German architect Büro Ole Scheeren, in collaboration with Francl Architecture, is proposing a landmark residential tower for downtown Vancouver. Located on 1500 West Georgia Street, the tower (to be developed by Bosa Properties) will feature a system of stacked apartment modules, projecting outwards to create the affect of horizontal living in a slender high-rise.

The unique Ole Scheeren design opens up the inert shaft of the tower to embrace both city and nature in a three-dimensional sculpture.

“Vancouver possesses a unique balance of urban conditions surrounded by spectacular nature that provides fertile ground for envisioning new possibilities for future living in a cosmopolitan and environmentally-friendly city” says Ole Scheeren. “The design for this building exemplifies our ambition to reconnect architecture with the natural and civic environment and go beyond the hermetic confines of towers that increasingly inscribe our lives.”

The Ole Scheeren tower will be comprised of 48 residential floors above two ground levels and six basement floors. Sustainability strategies for passive and active energy savings are integrated with the architecture to target significant reductions in energy consumption and aspire to achieve LEED Platinum.