The project is comprised of two separate yet related programmatic elements; a four-storey Vancouver Masonic Centre Building (VMC) and an eighteen-storey naturally ventilated secured mixed-income rental housing building. The team investigated multiple scenarios to best situate these programs on the site, with the proposed option seen as the optimal solution in terms of urban design, neighbourliness, and sustainability.
The VMC and residential building are conceived and designed in a spirit of proportion, poetic simplicity of form and a paired-down architectural expression. There is an adherence to the regulating principles of harmonic geometry throughout the proposed VMC and adjoining tower. The approach to the formal and architectural language of the building is informed by the classical principles of Firmitas (Durability) Utilitas (Utility) and Venustas (Beauty) through a contemporary syntax befitting a modern city.
Environmental design was integral to the project. A naturally ventilated residential circulation core removed heating/cooling requirements for common areas, and reduced the associated mechanical area required.