oakridge: vancouver development includes piero lissoni-designed 'palazzi' residences

plans have officially been unveiled for ‘oakridge’ — a mixed-use development with designs on becoming vancouver’s second city center. the ambitious scheme, which is already drawing comparisons with hudson yards in new york, is being backed by westbank — one of canada’s largest luxury residential and mixed-use real estate development companies. to create an ‘entirely new urban typology,’ westbank teamed up with 50 global firms, including italian architect and designer piero lissoni and japanese interior designer masamichi katayama of wonderwall.

planned by henriquez partners architects, oakridge comprises ten towers with heights up to 44 storeys, as well as three mid-rise buildings with commercial, office, and residential programming geared toward tech and creative workers. the development will also include the city’s largest civic center, a performing arts academy and live-music venue, a library, a senior center, and a childcare facility. meanwhile, a 9-acre park is also included as well as rooftops with urban farming options, running and cycling paths, and a playground.

‘it’s a place you may never have to leave,’ says gregory henriquez, managing principal, henriquez partners architects. ‘this is not another traditional shopping center incorporating residential towers. this is a project yet to be built anywhere, that on completion will form a fully-integrated vessel of culture, within the city of vancouver. people from around the world will be visiting this project, writing about it and talking about it for generations.’

piero lissoni’s contribution is a residential offering titled piero lissoni x oakridge palazzi. the scheme, which is currently for sale, is the italian’s largest north american project and his first in canada. lissoni’s approach for the lobby, the building amenities, the rooftop garden, and all the homes was entirely informed by the characteristics of the pacific northwest: the dense forests, tree variations, and mountain tops visible on the horizon. consequently, each home offers sweeping views across the city.

on the upper floors of the tower, rising from floor 28-41, are a collection of 70 spacious estate homes that provide open loft like spaces. kitchens, dining rooms and living room spaces emphasize views with floor-to-ceiling windows and balcony access, creating seamless connections to the outside world. each palazzi residence has been designed by piero lissoni, featuring chevron patterned flooring, boffi kitchens, and salvatori bathtubs.

‘it’s in the milanese tradition to design everything — from the spoon at your table to the city you call home,’ explains piero lissoni. ‘the oakridge project came into being as a multicultural experiment, the construction of a future in which living spaces, both individual and shared, are born of the intertwining of different languages, the languages of those who designed them and those who will live there.’ the tower will join a residential building designed by sergio castiglia, which has already sold out.

below the residential towers, a series of retail street walls define the perimeter of the site and the project’s high street — knitting together the surrounding urban fabric. retail gallerias and public spaces are sculpted into the landscape, integrating with, as well as defining, the edges of the park above. from this foundation of parks and plazas, distinct workspace and residential towers terrace upward marking gateways and capturing views in all directions.

oakridge will also include the largest public art program in vancouver’s history, while a number of sustainability measures have also been incorporated. the adoption of a district energy system (that shares heating and cooling across the development), means oakridge will produce 70% fewer greenhouse gases than comparable projects, while onsite water savings programs and self powered transportation hope to make oakridge an example of energy efficiency.

‘if you think about what makes a city, one leg is the built environment, another leg is the transportation structure, another leg is the energy infrastructure, and the fourth leg is the cultural infrastructure,’ says westbank CEO ian gillespie. oakridge will break ground at the beginning of 2020, with the first newly constructed retail area and workspace completed and operational in 2022. by early 2025 the retail portion of the project will be complete with the final residential building expected to be completed in 2026.




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