32Rezoning Report Burrard Gateway ProjectMarch 13, 2013

Tower A & C Revisions – Urban Design Principles

Urban Design Principles

This area of the Downtown South has a unique character. It resides in a zone of bifurcation between the highly residential character of Yaletown and the West End; and a much more commercial area composed of hotels, office buildings and smaller commercial ventures from Granville to Burrard, stretching to the Central Business District. At the scale of the street, this section of Hornby is marked by a number of highly successful restaurants and hotel bars, some with outdoor patio spaces. It is buzzing at night with people parking their cars and walking to the nearby hub of Davie or the nightlife of Granville.

Our site in its current condition is a darker and more intimidating space in the evening with its large expanse of Toyota parking and fewer eyes to the street. To resolve this condition we propose to add a number of active uses to the streetscape while still retaining maximum transparency and permeability through the site. This active façade has been elongated by puncturing the Hornby façade with a large opening which draws pedestrians through the site towards Burrard and Davi; while also allowing for better circulation of vehicle traffic away from the bike lanes of Hornby.

These uses are set in from the property line by 6’ along Hornby, in keeping with the mandates of the neighbourhood guidelines, with a hardscape treatment leading to these publicly accessible spaces. Above the ground floor the podium leans forward towards the street, this serves the double purpose of decreasing the angle of incident of direct sunlight and increases the net area of roof deck, where a greened roof helps control water run-off.

This is a complex project with many users who will be moving through multiple modalities. Thus a large percentage of the site has been left free of program, to facilitate the movement of pedestrians; while vehicle movement remains well controlled. A transportation consultant has been consulted through all levels of this design to prevent any conflicts both on our site and in the larger neighbourhood context. Another dimension of connectivity is the inclusion of a demountable sky-bridge at level 5 which creates a cross flow of pedestrian motion between the uses on either side of the lane.

The placement of towers has been influenced by the shadow study which dictated that the high tower be situated on the South East corner. This placement mitigates the effect of its shadow on the City to the North West. This configuration causes minimal additional shadow beyond the shadow already created by the existing neighbourhood.

1. Porte Cochere Wall Centre

2. Porte Cochere Paramount Place

1. Hotel Bars across Hornby Street

2. Pure Lobby Entrance on Hornby

PODIUM OFFICE LOBBY TOWER C LOBBY

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