The architectural Institute of British Columbia together with the city of Vancouver recently held a competition to develop and improve the city’s livability through greener, denser development known as the 2030 Challenge.

This is the FormShift Vancouver Wildcard winner designed by Vancouver-based go Design Collaborative: ‘At Vancouver’s waterfront ‘gateways’, transportation, services, industry and homes collide. To protect industrial and agricultural land from condo development, DENcity : INTENcity proposes an energy-efficient large-span, ’stacked’ structure that permits endless reconfiguration and occupation. It would stand in Marpole as a beacon of Vancouver’s commitment to bold innovation.’

‘go Design Collaborative is an emerging design studio founded on the notion that good design comes from a concise rendering of a multitude of ideas and expertise.  A commitment to ongoing dialogue requires as much listening as telling, it can get messy – but the effort is worth it. Good design makes a difference.’

The Competition:

The competition FormShift Vancouver included three competition categories:

1. Vancouver Primary – design for a mixed use primary (arterial) site along a major Vancouver street that includes a rapid transit station.

2. Vancouver Secondary – design for small secondary (residential) site in an established Vancouver neighborhood near public transit.

3. Vancouver Wild Card – a design that pushes the envelope of sustainable design and community building for Vancouver.

The Winners:

Vancouver Primary: Sturgess Architecture – Calgary

Vancouver Secondary: Romses Architects – Vancouver

Vancouver Wildcard: Go Design Collaborative – Vancouver

All winning entries: www.formshiftvancouver.com.

From the project description:

DENcity : INTENcity

‘This proposal is a reaction to City of Vancouver’s EcoDensity Charter and the will to develop the future of Vancouver as an Eco-City. It is specifically a response to the increasing scarcity of industrial and agricultural lands as pressures to convert these lands to private residential and commercial developments mount. How can these seemingly competing forces (continue) to coexist?  What form can a radical new means of coexistence take?

A siting strategy for this investigation generated an urban form analysis seeking meaningful locations to highlight a visionary FormShifting structure. What emerged was a critique on the various entry points to the city, where the most intense convergence of diverse land use, transportation, infrastructure, services and industry collide. Using the Fraser River shore and the Marpole community as a case study, we were inspired by an apparent lack of a gateway presence, a lack of a strong center for this neighborhood, and by their visions for a waterfront enlivened by diverse activity in the spirit of Granville Island.

Our inspiration for investigating this proposition was the knowledge that living or working densely is not a new idea. We’ve certainly had more intense activity along our shores in the past – one need only seek out archival photos of the Fraser River to see that.  The notion of stacked life is also not new. A small sketch from the turn of the century showing stacked estates – houses and farmland – got us thinking about how other non-residential, yet essential, program could be densified and intensified.

DENcity : INTENcity proposes a typology that responds to the ‘crunch’ at the waterfront. It allows for the coexistence of industrial and agricultural lands with other uses as well as a providing a transportation and transit hub. It proposes a high-density “stacked” program that concentrates multiple diverse uses in a vertical format.

A base block of stacked industrial floor plates and parking is serviced by rail and streetcar serving the Fraser riverfront and linking to the new Canada Line skytrain route. A dramatic undulating roof pierced with skylights caps industrial activity and provides pockets of interstitial zones in between where a variety of events could occur – a seasonal farmers’ market or festival gatherings. This roof then provides a new elevated ground plane above, capable of supporting urban farming or park land. It is anchored by a flexible tower, a large-span, straight-forward structure that permits endless reconfiguration and occupation with minimal intervention.

The typology revisits conventional horizontal zoning. It is responsible and sustainable, vibrant and accessible. It invigorates its neighborhood and welcomes its neighbors. It stands as a beacon of the city’s edge, of its founding economic engines and ultimately of Vancouver’s commitment to building bold solutions for its future.’

All winning entries: www.formshiftvancouver.com.

All entries: www.formshiftvancouver.com.