Vancouver's second tallest tower after Shangri-La: Ritz Carlton


On June 8, 2005 the City of Vancouver Urban Design Panel unanimously approved the development of the new design - the city's newest and second tallest skyscraper, 1153 West Georgia. To be located on Vancouver's West Georgia Street in the Central Business District, this slim, triangular, elegant 183-metre/600 foot tower rotates 45 degrees between its base and its roof.

1133 West Georgia will be a mixed-use building, consisting of a 5-star, 200 room hotel (Ritz Carlton Vancouver) and high-end residential units. The recreational and spa amenities will be accessed by both hotel and residential users. Beginning at level 7 there will be 18 levels of hotel units. Level 25 contains mechanical equipment. Beyond level 25, all floors contain residential suites, primarily one and two bedroom units ranging from 500 to 1000 square feet, with larger suites on the upper floors. The top two floors contain two-storey penthouse suites that, in addition to open balconies, will enjoy very large green private terraces on the roof level. Balconies and roof terraces are defined and protected by horizontal and vertical extensions of the curtain wall glazing of the tower.

1133 West Georgia is designed by a collaboration of Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership, Davidson Yuen Simpson Architects and Arthur Erickson, design consultant.

Construction will commence in mid-2007 and will end in early-2010, with most of the structure ready for the 2010 Olympics.


- June 7, 2005: Arthur Erickson, working with architects MCMP, designs a slim, triangular shaped glass tower which appears to twist 45 degrees from bottom to top, calling it "hyperbolic paraboloids".
- June 8, 2005: New "twisted" redesign unanimously approved by UDP as 'stunning, evocative, and beautiful, complementing Living Shangri-La' across the street. Application for rezoning from DD to CD-1 reviewed.
- Similar in design to Sweden's HSB Turning Torso.
- Features a 5-star, 200 room hotel and high-end residential units with the top floors containing two-storey penthouse suites.
- From level 7 there are 18 levels of hotel units.
- Level 25 is a mechanical equipment floor, followed by residential units all the way to the top.
- Construction will commence in early 2006.
- Solar tubes on the roof help cut the building's power demands by up to 30 per cent.
- The 'palm court' public plaza is lit at night by fibre-optic lights embedded in the pavement.
- The costly design went through its sixth and final revision - window mullions and structure - during late June 2006.
- In July 2006 the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain was expected to announce its participation in the project.
- Height is 584 feet to top of uppermost floor and 600 feet to the the tip of the architectural highlight mechanical penthouse.
- The 51 enclosed balconies amount to 6,265 sq. ft.
- Ritz Carlton will be the operator of the hotel.


FINAL DESIGN
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5519/ritzcarltontowerrenderbbh5.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/ritz1.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/ritz2.jpg

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/8403/ritzuq0.png



PREVIOUS DESIGNS:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/provisore/1133WestGeorgia1.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/provisore/1133WestGeorgia2.jpg

http://www.dysarch.com/UserImages/WebImages/ProjectImages/1.%20RESIDENTIAL/Market%20High%20Rise/1133%20West%20Georgia/1133-West-Georgia-Drawing.jpg







http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Misc/3.jpg
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7122/1153rw1.png
Tallest tower: Shangri-La Vancouver - http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=312368
Second tallest tower: Ritz Carlton Vancouver - future website: http://www.ritzcarltonvancouver.com

The site of Ritz Carlton is an unfinished skeleton of a building, one of Vancouver's worst eyesores:
http://www.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/09/488729.jpg


The original nine-storey office building was built sometime in the 1960’s. In 1994, permits were issued to strip the existing office building of its exterior walls and interior finishes and to change the use of floors one through six from office use to a fitness club known as the “Newport Beach Club”. After work began, for unknown reasons, construction was suspended, with cranes, tarps, railings, etc left intact. After a while the permits expired. The site would sit as a vacant and derelict building for many years.

However, in the last few weeks, preparation work for demolition has begun to make way for the new helical tower:

http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/3678/4702111602ebfdf03a9boc8.jpg

Main elevator lobby:
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/8209/146734266d43012ffb2bix5.jpg

Lobby, looking Southeast:
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6626/1470916972364104ee7bfy8.jpg

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/8505/10033765107b41ecf09bty8.jpg

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/6930/top12gu0.jpg

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/4368/247700926c4f70febecbft6.jpg

http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/2568/247701183e8b2726762bht7.jpg








April 26, 2007: Preparation work for demolition finally begins:

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/9026/4732857614a8e34a99ebbr2.jpg

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/1570/473270264377b3db44ebfw7.jpg

The concept is not new but the result is still good anyway.Great addition to Vancity!

