEFBo

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, a multi-tower project with an intimate relation to views water and streetscape, and the Residences on Georgia, a definitive icon of this typology approach to high density living that had gone from architectural invention by James Cheng to informal civic policy under head planner Larry Beasley, who will be leading a talk at the Westbank Salon Series on April 15.

To view the Westbank Salon Series schedule and to register for upcoming salons, click here.

Share

Get on the list

Stay informed about the Westbank projects you're interested in