1245 Harwood is an elegant and unique residential tower located in Vancouver’s West End, a dense and vibrant residential neighbourhood in the city’s downtown.
The building is set within a tree-lined street consisting of buildings of different heights, massing and architectural styles built over several decades. The streetscape truly reflects the social and demographic changes of this populous and lively community in downtown Vancouver.
1245 Harwood rests on a series of terraced gardens emulating the original estate character of the area. The dominant feature of the eastern garden is a magnificent 110-year-old tulip tree. The building massing responds to the site constraints of building within a heavily-populated neighbourhood with its slender proportion and compact footprint. The rounded north and south ends of the tower give the building a distinctive fluid geometry and an elegant appearance.
The layered building façade both encloses and embraces the building to the elements and views. On the side of the building susceptible to excessive sunlight, a system of custom operable screens provides sun shading in addition to the wraparound cantilevered balconies. The sliding screens playfully layer light and shadow and can be repositioned as needed for solar shading and framing the beautiful views across Vancouver’s West End. The glazing system is a four-sided Structural Silicone Glazed (SGS) curtainwall system. Spandrel panels have a stainless-steel face on the exterior and vision glass—with a slight blue tint on the interior—offers an enhanced shading coefficient.
The ground level entrance features a porte-cochère that lands lightly on the plaza and disappears into a shallow reflecting pool. Harwood’s slender tower sculpts a welcoming entrance from the street while concealing the parking and mechanical spaces beyond.
Credits:
- Revery Architecture - Project Designer - Kyle Chan
- Revery Architecture - Project Architect - Dan Du
- Revery Architecture - Design Principal - Venelin Kokalov
- Revery Architecture - Director - Ling Meng
- Revery Architecture - Principal - Bing Thom
- Revery Architecture - Technical Principal - Shinobu Homma
- Revery Architecture - Project Designer - Daniel Gasser
- Revery Architecture - Project Designer - Alex Buss
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