A 1978 building designed by Arthur Erickson has provided the inspiration for Shigeru Ban’s Vancouver timber tower, set to be the tallest in the world.
New renderings of Shigeru Ban‘s Terrace House have been released by developer PortLiving, revealing a structure that pays tribute to its neighbour: Arthur Erickson‘s 1978 Evergreen Building.
The Japanese architect’s first project in Canada was announced last year, and is set to be the world’s tallest timber hybrid structure. The concept is already well-suited to Vancouver, where building tall with wood has plenty of support from the likes of Michael Green (the local architect whose T3 is the tallest timber structure in the U.S.) and Acton Ostry Architects (which recently wrapped up work on the current record holder, Brock Commons, at the University of British Columbia).
Ban’s structure borrows its cues from the Evergreen Building, an angular office complex wrapped in terraces that seem to overflow with greenery. Sitting behind the Erickson structure, at the corner of West Hastings and Jervis, Terrace House will feel like an extension of the plant-infused landmark, thanks to similarly landscaped terraces matched level for level with the 10-storey Erickson classic.
The visual unity is extended even as the new tower rises an additional 9 storeys over its neighbour, thanks to the use of triangular forms, materials such as glass and concrete, and of course the plants. The team behind the building has even brought in Cornelia Oberlander, the original landscape architect on the Evergreen Building, to help create a seamless continuity.
The developer promises to release more details on the project before the end of the year.