Awesome, really like this one.

beautiful! gunna have to go to vancouver soon... just to stay in all these pretty new hotels...

toronto still wins though.

Looks great! Great to see vancouver getting taller! can't wait!

I'm not really big fan of twisted skyscraper but this time is very well designed and very impressive! I'd say... GO FOR IT! :banana: :banana: :banana:

Nicely designed building. It seems that twisted skyscrapers are the in thing at the moment. Good to see that gloomy, slimey piece of shit going, it really does looks bad.
Does anyone know why the first developer in the 60's just left it like it is?

Very good but still way too short...Vancouver needs to lift the height limit to 230-250m...

1133/1153 West Georgia demolition work - May 11, 2007
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/May%2011%202007/100_7472.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/May%2011%202007/100_7474.jpg

As long as they don't touch my dear 1201 West Georgia they can keep creating an awsome skyline. Shangri-la looks nice but Ritz Carlton looks better.

it could have been much impressive if it was taller. its a great complement to the skyline though!

it's nice, another torsing tower!!

Taken yesterday
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/514398006_d1d6cb0d9e_b.jpg

That is great. Been ten years since I was last there so I can imagine alot has changed in that time.

Would love to head back and see whats changed

nice skyscraper

amazing tower! i like it a lot! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

The view of Shangri-la and the Ritz Carlton twisted tower from the Lions Gate Bridge. Note the towers should be a little taller. Ritz Carlton is located in front of the Shangri-la in this panorama.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8602/futurevanrz7.jpg

^^ WOW BEAUTIFUL SKYLINE! One of best skylines in the world! :cheers:

Twist style is very popular today.

Yet another twisty tower...but this one is better proportioned than most.

New name for 1133 W Georgia "Twisted Tower"

Solar roof tube heating. 57 storeys, 40,430M^2, 400 parking stalls, top 32 floors 210 condos, 19 floors of hotel 180 rooms, office and comm space 21386m^2, small plaza+palm court covered in glass, LEED silver, start of construction Mar/08 no finish date announced.

Demolition work on 1133 West Georiga (Turning Tower/Vancouver’s Turn/Ritz-Carlton)
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7606/1133wgeorgiademo1june29ga1.jpg

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/3886/1133wgeorigiademo2june2ns2.jpg

Pics by SFU Vancouver:


http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/8738/ritzcarltondemonotion2ahm2.jpg
Ritz-Carlton demolition progress – August 8th

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/2de3e3f6-b472-4835-9142-3ead50913788/ritz-carlton.jpg

Ritz-Carlton coming to downtown Vancouver

By Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, August 16, 2007

The world-renowned Ritz-Carlton hotel brand will touch down in Vancouver by 2011.

A 127-room Ritz-Carlton hotel will occupy the first 20 floors of a new 58-storey, Arthur Erickson-designed twisting tower to be built at 1133 West Georgia.

The $500-million-plus Holborn Group project will also contain 123 luxury condos on the top 38 floors - at prices ranging from $1.4 million to $13 million.

We've been talking to the developer about Vancouver for over four years," Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company senior vice-president Michael Beckley said in an interview. "Toronto and Vancouver have been in our sights for quite a long time, so we're very happy to have such a great location."

U.S.-based Ritz-Carlton operates 63 hotels in 21 countries, but none in Canada. A Ritz-Carlton hotel in Montreal is not officially part of the chain, but it's expected to join the group after its new owners complete a renovation.

A new Ritz-Carlton hotel in Toronto is expected to open in 2009.

Beckley said there are just a few cities in Canada where a high-end Ritz-Carlton hotel will thrive, and Vancouver is clearly one of them. He also said it was important to join forces with a quality developer like Holborn, controlled by Vancouver entrepreneur Simon Lim.

"That's very important to us because we can't put our name on a building and have it fail," Beckley said. "We just can't have that."

