The city of Vancouver is world-renowned for the stunning nature that surrounds it: water, beaches, mountains. A 42-story tower, Fifteen Fifteen, will envelop residents in that natural beauty. Designed by Ole Scheeren, the residential skyscraper will include 202 residences ranging from studios to three bedrooms—all with floor-to-ceiling windows and access to outdoor spaces.
![Studios to 3 Bedrooms](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Fifteen%20Fifteen.png)
On the mid and upper levels, the tower also will boast 18 glass-encased homes called “Observatory Residences.” With a starting price of $5 million, each Observatory Residence features 270-degree, floor-to-ceiling windows in a cantilevered space that protrudes from the building, engineered with steel I-beams and diagonal bracing. For residents, the design creates the sensation of floating above the city, ocean, and mountains.
![Observatory Residences](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Observatory%20Residences.png)
Located on Vancouver Harbour in the downtown neighborhood of Coal Harbour, Fifteen Fifteen is starchitect Ole Scheeren’s first North American residential building. It’s also the only one for which Scheeren has designed both the interiors and exteriors. His design aims to maximize space and light while maintaining privacy and security. The building has over 65 floorplans, and each residence can be customized with bespoke features and finishes. Residents can choose from three color and material palettes that Scheeren designed to reflect Vancouver’s natural surroundings.
![Nature aspect](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Fifteen%20Fifteen%20Nature.png)
“For many years, I have explored the question of how we want to live—in relation to our own private spaces as well as our communities, our cities, and the environment—and what architecture means in this context,” Scheeren says in a statement. “Fifteen Fifteen is about connectivity—connecting people to each other and to their surroundings—and offers an interactive way of living.”
Commissioned by Bosa Properties and Kingswood Properties in 2015, Fifteen Fifteen is expected to open in 2026.
Owner-developers: Bosa Properties and Kingswood Properties
Design architect and architect of record: Ole Scheeren
MEP engineers: Bycar and Nemetz
Structural engineer: Glotman Simpson
Related Stories
| May 16, 2011
Autodesk and the USGBC announce multifamily design competition
Autodesk is partnering with the U.S. Green Building Council to sponsor the organization’s multifamily midrise design competition, which will give design professionals and students an opportunity to present their solutions to sustainable, multifamily midrise design.
| May 3, 2011
Would apartment shells help the housing market?
One reason the U.S. government pushed for homeownership is because it’s thought to reduce turnover and build strong communities. Owners have a vested interest in their properties whereas renters don’t—but what if were to change?
| Apr 12, 2011
Luxury New York high rise adjacent to the High Line
Located adjacent to New York City’s High Line Park, 500 West 23rd Street will offer 111 luxury rental apartments when it opens later this year.
| Mar 22, 2011
Mayor Bloomberg unveils plans for New York City’s largest new affordable housing complex since the ’70s
Plans for Hunter’s Point South, the largest new affordable housing complex to be built in New York City since the 1970s, include new residences for 5,000 families, with more than 900 in this first phase. A development team consisting of Phipps Houses, Related Companies, and Monadnock Construction has been selected to build the residential portion of the first phase of the Queens waterfront complex, which includes two mixed-use buildings comprising more than 900 housing units and roughly 20,000 square feet of new retail space.