The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and the City of Vancouver have revealed three preliminary design approaches for the future of the West End waterfront.
The West End Waterfront Plan is focused on the area commonly known as English Bay, Sunset Beach Park, Alexandra Park, Morton Park, and Beach Avenue. The project area stretches from the Burrard Street Bridge up to, but not including, Stanley Park. The plan will help shape the direction of this area for the next 30 years and beyond.
Vancouver-based landscape architectural firm PFS Studio and Oslo-based Snohetta was contracted in September 2020 to perform design and planning work.
The project team has prepared three approaches to help guide the plan. All three approaches explore different ways to achieve the same goals, and elements from each one can be combined. For example, all approaches include elements to make the area resilient to future sea level rise. These concepts are a work in progress and will continue to be developed to get to one conceptual design for the area.
The three different design concepts:
- Weave emphasizes and celebrates park activation, public life, and the movement of people by weaving diverse activities throughout the length of the park.
- Carve focuses on the dynamic qualities of water, by integrating ways for people to experience fresh and salt water throughout the area.
- Seed emphasizes and celebrates ecology and biodiversity and is influenced by the forests of Stanley Park and the historic salt marsh of False Creek.
Public feedback will help shape a preferred design concept, which will be shared in a future round of engagement later this year. A final plan is expected to go to the Park Board and City Council for approval in winter 2024.