The Georgia Street location, between Thurlow and Bute, has been a vacant and derelict Vancouver eyesore for more than a decade. It was originally to be a private members' club and then a strata-title office building in the 1990s, but both projects failed and it has remained a concrete shell ever since.

Holborn Group bought the property from Cadillac Fairview about three years ago. Demolition of the site is under way, and construction of the hotel/condo tower is set to begin early next year, with an early-2011 opening.

The condo portion of the project will be called Residences at Ritz-Carlton, and the entire building will be managed by Ritz-Carlton. Condo owners will have access to hotel amenities like 24-hour room service, a concierge, housekeeping service, and staffing for special entertainment events.

The 1100-block West Georgia area has become a hotbed of upscale boutique hotel projects, with the 77-room Loden planning to open its new property near Melville and Bute this fall, while the 119-room Shangri-La Hotel is scheduled to open near Georgia and Thurlow in September 2008.

Beckley knows there will be a lot of competition in the area, and said that's a big reason why Ritz-Carlton chose to operate a relatively small hotel in Vancouver.

"Wherever we put a Ritz-Carlton, we shoot to be number-one, and it will be possible to achieve that because the hotel isn't that large," he said.

Beckley said bigger hotels require meeting and convention space, which can lead to convention attendees wandering around all over the place.

"That can make it hard to get to the level of sophistication you want," he said.

Beckley said the new hotel will target high-end global business and leisure travelers, and notes the chain has a large database of clients who like to stay at Ritz-Carlton hotels all over the world.

He said the company originally wanted to open the hotel in time for the 2010 Olympics.

"But rather than rush it, we're content to come in behind the event. The Olympics will put Vancouver on the global map, and we'll be out there marketing ourselves during the Olympic year."

Shangri-La Hotel general manager Stephen Darling welcomes the entry of the Ritz-Carlton brand to the Vancouver market.

"We're very respectful of Ritz-Carlton and see them as one of our primary competitors in North America," he said. "When a top-end brand comes to Vancouver, it's going to have a tremendously positive effect on the overall market."

Vancouver realtor Bob Rennie, who is marketing the project, said he's not surprised the western portion of the downtown core has attracted so many new hotel/condo developments.

"It's the only land left in the city," he said. "You just can't find major downtown sites any more. We've been undersupplied in the luxury hotel market so hoteliers have been wanting in."

Rennie said condos in the "hyper luxury" development will range from 1,000 to 4,000 square feet and expects to attract many downsizing local buyers from "signature" neighbourhoods such as Point Grey, Shaughnessy, Kerrisdale and West Vancouver.

Preview events are expected to begin later this month, with sales beginning in October or November.
bconstantineau@png.canwest.com




© Vancouver Sun

Here is the rendering of the new Ritz-Carlton hotel and residences in Vancouver.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5519/ritzcarltontowerrenderbbh5.jpg
Render ripped from www.vancouversturn.ca

It looks F-ing awesome!

too bad it won't be done in time we host the Olympics. :( at 600 feet, this will be Vancouver's second tallest.

the tallest will be Shangri-la, complete next year, at 642 feet across the street from this twisting tower.

It is a nice looking building. Unique for Vancouver. I don't understand the need for people to say things like "another twisting tower". So what? Uh another building with 4 corners! Another building with glass! Another building that's 58 stories tall! Come on!

I hope that mirror effect in the render is accurate. This will easily be one of the best towers in Vancouver and a welcome departure from the sea of glass/blue/green condo buildings in the city.

Vancouver's skyline looks impressive, and this will do nothing but add to the majestic look of it, especially looking across the water to downtown. I can't wait to see the finished tower. It fits Vancouver's skyline well.

That looks awesome. Will have to keep a look out for this thread to see it take shape.

this is a great tower! hoorah for vancy!!!

popular shape now on days.... the reason its obvious, its very very veery beatiful and amazing...


Want to see it finish... :)

This will be a treat for the residents of Vancouver.

A GREAT looking building for world #1 most livable city (Economist Intelligence Unit).

Wow what an amazing design! Twisted towers are always great. Congratz Vancouver.

WOW! That latest renderings are IMPRESSIVE!!!!!!

Wow. I love the curvy design. Seems to fit well to the impressive skyline of Vancouver.

stunning design, great add to vancouver's boom.

