The striated volume appears like a rippled seashell made from parallel walls facing east and west to block the low incoming sunrays, while opening up toward the Marina and the private garden. The undulating roof is made from tilted slabs ensuring that there are no parallel surfaces between floor and ceiling. The resultant elevation appears like parallel columns of light like the digital display of an equalizer.
Vancouver House is located at the main entrance to Vancouver right where Granville bridge triforks when it reaches downtown. The resulting triangular slices of land had remained undeveloped until now. When engaged by Westbank to design a residential high-rise for the highly complex site, BIG started by mapping the constraints: setbacks from the streets; a m setback from the bridge; and a neighboring park had to be protected from shadows. After all the constraints, a small triangular site nearly too small to build on was left.
The food labs and offices are designed to offer maximum flexibility, with open classrooms, laboratories, and kitchens that can be rearranged for different purposes due to the generous height and width of the spaces. All kitchens and laboratories feature industrial materials for hygiene and maintenance, while public programs use natural materials such as wood and stone to create a welcoming atmosphere.
Due to the unique character of Singapore’s urbanism both very dense and verdant BIG pursued the design challenge as a vertical exploration of tropical urbanism, reinforcing Singapore’s reputation as a garden city. The building’s recognizable exterior façade consists of vertical elements that are pulled apart to allow glimpses into the green oases blooming from the base, core and rooftop. A dynamic interplay of orthogonal lines and lush greenery presents itself in the contrasting textures of steel and glass, interweaved with tropical vegetation.
The wooden Panda figure for ARCHITECTMADE is designed for BIGs Panda House at Copenhagen Zoo. The new habitat for two giant pandas was created in the yin-yang symbol, based on the Chinese philosophy for balance and opposition within a simple shape. The Panda mimics this simplicity, with the rotation of the upper body and movability of the arms and legs. The Panda figure is available in large or small size.