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
Giants 400 | Sep 10, 2015
MILITARY SECTOR GIANTS: Clark Group, HDR, Fluor top rankings of nation's largest military sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Museums | Sep 9, 2015
Bauhaus Museum Dessau names two design winners
The German museum chose one sleek, no-nonsense concept and one colorful, complex entry.
Giants 400 | Sep 8, 2015
RETAIL SECTOR GIANTS: Callison RTKL, PCL Construction, Jacobs among top retail sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest retail sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
BIM and Information Technology | Sep 7, 2015
The power of data: How AEC firms and owners are using analytics to transform design and construction
Case’s bldgs = data conference highlighted how collecting data about personal activities can inform design and extend the power of BIM/VDC.
Sponsored | Architects | Sep 4, 2015
Sydney-based Architectural Firm Dramatically Increases Productivity
ArchiOffice enables the firm to spend less time on managing projects by providing relevant information in one place.
Industrial Facilities | Sep 3, 2015
DATA CENTER SECTOR GIANTS: Fluor, Gensler, Holder Construction among top data center AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest data center sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
High-rise Construction | Sep 3, 2015
Rafael Viñoly's 'Walkie-Talkie' tower named U.K.'s worst new building
The curved, glass tower at 20 Fenchurch Street in London has been known to reflect intense heat onto the streets below (in one instance damaging a car) and cause severe wind gusts.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Surveys gauge users’ satisfaction with airports
Several surveys gauge passenger satisfaction with airports, as flyers and airlines weigh in on technology, security, and renovations.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Small and regional airports in a dogfight for survival
Small and regional airports are in a dogfight for survival. Airlines have either cut routes to non-hub markets, or don’t provide enough seating capacity to meet demand.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Airports expand rental car facilities to ease vehicular traffic at their terminals
AEC teams have found fertile ground in building or expanding consolidated rental car facilities, which are the No. 1 profit centers for most airports.