Here is the rendering of the new Ritz-Carlton hotel and residences in Vancouver.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5519/ritzcarltontowerrenderbbh5.jpg
Render ripped from www.vancouversturn.ca

ABSOLUTE CUTTING EDGE !!!!

Picture updates on demolition progress from Flickr:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1421/1251547844_411256c06d_o.jpg

ABSOLUTE CUTTING EDGE !!!!Well, there are about 100 of these 'cutting edge' towers going up around the globe although this one looks quality by the renders.

I love this project, good for Vancouver!

Good looking shape

nice building

Some updates on the Ritz Carlton project. The site is all bannered up and demolishing is nearly complete. Pictures taken from Flickr, from last week.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1293/1343521349_ecaf82d40a.jpg?v=0

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1325/1344411792_310973698d.jpg?v=0

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1270/1343521701_409a136e8b.jpg?v=0

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1228/1344411610_56d54a29fc.jpg?v=0

MORE NEW RENDERINGS:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/ritz1.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/vancouver_2007/ritz2.jpg

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/8403/ritzuq0.png

Pictures taken by look@round:


Demolition pictures from today.

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/918/img1998uw4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1847/img1991vp1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

great project!!!!

What is this small area development to the left behind the Ritz in the first rendering??

What a wonderful building.

More pictures by look@round, taken today in the back alley. Gives you a great perspective that there's still some more demolition to be done:


http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/8511/img2028ix7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7859/img2029vz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/8682/img2031ep8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Thanks for the update...

How far apart are the Ritz and the Shangri-La? Looks less than 2 blocks.

It does look pretty close...

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3117/ritzcarltondemolitionanpi0.jpg
The old Shell Building is nearly gone.

Preparing the pit to begin construction of several levels of underground parking and mechanicals may take a little longer than usual because the Ritz-Carlton will use a ground-source heat exchange system. This will provide the tower with heating and cooling but will require the drilling of a couple hundred bore holes for the heatpipes.

Behind the carcass of the Shell Building one can see the Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel and Residences quickly rising to become Vancouver's tallest building at 197 metres.

How far apart are the Ritz and the Shangri-La? Looks less than 2 blocks.

They are actually across the street from each other. I made a quick context map to illustrate:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5998/shangrilaandritzcarltondn8.jpg

My photo ( SFUVancouver in SSP | Vancouverite in SSC ) Google Maps and thanks, as always, to imageshack.us (http://www.imageshack.us/) for photo hosting.

Updates?

In this picture taken yesterday the Ritz CArlton is just about ready for excavation.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2328/1859610029_0e2682e1f7_o.jpg

In this picture taken yesterday the Ritz Carlton has broke ground and the digging has begun.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2328/1859610029_0e2682e1f7_o.jpg

Damn--I forgot how close the two new towers will be to eachother....

Nice tower :) twist :cheers:

updates by look@round:

Yesterday:

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7186/img3066fd7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Ritz Carlton & Shangri-La:

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/760/img3068pp0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Nice shot...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2328/1859610029_0e2682e1f7_o.jpg

edit

I hope they have locates?? HAHA

Seeing the site from on high like that... it sure looks tight for a sixty storey hotel and condo tower. And to think it will only use about 1/2 half of it for the tower itself.

The sales model for the tower is up at the sales centre. I like the scale but it is lacking in detail.


http://www.lestwarog.com/admin/uploads/article/moreimages/3014.jpg

That's the rear of the tower. The guy on the left is Bob Rennie, arguably North America's most successful realtor.

Updates?

Progress as of today...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9826.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9828.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9833.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Dec%206%202007/100_9834.jpg

thank-you for the updates...for a while there I was wondering if this post was going to die! It's unfortunate that I live in Kelowna - if I were in the Lower Mainland I would be able to add to this post and the shangri-la post as well. Awesome job on the pics....keep them coming! I'm always checking in.

Good to see its progressing well. I expect this to be better than its Toronto counterpart, although I'm very willing to be proven wrong.

Toronto's will be better. But, Vancouver's is good too.

^What makes you so sure?

Well, it was just my opinion.

