Page 94 - Designing Ways 254

From its street-level base, vertical views are enriched by balcony
textures, including three tones of grey on their undersides, inspired
by cloud formations and creating a sense of movement within
their patterns. The triangular balconies above also provide plays on
reflection to the streets below. As the sun sets on the city, the building
begins to glow, reflecting light downward from the white, marble-
like porcelain finish of the balconies, as well as a pinkish hue that
emanates from the stainless-steel framing. During those transitions
of light, two façades begin to glow, while the other two sides fade to
darkness.

An integration of art and heritage
Leading up to the entrance of the tower, ACDF designed a long,
dramatic colonnade. Its oversized, angular columns are purposefully
misaligned, providing Vancouver-based artist, Lyse Lemieux, with a
blank canvas upon which to pay homage to the site and its history. She
subsequently developed a mosaic composition of nine figures, each
more than 20 feet in height. Each of the columns faces in a different
direction and features a different personage, creating a sense of
movement and delivering a strong contribution to the neighbourhood,
the public realm, and the city. The columns also transition into the
fully glazed lobby and remain the main actors that animate the space’s
minimal, simple, and toned-down design, featuring black brick walls
in a grid pattern, and stainless-steel finishes.

The tower also sits adjacent to a small, heritage house, which originally
served as a private residence before being transformed multiple times.
Known fondly by Vancouver residents as the “Yellow House”, ACDF
took great strides to consider the heritage property in the lobby-level

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