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.
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.
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.
“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
Student Housing | Mar 13, 2023
University of Oklahoma, Missouri S&T add storm-safe spaces in student housing buildings for tornado protection
More universities are incorporating reinforced rooms in student housing designs to provide an extra layer of protection for students. Storm shelters have been included in recent KWK Architects-designed university projects in the Great Plains where there is a high incidence of tornadoes. Projects include Headington and Dunham Residential Colleges at the University of Oklahoma and the University Commons residential complex at Missouri S&T.
Mixed-Use | Mar 11, 2023
Austin mixed-use development will provide two million sf of office, retail, and residential space
In Austin, Texas, the seven-building East Riverside Gateway complex will provide a mixed-use community next to the city’s planned Blue Line light rail, which will connect the Austin Bergstrom International Airport with downtown Austin. Planned and designed by Steinberg Hart, the development will include over 2 million sf of office, retail, and residential space, as well as amenities, such as a large park, that are intended to draw tech workers and young families.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 7, 2023
Multifamily housing development in Chicago takes design inspiration from patchwork and quilting
HUB 32, a 65-unit multifamily housing development, will provide affordable housing and community amenities in Chicago’s Garfield Park neighborhood. Brooks + Scarpa’s recently unveiled design takes inspiration from the American tradition of patchwork and quilting.
Adaptive Reuse | Mar 5, 2023
Pittsburgh offers funds for office-to-residential conversions
The City of Pittsburgh’s redevelopment agency is accepting applications for funding from developers on projects to convert office buildings into affordable housing. The city’s goals are to improve downtown vitality, make better use of underutilized and vacant commercial office space, and alleviate a housing shortage.
Student Housing | Mar 5, 2023
Calif. governor Gavin Newsom seeks to reform environmental law used to block student housing
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to reform a landmark state environmental law that he says was weaponized by wealthy homeowners to block badly needed housing for students at the University of California, Berkeley.
Green Renovation | Mar 5, 2023
Dept. of Energy offers $22 million for energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades
The Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy is offering more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams across America. Prize recipients will be selected based on their ideas to accelerate widespread, equitable energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades.
AEC Innovators | Mar 3, 2023
Meet BD+C's 2023 AEC Innovators
More than ever, AEC firms and their suppliers are wedding innovation with corporate responsibility. How they are addressing climate change usually gets the headlines. But as the following articles in our AEC Innovators package chronicle, companies are attempting to make an impact as well on the integrity of their supply chains, the reduction of construction waste, and answering calls for more affordable housing and homeless shelters. As often as not, these companies are partnering with municipalities and nonprofit interest groups to help guide their production.
Modular Building | Mar 3, 2023
Pallet Shelter is fighting homelessness, one person and modular pod at a time
Everett, Wash.-based Pallet Inc. helped the City of Burlington, Vt., turn a municipal parking lot into an emergency shelter community, complete with 30 modular “sleeping cabins” for the homeless.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 1, 2023
Multifamily construction startup Cassette takes a different approach to modular building
Prefabricated modular design and construction have made notable inroads into such sectors as industrial, residential, hospitality and, more recently, office and healthcare. But Dafna Kaplan thinks that what’s held back the modular building industry from even greater market penetration has been suppliers’ insistence that they do everything: design, manufacture, logistics, land prep, assembly, even onsite construction. Kaplan is CEO and Founder of Cassette, a Los Angeles-based modular building startup.
Seismic Design | Feb 27, 2023
Turkey earthquakes provide lessons for California
Two recent deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria offer lessons regarding construction practices and codes for California. Lax building standards were blamed for much of the devastation, including well over 35,000 dead and countless building collapses.
