Body of Work

Location
Vancouver, BC
Architect
Henriquez Partners Architects
Landscape Architect
Durante Kreuk Ltd.
Completion
2014
Project Size
123,000 sq ft

Within walking distance of the boutiques and restaurants of Robson and Denman Streets, The Lauren features panoramic views of English Bay and the North Shore Mountains. Designed by Henriquez Partners Architects, the 22-story project is comprised of 186 rental homes, and a contextually sensitive podium consisting of six townhouses at grade of 3-bedrooms for families. An amenity room is provided on the ground level, and there is underground parking with bicycle storage available. The tower is sculpted and set back from Comox Street significantly to allow for daylight and a large new open green space is provided on the Comox Street frontage, with community gardens and children’s playground for public use. The project also includes public art installation, Triumph of the Technocrat by Reece Terris which was constructed entirely from reclaimed wooden girders salvaged from the demolished St. John's Church that once existed on the site.

Contact

Rental Enquiries
1051 Broughton, Vancouver, BC
hello@westbankliving.ca

Manifesto

The concept for 1051 Broughton Street – The Lauren – draws inspiration from the history and character of Vancouver’s West End, and also modernist art in architecture.

The Lauren pays homage to the rental buildings of 1960’s Vancouver in its playful form and materials. In the De Stijl shapes and colour palette, it references early modernist aspirations of minimalist housing, a mandate that is aligned with the city’s rental program (STIR).

The Lauren also draws from an era that aspired to gesamtkunstwerk, “a total work of art into which the architect would design, commission or otherwise oversee each component of the building from the outside in, from the gardens to the public art.” The interior design continues the principles of art and craft. Every suite entry door is paneled with a shifting composition inspired by the façade. In the lobby entry, a wall of walnut blocks are accented by framed and lit heritage stain glass fragments.

On the rental tower, a restrained glazed expression is complemented by a concrete framed façade. In the latter, spacious round balconies offset the rigour of the rectilinear forms. The tower is sculpted back at the southeast corner in order to maximize daylight hours on the neighbourhood below. Its angled façade is livened by a dynamic composition of De Stijl colors.

With careful respect for the local community, the overall design is articulated into four distinct expressions. At the ground level, a brilliant red tile wall anchors the tower to an abundantly landscaped ground level, while mirroring the height of the historic brick building to the south. It includes a child-friendly undulating water channel that is crowned by a sculpture by artist Reece Terris. The artwork is a geometric composition of fragments of the former church's wooden structure. It hovers dramatically above a round reflection pond. The landscape also includes a communal garden and outdoor dining area to contribute to the neighbourhood’s liveliness.

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