If the Ritz-Carlton's completion date is 2011, it would still be under construction during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

looks nice

If the Ritz-Carlton's completion date is 2011, it would still be under construction during the 2010 Winter Olympics.Thanks for the tip. :cheers:

i like the slight twist of the tower, looks great :)

I couldn't get a picture of whats happening inside but this is all I took.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/2154919261_05ae31c32c_b.jpg

not much happening here

Looks nice, its design is similar to the Titanium La Portada tower in Santiago, Chile, except for that slight twist.
Excellent design, very nice building. :okay:

I heard on the radio today that the penthouse will sell for a whopping 28 million dollars. Personally I wouldn't pay a dime over 19 million for this unit. One has to be responsible with money you know.

twisting towers are all the rage now..

If the Ritz-Carlton's completion date is 2011, it would still be under construction during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

But it would probably have topped off at 600 feet with its glass facade completed in time for 2010. Interior furnishings, piping, electric wires, etc. all they quite a bit of time. For example, the Shangri-la Vancouver. It has topped off with most of its glass facade installed, but it won't be finished until early-2009.

thank-you for the updates...for a while there I was wondering if this post was going to die! It's unfortunate that I live in Kelowna - if I were in the Lower Mainland I would be able to add to this post and the shangri-la post as well. Awesome job on the pics....keep them coming! I'm always checking in.

Theirs not much to see anyway yet, if you want to know what they have done so far. They have just started excavation and only about 1/4 of the ground has been dug about 9 or 10 feet and thats about it nothing else.

any new updates?

The existing building on the site has been completely demolished and the project is gearing up to begin excavation in earnest. Apparently 80% of the residential condos have been sold to date while the uppermost penthouse is listed at $28 million and garnering expressions of interest. The Shangri-La Vancouver is in the background across Georgia Street.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/1830/p1050015rl2.jpg
(My photo)

I'm guessing that their is going to be about an 80 foot excavation for this building so therefore, we won't see any concrete or steel beams going up until the end of May or around mid June.

Posted by Leftcoaster:


The excavation for this site will be 75 feet deep!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz063.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz065.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz066.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz067.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz068.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz070.jpg




And here are the "elegant street lights" the plans call for:

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/lamp2.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/lamp.jpg




And a few bonus shots of the front canopy, plaza and rooftop pool.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz034.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz046.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz035.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz043.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/PresentationCentre-Ritz041.jpg

Awesome. Any shots of the excavation work underway??

I'm guessing that their is going to be about an 80 foot excavation for this building so therefore, we won't see any concrete or steel beams going up until the end of May or around mid June.

Sorry for going off topic, but that should be there with my basic english... :cheers:

It surprises me that so many people do this wrong...

Ontopic:

Nice to see the plot cleared, I love this project. $28 mln dollar for the penthouse! Is that the most expensive is in Vancouver? And is that US$ or Canadian $?

Sorry for going off topic, but that should be there with my basic english... :cheers:

It surprises me that so many people do this wrong...

Ontopic:

Nice to see the plot cleared, I love this project. $28 mln dollar for the penthouse! Is that the most expensive is in Vancouver? And is that US$ or Canadian $?

US and Canadian dollars are at parity. $28 million Canadian is possibly $28.03 million American.

Nice to see the plot cleared, I love this project. $28 mln dollar for the penthouse! Is that the most expensive is in Vancouver? And is that US$ or Canadian $?

That's the most expensive for Vancouver.

My understanding is that excavation is set to begin in March, which means that as soon as monday dirt will be coming up.

Excavation still hasn't begun, and it seems like someone must have been having some fun in the dirt by the looks of those tire tracks.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2349/2340040470_09e1b6a647_b.jpg

What's going on with this project... has anything even started yet!?!?!

What's going on with this project... has anything even started yet!?!?!

They're starting to dig. Lots of activity going on at the site.

This is great news. Thanks!!

IMO the streetlights look tacky, but the tower looks great.

That's the most expensive for Vancouver.

Also the most expensive in Canada. The listed price of $28 M is higher than that paid for the 1 Bloor East penthouse in Toronto for $25 M by a Hong Kong businessman.

