The architects are bringing their signature vision to Vancouver, championing sustainable design with an innovative mix of retail office and residential space.

Rising above two existing buildings, the 37-storey glass tower is located  at the heart of Vancouver’s heritage district at 838 West Hastings Street. Sited within walking distance of workplaces, shops and leisure facilities, Jameson House will offer an ideal model of sustainable urban living by reducing reliance on transport and balancing energy consumption between its mixed use program of day and night-time activities.

Foster and Partners Architects and Designers is working in collaboration with Vancouver architect Walter Francl and heritage consultant and architect Robert Lemon to design a landmark building that will be a benchmark for future developments. Jameson House will operate at three different levels: street, city block and tower. On the street level, the retail stores and office space will have direct interface with the two storey heritage buildings. From the city block level, the design will respect the ten storey height of the adjacent office buildings with over 86,000 square feet of office space while enhancing the culture of the heritage district. The tower occupying the residential condominiums will engage in scale with the other contemporary towers of the downtown core, such as the Terminal City Club.

Leading the team for Jameson House, Nigel Dancey, Senior Partner at Foster and Partners said, “We are delighted that our design for a new mixed use residential tower in the heart of Vancouver has been approved by Vancouver City Council. It is a unique opportunity to create a building that draws its inspiration from the historic fabric of this engaging city. And that will inject the area with a new breath of life, while offering a model for sustainable urban living.”

The building’s mix will reinforce the economic and social activity of the area by attracting new shops and services for existing business and residents. The plan involves the restoration of the A-listed 1921 Ceperley Rounsfell Building, retention of the façade of the 1929 B-listed Royal Financial Building, and the addition of a new tower with 11 storeys of commercial space, including shops and a restaurant, and 24 storeys of apartments with underground parking. The formal massing of the tower refers to its urban setting, in particular, the adjacent 33-storey Terminal City Club tower, the adjacent 20-storey buildings and the street level two storey heritage buildings.

This project continues Foster and Partners practice of designing contemporary interventions in historic structures that began with the New German Parliament at the Reichstag and the Great Court of the British Museum, and has recently been explored in a high rise context with the Hearst Tower in New York. The Ceperley Rounsfell Building’s entire internal double height volume will be returned to its original configuration.

Signage and fixtures to the new retail space will be consistent with the historic character of the building. The materials and scale of the office accommodation will contrast with the residential levels above, while referring to the architectural precedents of the surrounding ten story commercial buildings.

Sustainability has been the key to the design strategy throughout. Careful balancing of energy supply through the development’s mixed use has enabled full advantage to be taken of central a cogeneration plant, the first to be used in Vancouver. It is planned to run on an ecologically friendly primary fuel and combined with absorption cooling can supplement both cooling and electricity requirements for the building.

Developed to respond to the local climate the concept for Jameson House has been sensitive to seasonal sunpaths, prevailing winds, humidity levels, air temperatures and precipitation rates specific to the location. Directional wind profiles and solar exposure have been used to help determine the façade design and external building form to achieve lower thermal loads and opportunities for open balconies and natural ventilation. Jameson House will also be a green building in a more literal sense. The top of the tower, the balconies, and a roof terrace at level four will be green spaces, introducing planting and trees to the area, irrigated via a rainwater harvesting system.

Other ‘amenities’ include a 24 hour concierge service, membership to Vancouver’s elite business club (Terminal city club), touch screen panel for central home control of entertainment, lighting, heating and security system in the home, and North America’s first fully automated non-pallet car park. (See sidebar)

Jameson House will feature a total of 131 residences on floors 14 through 37. Residences range in size from 600 to 3,551 square feet, with most homes priced from $600,000 to $2.5 million. The development’s limited edition ‘O’ residences on floors 14 to 20 offer curvaceous organic interiors and signature finishes at about 900 to 970 square feet. Penthouses on the top two floors boast spectacular harbour and city views.

Foster and Partners excellence in interior design is also much on display. The residential suites in Jameson House are outfitted with modern fixtures and finishes, completed by warm imported stone or rich hardwood oak floors that lead to private balconies with sweeping views. Jameson House is the first residential tower in the world featuring the ‘Place’ kitchen designed by Foster and Partners for Dada of Italy. Unique features include the custom backsplash illuminated by and Artemide light panel and the cantilevered island countertop which may be lowered or raised for bar or dining style seating. Lighting design is by Claude Engle Lighting, famous for doing the lighting the National Gallery in Washington and the German Parliament in Berlin. In addition, each suite is designed with nine foot ceilings with floor to ceiling glass allowing an abundance of natural light to enter.

All this while still paying very careful consideration to sustainable and environmentally friendly approaches. If this truly is the future of condominium, then things are looking good.   CL

Sustainable Design Highlights
• Designing by climate characteristics to consider things such as sunpath, rainfall, winds, temperatures and other climatic conditions specific to the site with the goal to harness as much ofthe climatic conditions, for example sunlight, to maximize the building’s overall performance and longetivity.

• Green spaces, including rooftop garden, terrace and other green spaces help filter air and reduce urban heat island effect

• Spreading energy use by co-generation plant

• Creating water efficiencies though use of low waste systems and ‘water-wise’ appliances as well as rain water use

• Under floor heating and cooling systems that are silent and energy efficient, clean

• Passive thermal systems and free cooling, natural ventilation that will require little or no additional energy use, as climate allows

• Ambient lighting controls offer 30 to 40 per cent savings in energy

Valet of the future
• Jameson House will be home to North America’s first fully automated non-pallet car park. The computerized parking system has been proven for over 40 years in European countries including Germany, Switzerland and Italy and will now be introduced in Canada.

• To park a car, drivers pull into the transfer station, lock the vehicle, exit the station and, with the swipe of a card, activate the system. Then a mechanized shuttle quickly and safely moves and parks the car in the underground parkade. When the owner is ready to depart, it will take an estimated 90 seconds for the automated system to retrieve the car. The system consists of two fully independent computer controlled and automated car storage systems with dedicated receiving and retrieval stations, each with its own elevator.

• According to proponents, the ‘valet of the future’ is safe and completely hassle free. It saves space, energy and time while increasing security for the driver and vehicle. No need to circle the parkade looking for a spot or haul packages from some distant parking spot. This automated system will offer parking for approximately 230 cars on 5 levels. In addition there are two floors of conventional parking.