Vancouver certainly benefits from some of the most dramatic scenery seen from a city in Canada. Nestled between the Salish Sea and the North Shore Mountain, the city's population was just over 600,000 in 2011, and many of these people live on the downtown peninsula. The growing population and increased density have caused the city to encourage building up rather than out. However, this growth is strictly controlled by Vancouver's View Protection Guidelines, also known as the View Cone Review. These policies intend to preserve more than 20 view corridors downtown and keep Vancouver's natural landscapes visible from several vantage points across the city. As a result, several office and residential towers boast architectural specificities that can be explained by these regulations.

Looking east on Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver, image by mcminsen

This is the case with the Telus Garden Residential Tower, currently under construction at the corner of Robson and Richard Streets. Part of a two-tower complex, it rises 135 metres above street level and 53 storeys, while its office counterpart is more modest at 88 metres. Designed by Henriquez Partners Architects and developed by Westbank Project Corp., the tower can be seen close to completion in these photos from Forum member mcminsen. The photo below shows the glass cladding reaching the upper levels of the structure, gradually sealing it off from the approaching winter weather.

Telus Garden residential tower, image by mcminsen

The photo also captures how the architects had to conform with the View Cone Policy by creating a series of curvy setbacks near the top, according to mcminsen. This space corresponds to the area that falls under the View Cone Policy and its resulting height limitation. However, the other parts of the tower — seen on each side of the setbacks — are not impacted by these restrictions because they are located in the foreshadow of the adjacent Scotiabank Tower, which was built in 1977 before any height regulations were adopted by City Hall. Telus Garden is thus allowed to fill in the same amount of space in front of it without causing any loss of view. 

The Telus Garden complex and the adjacent Scotiabank Tower to the right, image by mcminsen

While Vancouver's geography may be a great asset for resident lifestyle and scenery, its preservation creates a wide array of development restrictions in a city that is currently facing a serious housing crisis and sky-rocketing prices. Downtown Vancouver's location on a peninsula already limits the amount of land available for development, which itself creates the need for a higher density through highrise development. Telus Garden is bringing 428 units to the neighbourhood, while demonstrating one way that developers and architects can bring these kinds of mixed-use projects to the city.

Exterior view of the Telus Garden office building at ground level, image by anonymous0024

As mentioned in an earlier story, the neighbouring office tower was inaugurated earlier this fall and is already contributing to the streetscape, as seen in the picture above. Until the whole complex is complete next year, more information, renderings and pictures are available in the buildings' database file and respective forum threads, linked below. You can also give us your opinion about this development by leaving a comment at the bottom of this page.