Vancouver, BC

Client   Westbank Corp.
Size 600,000 sq.ft.
Status   Under Construction
Images   Revery Architecture, Hayes Davidson, Andrew Latreille
Related   Butterfly Piano, Butterfly Presentation Centre

The Butterfly

With its unique combination of luxury condominiums, affordable rental/social housing, and the heritage restoration and expansion of the adjacent First Baptist Church (built 1911), this iconic mixed-use development assembles its diverse uses into a cohesive whole while fostering community spirit and social sustainability. The Butterfly – 556-feet-tall, 57-storey luxury market residential tower – establishes a bold new landmark for Vancouver, gracefully accentuating both the highpoint of the city’s downtown peninsula and the historic gateway to its vibrant West End neighbourhood.

Honouring the site’s historic use, the tower takes the form of abstracted church organ pipes, particularly at the base where the cylinders are cut back to enhance the public realm, and clearly identify the entry to the market tower. Its podium and galleria are closely integrated with the heritage church, providing expanded church and community programs, a 37-child daycare facility, administrative offices, and a new 7-storey social housing building.

The Butterfly’s market tower reconsiders the high-rise typology by introducing shared outdoor garden spaces on each level, encouraging neighbourly interactions and social connections. Similarly, the project’s mid-rise, social housing building offers communal social spaces in its rooftop community gardens, outdoor kitchen, and landscaped playgrounds.

Currently under construction, the entirety of the project is designed to LEED Gold standards.

As captivating as the tower itself, the Butterfly’s pool amenity presents a stunning Olympic-size, glass-roofed swimming pool built into the tower’s third floor. The pool’s sculptural arched roof acts as an architectural centerpiece on its own, creating an immersive, sensory experience.