By Hadani Ditmars
The Globe and Mail, April 21, 2014
Architect Michael Green is having a busy month. Shortly after his wooden high-rise project was written up in The Economist, his first multifamily project in Vancouver, 6th & Willow, was unveiled to great applause.
Fittingly for an architect who marries a certain Canadian idiom to an internationalist style, the 25-unit townhouse complex takes Vancouverist values to the next level. At the crossroads of False Creek and the Cambie Corridor, the project respects both the urbanity of the area and its connection to the natural world. At the same time, it offers an intriguing interplay between the public and private.
Developed by Edwin Liang of Kenstone Properties, 6th & Willow offers the quality and gravitas of the single-family home, with the scale and massing of an urban dwelling.
The project’s Fairview Slopes locale is undergoing a second wave of densification after its Expo 86-inspired growth spurt, but to date the area has been without a clear design directive. Long filled with bland suburban-style townhouses and low-scale retail, recent zoning changes now allow for more urban-style mixed use and some sites are being redeveloped. More…