The Duke | Acton Ostry Architects Inc.

Firm： Acton Ostry Architects Inc.

Type： Residential › Multi Unit Housing

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2018

SIZE： 100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft

Completed in March 2018, The Duke is a LEED Gold target, rental residential project designed under the City of Vancouver Rental 100 Secured Market Rental Housing Policy, which allows height and density limits in strategic locations in the city to be rezoned in exchange for provision of 100% rental housing.

Located near a busy transit-oriented node in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, the 15,260 square metre, fourteen-storey, mixed-use project includes 201 rental units, with a small ground floor retail component, all compactly contained in an open-air atrium court building typology that is new to Vancouver.

The design features a soaring, open-air circulation atrium over which a translucent Teflon canopy shields the space from the elements. The rental units are arranged around the perimeter of the trapezoidal-shaped site. A dramatic, vertical slot opens the internal court to the south to flood the space with natural daylight. A vibrant, fuchsia-coloured public art piece, suspended in the slot, imbues the atrium with a striking, soft pink glow, while an array of multi-coloured front doors further animates the central atrium space.

The majority of the rental units are studios; however, policy required that twenty-five percent of the units be two-bedroom units to accommodate families.

A spectacular communal roof terrace features a children’s play area, dog- friendly space, a social seating and barbeque area, and urban agriculture planters.

Credits:

- Acton Ostry Architects Inc - architect - . .

- Bobs Your Uncle Design Inc. - interior design - . .

- The Integral Group - LEED - . .

- MCW Consultants - electrical - . .

- Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd - structural - . .

- Rocky Point Engineering Ltd. - mechanical - . .