Here is a huge update for you guys by me.
Today.

http://i37.tinypic.com/23hlmht.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/2vb0vgk.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/2mzgx9w.jpg

http://i33.tinypic.com/2vmdpuf.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/20k8voh.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/24qkeg6.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/hra82s.jpg

http://i36.tinypic.com/34rhw8g.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/14ukdxz.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/nfifdg.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/2mq6io3.jpg

http://i36.tinypic.com/whbj7q.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/21nfhoy.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/2mni3h5.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/2wmfc4m.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/2dqkby8.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/11rb3h0.jpg

Fantastic, Keep us posted on this amazing tower!!! Please!!

Will the project just be Ritz-Carlton residences, or will it include a hotel as well?

How come we didn't see any construction pictures on this tower for over a year? :ohno:

del

It's going to be one sweet looking building once it's complete!

How come we didn't see any construction pictures on this tower for over a year? :ohno:

Because the tower was canned and only recently revived.


Wikipedia:
The project was cancelled on February 25th, 2009. Buyers who purchased luxury condos in the tower received letters informing them of the project's cancellation. On June 1st, 2009, Holborn Group president Joo Kim Tiah said his company still wants to see the plan completed on the prime downtown site — if the City of Vancouver wants to work with him.[1]

On August 21, 2009, it was announced that the project would definitely resume, possibly as an even taller building (pending approval from the city) while keeping the same design by Arthur Erickson. Work on the project could resume as soon as early 2010, after the Winter Olympics (construction work will not be permitted during the Olympics). However, it was not certain as of August 21, 2009, if the Ritz-Carlton "brand" would still remain associated with the project. [2]

How come we didn't see any construction pictures on this tower for over a year? :ohno:


Why?


Because a little global event called "the recession" took place and saw the demise of this tower, forcing the developer to terminate the project.


Now for the good news...


Work set to resume on Vancouver highrise
RICHARD GILBERT

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id35035

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/images/archivesid/35035/100.jpg
www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id35035

Construction of an Arthur Erickson designed luxury hotel and condo project is set to resume after the developer rejigged the plans.

It was originally developed as the Ritz-Carlton Vancouver, but excavation work on the $500 million twisting tower was halted in October 2008.

The worldwide recession and the softening of the local housing market forced developer, Holborn Group to develop a new building strategy.

“After we looked at all the options, we realized the process would have been much longer if we had designed a new building,” said Joo Kim Tiah, president of Holborn Group.

“The fastest way to have everything move was to keep the structure and make the building more efficient. It hit us that this project was very important to Vancouver, Canada and the architectural society of the world.”

The World-renowned Canadian architect died in May of this year.

In a career spanning more than five decades, Erickson’s vision built landmark structures such as Robson Square, Simon Fraser University and the Canadian Embassy in Washington.

“It would have been a shame if the tower did not go ahead,” said Tiah. “It is exciting to do something like this. We aspire to be a company that can build an iconic landmark in Vancouver.”

The original 58-storey project included 123 luxury condos on the top 38 floors and 127 hotel rooms on the first 20 floors.

The condos were priced from $1.4 million to $13 million.

“We were stuck in a situation in which we had a site with a hole that was not doing anyone any good,” said Tiah.

“It took a lot to maintain the site and we had interest payments as well. We had to find the quickest way to get the building going again.”

Holborn’s new strategy is to design the building to appeal to a lower segment of the housing market.

“Before we had 30 to 40 different floor plans and the plumbing wasn’t stacked,” Tiah explained.

“Now we are going with smaller floor plans and a better price point. We are getting rid of columns in the rooms to provide more space and using a shear wall system.”

Tiah said another way to lower the cost of the building is to replace ten inch slabs with eight inch slabs, which is the industry standard.

“It will still be an Arthur Erickson design and will still be a twisting tower,” he said.

"We will not be doing any changes to the exterior of the building. Most of the changes will be to the interior. We are asking for more height and this would allow more residential density. We will also change the interior layout and the specs of the finishes.” The commercial density of the project will remain the same.

According to Tiah, Holborn has finished its revised plans for the highrise.

They will apply for rezoning at the end of the month.

“We have already talked to the City of Vancouver planning department and they are supportive of the changes,” he said

However, it still must be approved by council.

“There will be a public hearing in November and, if it all goes well, we could have approval for the changes by the end of the year,” he said.

Holborn is working on both the approval for the project and the permits at the same time.

Therefore, the company hopes to get the permits for the project in November as well.

Negotiations are currently taking place to reach an agreement with Ritz-Carlton hotels for the commercial aspect of the project.

