Crews have erected fencing around the glass dome at the corner of Hastings and Seymour Streets in advance of demolition. In its stead, a 25-storey office tower designed by B+H Architects for PCI Developments Corp. will make its way into the Vancouver skyline.

601 West Hastings, image via B+H Architects

The dome and surrounding open-air plaza are linked to the 17-storey Grant Thornton Place. While the cupola's days are numbered, the corner plaza will be reimagined as a canopied space living underneath the building's lifted base. The overhang is "sculpted to capture maximum sunlight and allow for clear views," reads a design narrative on the B+H website.

601 West Hastings, image via B+H Architects

The entrance to 601 West Hastings will be accentuated by ground-level retail and a striking water feature. The tower's glassy exterior has been devised to catch and reflect the sunlight through an embedded mullion pattern, which B+H likens to the "fine stitching of a suit."

The doomed dome, image by Forum contributor Roundabout

601 West Hastings joins Vancouver's growing ranks of new, under-construction and approved office towers. The Exchange, Vancouver Centre II and 400 West Georgia are each addressing the pent-up demand for office space in one of Canada's tightest markets.

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