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In the course of our daily reporting, we often uncover unusual projects, places, or connections that don't make the final cut. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, we're pleased to share our Architrivia.
From afar, the MacMillan Bloedel Building at 1075 West Georgia Street might seem like any other Modernist building of the 1960s, with its cast-in-place concrete aesthetic producing a tower with a commanding and unmistakable presence. But upon closer inspection, the building's intricate and unique details, that carefully break the form into more manageable constituent elements, take centre stage.
The 27-storey tower built in 1969 is a symbol of the westward expansion of the central business district along Georgia Street, when the relocation of corporate headquarters gave rise to an office building boom. Designed by Vancouver's distinguished architect Arthur Erickson, with Geoff Massey and Francis Donaldson of the development firm Grosvenor Laing, the complex would win the Massey Medal for Architecture in 1970.
The building's tapering verticality is reminiscent of the west coast rainforest depicted in the paintings of Emily Carr, a source of inspiration to Erickson. He also drew on the Japanese affection for surfaces that express the raw nature of material — concrete is the principal cladding material for the floors and walls of both the exterior and interior of the building.
An example of the blending between Modernist and Far-eastern design principles, the building's offset halves, tapered levels and recessed windows are bordered by a sunken plaza replete with planters and moat-like reflecting pools. The building was occupied by forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel until 1999.
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