The architecture of Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver area consists of a variety of modern architectural styles, such as the 20th-century Edwardian and the 21st-century modernist styles. Initially, the city architects embraced styles developed in Europe and the United States, with only limited local variation.
In the years following World War II, regional variations of modernism began to emerge, later known as the "West Coast style". Building constraints in the area led to design focused on the natural landscape and feasible construction. This led to the development of design that uses complex geometric forms, open-plan layouts, and natural light through the extensive use of glass. The predominance of glass in many high rises in Downtown Vancouver has led to the city's moniker "City of Glass" and "See Through City".Proposed tower twists from triangle to rectangle, Vancouver Courier, March 7, 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-14
In the 20th century, the Vancouver Special residential style was developed in the city. Architectural styles found throughout the American Pacific Coastsuch as the American Craftsman, California bungalow, and dingbatare common in Vancouver.
Natural environment Vancouver's cityscape and architecture have developed in response to its temperate, scenic, and readily accessible natural setting of ocean, forests, and mountains. The downtown core is built on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by readily accessible waterfront beaches, parks, and walkways. The Financial District is located downtown, but many office buildings have emerged in suburban town centres, resulting in the downtown having a high percentage of residential buildings, restaurants, and retail outlets. The region is in an active seismic zone, and seismic bracing is a significant part of both new construction and retrofitting.
A noticeable feature of Vancouver's strong connection to nature is the Seawall, a man-made, car-free pathway which stretches around the downtown peninsula along the waterfront. It provides a direct link to the water's edge from Downtown and Stanley Park, as well as residential areas of the West End, False Creek, Vanier Park, and Kits Beach. Stanley Park itself is an 800-acre microcosm of coastal British Columbia rainforest, all within direct sight and easy walking distance from the central business district.Stanley Park National Historic Site of Canada . Retrieved 2013-12-11 The pedestrian-only Seabus gives riders a quick transit connection between downtown and the North Shore, while smaller private ferry operators (False Creek Ferries and The Aquabus) crisscross False Creek linking residential, cultural, and recreational venues.
West Coast Style The West Coast Style (also known as West Coast Modernism or West Coast Vernacular) is an architectural style that first emerged in the Greater Vancouver area, seeking to incorporate the natural environment into the design of buildings. This regional variation of modernism emerged in the 1940s and continued to be a major influence in residential design for the next three decades.West Coast Style, District of West Vancouver. Retrieved 2013-12-13'Coast Modern' Showcases Modern Architecture On The West Coast, KPBS, February 20, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-13 The designs emerging from west coast architects were recognized by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 1947 as a frontier in modern architecture. "In the domestic field (west coast architects) have proved to their clients present and future, by outward and inward visible signs, that the modern house is the only house for a modern family in British Columbia. Nowhere else in Canada has that proof been given."Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, 24 June 1947, quoted in The West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture 1945-1975 . Retrieved 2013-12-14
Arthur Erickson, Fred Hollingsworth, Ned Pratt, and artist B. C. Binning are notable pioneers of the modern movement on the west coast, a loosely associated group that Erickson named "The Vancouver School." Major stylistic influences were the International Style, open space plans of Japanese architecture, the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, and the work and talk given in Vancouver by Richard Neutra.Berelowitz, Lance. Dream City: Vancouver and the global imagination, p.198. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2005. The houses were often modest in scale and in budget.10 Historic Homes of Distinction, Nolet. Retrieved 2013-12-14
In the 1949 'Design for Living' exhibition, Pratt cited five specific local characteristics that determined the form of the emerging style: Rainfall: Generous roof overhangs, flat roofs, large overhangs on the south facade to control the summer sun while allowing for passive solar heating in winter, indicating an early awareness of energy conservation. Sunshine: Extensive use of glazing was a fundamental feature, allowing the visual integration of the house into its surrounding landscape. Glass windows were beaded into structural wood members. The amount of glass was not necessarily increased but, was concentrated into wide areas facing the view and light. View and Aspect: the often-substantial views were maximized with large windows and building orientation. Exterior Treatment: Preferred exterior wall finish was unpainted or clear-finished wood, often used on both interior and exterior walls at large glass walls to blur the distinction between inside and outside.
Plan: Open floor plans, minimal use of interior partitions, often with custom-designed built-in furniture providing uniformity of styles, and movable cupboards to allow them to act as movable screens were key features.
