Two iconic Vancouver towers in Vancouver have been named Best Tall Building Award of Excellence winners by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
Cardero (1575 West Georgia Street) and Vancouver House (1480 Howe Street) were recognized in their respective height range categories.
The annual award recognizes projects that have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of tall buildings and the urban environment and that achieve sustainability and wellness at the highest level. The best towers from four regions – the Americas, Asia & Australasia, Europe, and Middle East & Africa – were selected.
Designed by Henriquez Partners Architects Cardero is a 26 storey mixed-use residential, office, and retail tower that acts as a gateway and transitional building from the North Shore to Vancouver’s Downtown core. With 119 luxury residences, as well as four floors of office and ground floor retail, the building features deeply angled, V-shapes of white steel, providing shading and privacy while reducing solar heat gain and creating a remarkable exterior design.
“We have always championed the important role that architecture plays in shaping cities and it’s an honour to have our work recognized by CTBUH,” said Gregory Henriquez, Managing Principal, Henriquez. “We are so proud of this collaboration with Bosa to realize Cardero, a project that has significant meaning for our studio and marks the gateway from the North Shore into our city centre.”
Developed by Bosa Properties, the tower is built to LEED-Gold standards and will connect to a future neighbourhood district energy network.
“Cardero stands out as one of our family’s proudest achievements in more than 50 years of creating homes in Metro Vancouver,” said Colin Bosa, CEO, Bosa Properties. “We want to make a meaningful long-term impact on the city, and we are proud of the partnership with Henriquez. Together, we worked to create a sustainable, world-class work of architecture that will contribute to the evolution of urban living in Vancouver and be part of shaping the skyline of one of the world’s best cities.”
Vancouver House won two CTBUH excellence awards in the separate categories of “Best Tall Building 100-199 Metres” and “Best Tall Residential or Hotel Building.”
Developed by Westbank and designed by Bjarke Ingels Architects, the 49 storey iconic tower reached completion in 2020. The tower gains its form in response to site constraints, shape shifting from a triangle at its base to a rectangle 500 feet above the bridge.
The two other Canadian towers that earned awards were Telus Sky in Calgary and River City 3 in Toronto.
The Award of Excellence winners will now move on to compete for the coveted title of “2021 Overall Best Tall Building Worldwide” to be announced at the upcoming CTBUH 2021 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference in mid-May.
