a tower for pleasure

To test these questions, the project proposes a public observation tower. At first glance, it is a tower simply for seeing a view, which seems like nothing, and yet in this city, is also everything. But it is also for seeing up close, for being able to watch rain fall around us, instead of keeping our heads down and staying home.

A tower for pleasure, a tower that does not generate revenue, is radically useless1, a waste in the eyes of the market.

But then, profit is not architecture’s only measure of value.

The design began with the desire to delve into rain, with how water moves, how light refracts through it, and a material that would allow a degree of control over these things, while also leaving room for nature to intervene.

Steel mesh was chosen because of the way it filters water, allowing the rain to catch onto the material, but then eventually letting it fall. It introduces the aspect of time, slowing down the rain, lessening its effect without blocking it completely, as well as offering a bit of porosity for both light and water to come in and out.

An observation tower is programmatically simple, essentially made up of a viewing platform at the top and the circulation required to get there. This building, though its purpose is to enjoy the view at the end, is really about the journey upward, and the vertical circulation of people and water. The architecture then became focused on three main elements: stairs, handrails, and the steel mesh curtain, and how the different arrangement of these three things can create varying spatial experiences.

The building is located on the corner of W. Georgia, Bidwell, and Alberni street. It is surrounded by towers on all sides, the ones marked in blue are the new developments.

The site is sloped. West Georgia Street is about three meters lower than Alberni Street. The design provides pedestrian access at grade from both streets, with a small side entrance for vehicles off of Bidwell.

We begin with the ground level.

At the bottom of the tower is a space where people can gather, and where water can pool.