Key themes of this style have been described as: "Don't fight nature, use it to your advantage;"West Van Museum shows iconic architect’s West Coast Modernism, North Shore Outlook, May 15, 2013 ."responding directly to the site"Canada's Historic Places, The Baldwin House, Burnaby BC . Retrieved 2013-12-14 "post-and-beam construction with sleek lines that showcased North and West Vancouver's rugged natural setting;", The North Shore Outlook Retrieved 2013-12-14 "extensive, monumental use of glass,"The Arena Stage, The Globe and Mail, Oct. 29 2010. Retrieved 2013-12-14 "rooms where inside and outside dissolve;"The Big Bing Theory, National Post, 22/07/11 . Retrieved 2013-12-14 include the natural environment as part of the design;"UC Berkeley, Vital Signs Project: The Museum of Anthropology - The Intent of the Architect . Retrieved 2013-12-14 and "the buildings are terraced remain in harmony with the contours of the landscape."SFU architecture. Retrieved 2013-12-14
The natural materials of the region were indicative of the style: wood (in particular Douglas fir and western redcedar), stone, plywood, wood-stud and post and beam construction with exposed roof decking underside of roofs at ceilings and eaves. Connection of the interior to outdoor environment was continued in commercial developments such as the landscaped terraces atop government offices in Robson Square, the glass-roofed Law Courts, the planter-infused Evergreen Building, vine-covered Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, and the UBC Museum of Anthropology. Sidewalks along many shopping streets are covered with glass canopies, providing shelter from the rain but not blocking daylight. Later designs of high-rise residential towers followed this lead with large glass walls.
19th century
First Nations peoples had inhabited the region of Greater Vancouver for an estimated 3.000 years when the first European ships visited in 1791. When settlers arrived in the early 1800s, there were several communities of Squamish and Sto:lo peoples. Their buildings were primarily wooden longhouses, such as one in X̱wáýx̱way (now Stanley Park) that reportedly measured approximately 60 meters long, 20 meters wide, and housed 100 people. Only replicas of these structures remain in museums and on Indian reserves in the region.
The earliest European settlement was the Hudson's Bay Company outpost at Fort Langley, established in 1827 on the Fraser River approximately 32 km (30 miles) east of present-day downtown Vancouver. Examples of the first settlement can be seen at Fort Langley National Historic Site. New Westminster became the region's major centre in the 1850s but most of the city was destroyed by fire in 1898.
Within what is now the City of Vancouver, the first European settlement was founded in the early 1860s, and the first townsite established was called "Granville" in what later became known as Gastown. The settlement was selected as the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and in 1886 was established as the City of Vancouver - three months later the Great Vancouver Fire destroyed nearly all of the buildings. Only the Hastings Mill store survives as a museum.
Few examples of 19th-century architecture remain. One notable example is Christ Church Cathedral, which opened downtown in 1894.
Early 20th century
A collection of Edwardian buildings in the old downtown core were once the tallest commercial buildings in the British Empire. These were, in succession, the Carter-Cotton Building (former home of The Vancouver Province newspaper), the Dominion Building (1907) and the Sun Tower (1911), and the elaborate Art Deco Marine Building (1930). The latter is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which have made it a favourite location for movie shoots.
Other notable buildings and structures from this era include: Carnegie Community Centre (former Carnegie Library) British Columbia Penitentiary cell blocks, New Westminster, 1904-1914. British Columbia Courthouse (now home to the Vancouver Art Gallery), 1906, designed by Francis Rattenbury. Hotel Europe, 1909, a prominent flatiron-style building in Gastown. St. Paul's Hospital Burrard wing, 1913, Renaissance Revival style. Pacific Central Station, 1919, the former Canadian Northern Pacific, and later CN Railway station, now used by Via Rail Canada and Amtrak. Waterfront Station, 1914, the former west coast terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, now serving the Skytrain and Seabus. Second Narrows Bridge, 1925. The Orpheum, 1927, former vaudeville house and now a civic theatre. Burrard Bridge, 1930–32, a five-lane, Art Deco style, steel truss bridge over False Creek. Vancouver City Hall, Art Deco style, 1936. Lions Gate Bridge, 1937, a three-lane suspension bridge over Burrard Inlet between Stanley Park and North Vancouver. Hotel Vancouver, one of Canada's grand railway hotels with a distinct green copper roof, opened in 1939 (the third by that name). University of British Columbia West Point Grey campus and early buildings, 1925-1930s.
Mid-20th century
Notable buildings and structures from this era include: Vancouver General Hospital, Centennial Pavilion, 1959. Harbour Centre, 1977, WZMH Architects, with its distinctive revolving restaurant on top. The Electra, originally the BC Electric and later BC Hydro headquarters, a modernist high-rise designed by Ron Thom and Ned Pratt, converted to condominia in the 1990s.City of Vancouver - The Electra. Retrieved 2013-12-11 MacMillan Bloedel Building, 1965, Erickson/Massey Architects, a distinctively tapered tower with exposed concrete facade. Pacific National Exhibition buildings grounds in east Vancouver, including Pacific Coliseum and Empire Stadium (demolished). Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, 1960. Simon Fraser University, 1964–present, atop Burnaby Mountain, campus plan and select buildings by Erickson & Massey, other buildings and major expansions by others. Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Vancouver Playhouse, 1959; Affleck, Desbarats, Dimakopoulos, Lebensold, Sise (architects) HR MacMillan Space Centre and Vancouver Museum building, 1967, Gerald Hamilton Architect; renovation and expansion by others 1996-98. Bloedel Conservatory UBC Museum of Anthropology, 1976, Arthur Erickson Architects