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Proposed 16-storey hybrid mass timber office and retail building designed by KPF.
TBI • Oct 14, 2021
KPF-Designed Hybrid Mass Timber Office Building in Vancouver
The Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc., operator and joint owner of Bentall Centre in partnership with Blackstone Real Estate, unveiled Burrard Exchange, a proposed 16-storey hybrid mass timber office and retail building designed by KPF. Under the proposed plans, which were recently submitted to the city of Vancouver, approximately 450,000 square feet of office and retail space would be added within the Bentall Centre campus on one of the last large development sites in Vancouver’s urban core.
Burrard Exchange is a modern, loft-like structure with healthy, light-filled workspaces. KPF’s innovative design utilizes mass timber, typically reserved for low-rise structures, to create a state-of-the-art green office tower, reducing the building’s embodied carbon. The mass timber is also a key design feature, intended to be unencapsulated and visible, highlighting and celebrating the project’s sustainable aspirations.
At approximately 30,000 square feet, the building’s floor plates are nearly twice as large as those offered in typical office buildings in Vancouver, while 14.5-foot floor-to-floor heights allow plentiful natural light inside. The building’s stepped exterior massing provides half of the building’s 16 floors with outdoor terraces and loggias, enhancing connections to nature from within the building.
Replacing the site’s existing parkade, the development offers new street frontages, amenities, and retail space to service the entire Bentall Centre and its environs. An at-grade pavilion, also of mass timber, is a primary feature of a new, regraded 20,000-square-foot plaza, one of the largest outdoor gathering places downtown. Burrard Exchange’s lobby connects to the below-grade Shops at Bentall Centre, with retail and services for tenants and the public.
Burrard Exchange is part of a major repositioning of the 1.5 million-square-foot Bentall Centre campus, including re-activating public spaces, adding arts and culture offerings, and enhancing tenant amenities.
For the full press release, please click here
The world’s tallest hybrid-timber building recently received development approval
SOM and M2 Development Partners have unveiled renderings for a mixed-use project in the heart of Nashville’s SoBro where is the most vibrant cultural districts. The project will consist of two towers on a shared podium. The larger tower is planned to be 46-stories tall which will contain a 242-key Ritz-Carlton Hotel and 165 luxury residences. The development will anchor burgeoning retail and hospitality development along Korean Veterans Boulevard. The 46-story tower includes a 242-key Ritz-Carlton Hotel and 165 luxury Residences. Atop the Grand Ballroom and meeting spaces are hotel fitness facilities, a yoga patio, an indoor/outdoor spa garden, and a hotel bar and pool deck. The second 32-story tower will be home to 185 rental units with a fitness center, pool, and outdoor dining. The design is informed as much by biophilic principles—providing opportunities to connect with nature—as by local building traditions. “Taking inspiration from the surrounding landscape and the architectural vernacular of the Southern porch, we designed the towers with a series of outdoor, wraparound terraces,” says Scott Duncan, SOM Design Partner. “These lively spaces allow guests and residents to meet and enjoy views of the city and the river.” The project is targeting LEED Gold certification and is anticipating groundbreaking in early 2022. For more on this story, go to SOM .
The Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc., operator and joint owner of Bentall Centre in partnership with Blackstone Real Estate, unveiled Burrard Exchange, a proposed 16-storey hybrid mass timber office and retail building designed by KPF. Under the proposed plans, which were recently submitted to the city of Vancouver, approximately 450,000 square feet of office and retail space would be added within the Bentall Centre campus on one of the last large development sites in Vancouver’s urban core. Burrard Exchange is a modern, loft-like structure with healthy, light-filled workspaces. KPF’s innovative design utilizes mass timber, typically reserved for low-rise structures, to create a state-of-the-art green office tower, reducing the building’s embodied carbon. The mass timber is also a key design feature, intended to be unencapsulated and visible, highlighting and celebrating the project’s sustainable aspirations. At approximately 30,000 square feet, the building’s floor plates are nearly twice as large as those offered in typical office buildings in Vancouver, while 14.5-foot floor-to-floor heights allow plentiful natural light inside. The building’s stepped exterior massing provides half of the building’s 16 floors with outdoor terraces and loggias, enhancing connections to nature from within the building. Replacing the site’s existing parkade, the development offers new street frontages, amenities, and retail space to service the entire Bentall Centre and its environs. An at-grade pavilion, also of mass timber, is a primary feature of a new, regraded 20,000-square-foot plaza, one of the largest outdoor gathering places downtown. Burrard Exchange’s lobby connects to the below-grade Shops at Bentall Centre, with retail and services for tenants and the public. Burrard Exchange is part of a major repositioning of the 1.5 million-square-foot Bentall Centre campus, including re-activating public spaces, adding arts and culture offerings, and enhancing tenant amenities. For the full press release, please click here