Tiah said he hopes construction will restart early next year, but this may not be possible because the city doesn’t want construction work taking place during the Olympics.

If the hotel portion of the tower is to be replaced by more residential, perhaps they should rename the tower in honour of Arthur Erickson.

If the hotel portion of the tower is to be replaced by more residential, perhaps they should rename the tower in honour of Arthur Erickson.We already have a an Erickson named The Erickson on False Creek.

I didn't know it was on hold. No one here mentioned it before. Thanks anyway. I am glad it is still going to get built. I really like this tower a lot.

I'm glad that work has recommenced.

http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20081021/450_bc_ritz_carlton_081021.jpg

Latest update on this project:

Height has been increased to 188m (616ft) from 183m (600ft) - approved by City council Dec 15th. The floor
count has jumped to 67 floors thanks to the increased height as well as decreasing the overall floor-to-floor height.

Action on site should recommence after the Olympics, so likely March/April. However conditional to the approved height increase, they must now excavate a bit deeper to add more parking.


Originally posted by raggedy13, SSP

http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20081021/450_bc_ritz_carlton_081021.jpg



Originally posted by raggedy13, SSP

I swear I thought the Ritz Vancouver was cancelled?
Great news that not only is work resuming but the height was increased (albeit very little)! :cheers:

That's fantastic news:cheers:

i made this with my free time last weekend:
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/2442/ritzcarltonvancouver.png
its part of my Build Your Own Pacific Northwest project (BYOPN). tell me what you guys think;) just print it, cut it out, fold it, glue it, and youve got a mini Ritz Carlton

That's neat!

thanks:)

very nice project, like it :cheers:

http://www.dailycommercialnews.ca/cgi-bin/top10.pl?rm=show_top10_project&id=e2b46335ad562120a59ffbebf03b6727a5bdcb28&projectid=7245808&region=national

CONDOMINIUM APARTMENT, HOTEL, COMMERCIAL TOWER Proj: 7245808-10
Vancouver, Greater Vancouver RD BC NEGOTIATED/START
Residences at The Ritz Carlton (Twisted Tower), 1133, 1151 & 1153 W Georgia St, V6E 3G4
$160,000,000 est
Start: June, 2010 Complete: December, 2013
Note: The rezoning amendment has been approved and some re-design is underway. Various legal and business arrangements have yet to be finalized prior to the formal re-start of construction. At this time there is no confirmation as to whether this will be still proceed as a Ritz Carlton flag development. Further update in late May/June 2010.
Website: www.vancouversturn.com. Yabu Pushelberg is the interior designer for the hotel portion of the tower. Budget is unreleased.
Project: steel pile foundation, cast-in-place concrete structural frame, structural steel frame, other roof deck, fuel fired heating system, package air conditioning/heat pump system, 02220; building demolition, 02230; site clearing, 02315; excavation, 02935; landscape, 03210; reinforcing steel, 03310; structural concrete, 03520; perlite concrete decks, 05120; structural steel, 08800; glazing systems, 08970; structural glass curtain walls, 12400; interior decorating, ; hotel and dormitory units, 13150; swimming pools, 13630; solar collector components, 13850; fire alarm, 13910; fire sprinkler, 15170; swimming pool and fountain piping, 16580; lighting accessories, solar roof tube heating; construction of a condo/hotel tower; 117+ condo units & approx 176 hotel units (to be confirmed); office & related commercial space of approx 22,000 sq m; proposed 929 sq m of indoor amenity space (for residents & hotel guests). The structure will be unique in that the tower will give the illusion of a 45 degree twist from bottom to top. There will be a small public plaza & palm court which will be covered in glass to give it a very open feel. Balconies and roof terraces are defined and protected by horizontal and vertical extensions of the curtain wall glazing of the tower; five levels u/g prkg; This project will be a LEED Silver standard.
Scope: 50,000 m²; 66 storeys; 6 storeys below grade; 293 units; parking for 400 cars; 2,426 m²
Development: New
Category: Apartment bldgs; Hotels, motels; Retail, wholesale services; Commercial offices
First report Tue Feb 15, 2005. Last report Thu Oct 22, 2009.
This report Mon Mar 15, 2010.

:)

Great looking project!

second thread to this:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=509356