Previous photo: Sustainable buildings get sexy
The twisted tower
Photo of Beach & Howe Tower: BIG
Beach and Howe | Vancouver, British Columbia
This proposed mixed-use complex is expected to transform Vancouver’s skyline and be a very visible reminder of its goal to become the “World’s Greenest City” by 2020. Designed by Danish-based Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the project plans to reclaim land under and around a major downtown highway bridge. Its 49-story tower starts with a triangular base -- and then dramatically twists into a rectangle as it rises. The result, says BIG, will resemble “a curtain being drawn aside, welcoming people as they travel across the Granville Bridge.” The GE website Ecoimagination says the project is to be built to the LEED Gold standard for environmentally sustainable construction while creating a sustainable new neighborhood of homes and shops in a high-density part of the city.