Where the past meets the future.
In Vancouver, buildings shoot up faster than most people can keep track of. Just travel to pretty much any part of the city, and you will stumble across some new construction. Unless you’re in historic Gastown, where most of the neighbourhood is made up of protected heritage buildings—many over a century old. In this area, new developments are rare if not non-existent. That is, until The Wilson Block at 155 Water Street, the first new office building to go up on Water Street in over 30 years.
Before officially breaking ground at this significant site, Low Tide knew that this rare development would have to be modern and cutting-edge to meet the needs of their future tenants while also honouring the history of the building. So, they teamed up with MCM, one of the premier architecture firms in Western Canada to help design this one-of-a-kind property.
Far from an ordinary design, the team first built the contemporary glass and concrete building that make up the bulk of the space, incorporating modern layouts and collaborative open-concept offices. Finally, attaching the two original early 20th century facades of the old Harper Warehouse and BC Plate Glass & Importing Co. to the front. As Dan Bock, Senior Development Manager at Low Tide, puts it, “The modern building behind really complements the historical facade so that the outside works with the rest of the neighbourhood. While the inside office space is incredibly functional. It’s not every day that you see a building that works so well inside and out. The building is a perfect blend of the past and the future.”
