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Currently going up at the corner of Seymour Street and Helmcken Street in the heart of Vancouver's Yaletown, a 15-storey social housing complex at 1107 Seymour has nearly topped off. Designed by Endall Elliott Associates for the city, the complex will include a six-storey base filled with social services offices, topped by a nine-storey tower offering 81 residential rental apartments.
Replacing the site of the former offices of the Positive Living Society of BC and AIDS Vancouver, the new office space is expected to contain a variety of local social services. Seen in the rendering above, the two portions of the tower will be made distinct from one another via the usage of different exterior decoration and design. A modern take on the area's surrounding traditional architecture (seen in the foreground), the podium will help connect the structure to the street.
Seen in the image above taken from the corner of Seymour and Helmcken in late May, the tower has reached the 10th storey. Set to include 16 studios, 42 one-bedrooms, and 23 two-bedroom units, the complex will sport only 22 parking spots, an exception to official City guidelines which call for 55. When it comes to bicycle parking, however, the centrally located complex will provide 151 spots, despite official guidelines calling for just 111.
Seen from behind (above), the relationship between the tower and podium portion of the development is made clear, the tower to be set back from the base above the sixth floor while front-facing elements of the podium appear to rise only four storeys. Visually, the tower will be faced in a combination of spandrel and vision glass, while the office portion will appear with a more traditional exterior arrangement punctuated by small windows, save for the exterior corner, which will be covered in glass (as seen in rendering below)
SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
