Multi-disciplinary engineering firm Buro Happold is providing structural engineering services for the Beach and Howe mixed-use tower in Vancouver. Buro Happold is design engineer, working in collaboration with local engineer of record, Glotman Simpson.
The structure meets the challenge of stabilizing a tall building whose mass is at its top – and making it safe in a high seismic zone. The 49-story building, designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, combines 653,890-sf of residential, retail, and commercial space in an urban complex at the entrance to the Granville Street Bridge.
Typically, the mass of a building is at its base. In response to the constricted urban site, the mass of the Beach and Howe tower is inverted. The tower’s small triangular base curves away from the bridge to allow light and air to enter lower apartments. As it rises, the building’s shape transforms into larger, rectangular floorplates that culminate in a square top. The designers describe the tower’s shape “as a curtain being drawn aside, welcoming people as they enter the city from the bridge.”
Buro Happold designed a concrete core with post-tensioned walls, which can protect against damage in case of an earthquake and also improve performance. This creative solution meets the tower’s structural and seismic requirements. BD+C
Related Stories
Reconstruction & Renovation | Mar 28, 2022
Is your firm a reconstruction sector giant?
Is your firm active in the U.S. building reconstruction, renovation, historic preservation, and adaptive reuse markets? We invite you to participate in BD+C's inaugural Reconstruction Market Research Report.
Legislation | Mar 28, 2022
LEED Platinum office tower faces millions in fines due to New York’s Local Law 97
One Bryant Park, also known as the Bank of America Tower, in Manhattan faces an estimated $2.4 million in annual fines when New York City’s York’s Local Law 97 goes into effect.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 25, 2022
Health group converts bank building to drive-thru clinic
Edward-Elmhurst Health and JTS Architects had to get creative when turning an American Chartered Bank into a drive-thru clinic for outpatient testing and vaccinations.
Higher Education | Mar 24, 2022
Higher education sector sees 19 percent reduction in facilities investments
Colleges and universities face a growing backlog of capital needs and funding shortfalls, according to Gordian’s 2022 State of Facilities in Higher Education report.
Architects | Mar 16, 2022
James Hoban: Designer and builder of the White House
Stewart D. McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association, chats with BD+C Executive Editor Robert Cassidy about James Hoban, the Irish draftsman and builder who convinced George Washington to let him design and build the White House.
Architects | Mar 16, 2022
Diébédo Francis Kéré named 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize recipient
Diébédo Francis Kéré, architect, educator and social activist, has been selected as the 2022 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, announced Tom Pritzker, Chairman of The Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the award that is regarded internationally as architecture’s highest honor.
Architects | Mar 10, 2022
Gyo Obata, FAIA, HOK Founding Partner, passes away at 99
Obata's career spanned six decades and included iconic projects like the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Mo.
AEC Tech Innovation | Mar 9, 2022
Meet Emerge: WSP USA's new AEC tech incubator
Pooja Jain, WSP’s VP-Strategic Innovation, discusses the pilot programs her firm’s new incubator, Emerge, has initiated with four tech startup companies. Jain speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about the four AEC tech firms to join Cohort 1 of the firm’s incubator.
Architects | Mar 2, 2022
FGM Architects and LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects join forces
FGM Architects announced that LeMay Erickson Wilcox Architects, a 19-person architectural studio based in Reston, VA is joining their firm.
Architects | Mar 1, 2022
Alyson Steele Elected President and CEO of Quinn Evans
(2.25.22) Alyson Steele, FAIA, LEED AP, has been elected president and chief executive officer of Quinn Evans, a nationally recognized firm providing architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture, and historic preservation services. Steele has been with the firm since 1997 and previously served as executive vice president and chief design officer. She succeeds Larry Barr, FAIA, who will continue to serve on the board of directors.
