With the recent opening of Phase 1 at The Amazing Brentwood by SHAPE, leading global integrated design firm Stantec is proud to contribute to a project that is transforming a 1950’s era suburban shopping centre into a mixed-use urban hub. The Amazing Brentwood’s first phase brings open-air retail, dining, and entertainment together with three high-rise towers. The full master plan will include 11 residential towers, new social spaces and additional retail including a complete revitalization of the existing shopping centre.
The Amazing Brentwood is one of first major projects in British Columbia to reimagine a regional mall as a vibrant mixed-use urban community. The 28-acre site is a significant transit-oriented development providing convenient access for residents to the SkyTrain transit system connecting to downtown Vancouver and other key Metro Vancouver transit stations.
Given the scale of the development at 836,000 million square metres and the need to maintain ongoing operation of the existing shopping centre, the project was developed in phases. The first phase includes 46,500 square metres of new outdoor retail space situated around a new urban plaza, new office space, six levels of below-grade parking, and three 50+-storey high-rise residential towers.
The public plaza features performance stages, an expansive digital display, and a musically coordinated fountain with a Katsura tree in the center. Integrated LED screens on the steps of the grand staircase are a distinguishing feature of the revitalized live-work-play community. The screens are programmable to show a variety of content, including video and graphics, which can be customized to showcase city or shopping centre activities, celebrations, and thematics. Stantec worked with design architect James K.M. Cheng Architects for this portion of the project.
The final high-rise crowning the first phase is Tower Three, a new 54-storey residential tower atop a four-storey podium with retail space for which Stantec was the design architect and mechanical engineer. The podium is characterized by a natural stone framing element and bronze metal curtain on the southwest corner. Conceptualized as two vertical elements, the tower mass has a bronze-coloured metal panels finish applied to the north elements, and modern white panels applied at the south. Fritted glass wraps around the top of the south side and is backlit by a linear LED installation, providing a glowing beacon at night. Together, the three towers of Phase 1 seamlessly connect with The Amazing Brentwood’s commercial space to offer dining, entertainment, retail, office, and residential all in one location.
With a transit-oriented development approach, The Amazing Brentwood offers access to rapid transit, bicycle parking and end of trip facilities, extensive EV charging infrastructure, and access to carshare vehicles. Additional sustainable strategies employed include a 50 percent reduction in use of potable water for irrigation through the use of native landscaping and efficient irrigation systems, and the 40 percent reduction of indoor water use through efficient and low-flow plumbing fixtures. An energy efficient design aims for performance improvements of 28 percent for the residential component and 22 percent for the commercial area achieved via use of heat recovery, LED lighting, and high-performance glazing. The project will seek LEED® Gold Certification for the master plan and LEED® Silver certification for the commercial development.
The Amazing Brentwood represents a growing trend of reimagining traditional mall retail properties into dynamic, flexible, and sustainable communities that create a sense of place and engagement for patrons and residents alike.
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