The Vancouver city council has approved plans to build a multi-family residential development at 4238-4338 Cambie Street. The Slate Block building is a 6-storey condominium that will include 68 strata units and six townhouses on the laneway, designed by Arno Matis Architecture.
The Building is inspired by the formations of metamorphic rock in Queen Elizabeth Park. Much like the park’s geographic features, the building’s form shifts and slides to accommodate old-growth trees located on the site.
While rooted in this history, the expression of the project is forward-looking, utilizing contemporary geometries, materials and building systems. According to the designers, the building will be built to Low Emissions standard, to follow Vancouver’s Green Building Policy for rezoning.
“Large trees are a significant characteristic of Cambie’s Heritage Boulevard and represent the grand vision of the Cambie Corridor. Here, the retention of these significant trees have shaped the building; the massing is pushed and pulled around this foliage to create a residual form that pays homage to the neighbourhood’s unique greenery,” says Arno Matis Architecture.
The massing of the proposal is divided into a series of defined horizontal layers; sliding to accommodate historic trees and protruding to create residential decks.
These horizontal components are distinctly articulated through the use of varying materials and detailing. Proposed as glass, stone and concrete, the exterior envelope enhances the scale and proportion of the composition.
Shifting horizontal slab edges are interrupted by concrete upstands to create a human scale. These irregular breaks fragment the façade’s layering, similar to the fissility found in naturally foliated rock forms.
