Long before excavation and construction can begin at the future site of the 36-storey office tower at 1133 Melville Street, demolition crews must bring down the former parking garage that once took up a prime piece of downtown real estate at the heart of Vancouver's Coal Harbour. 

Parking garage demolition underway, image by Forum contributor Roundabout

Once capped with upper floor glazing, the garage has been coming down in stages, the exposed shell of the concrete structure now visible as work progresses. While it may yet be some time before the levels start to come down, the removal of the upper floor glazing is a good first step. 

Upper floor demolition, close-up view, image by Forum contributor Roundabout

Designed by James KM Cheng Architects for Oxford Properties, the modern office tower will be faced almost entirely in glass, meeting the street with an airy, double-height entranceway and lobby space - thereby providing some welcome respite from the previous dead space provided by the garage. 

Podium level for 1133 Melville Street as it will appear once complete, image via Oxford Properties

Composed of a series of stacked, slightly off-kilter cubes, the 36-storey office tower has been designed according to recent global trends. The addition of strategically placed vegetation accents will add a pleasing amount of greenery to the tower, to be accessed from various levels from the "top" of each cube or volume. 

1133 Melville Street, rendering via Oxford Properties

Once complete, 1133 Melville Street will be a welcome addition to the core, the influx of daily office workers to the area to add to the already impressive pedestrian vibrancy of downtown. 

SkyriseVancouver will be sure to return to this story as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.