One Wall Centre
Encyclopedia
One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Wall Centre - North Tower, is currently the second-tallest completed building in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
. The skyscraper is located at a high point on the downtown peninsula of Vancouver and its address is 1088 Burrard Street
.
One Wall Centre was designed by Perkins+Will Canada. It was completed in 2001 and won the Emporis Skyscraper Award
for the Best New Skyscraper the same year.
Resort floors; which are operated independent of Sheraton. The remaining 17 floors are residential condominium
s. The One Wall Centre tower part of the Wall Centre complex owned by Wall Financial Corporation and was largely the vision of Peter Wall.
swaying during high winds, One Wall has a tuned water damping
system at the top level of the building which consists of two specially designed 50000 gallon water tanks. These tanks are designed so that the harmonic frequency
of the sloshing of the water in the tanks counteracts the harmonic frequency of the swaying of the building.
The tower exterior has a two-tone appearance. The glass on the lower levels is a dark glass, while the glass on the upper levels is light coloured glass. To satisfy the City of Vancouver Planning Department, who were concerned that the tower would dominate the downtown skyline
, it was agreed that it would have a very "light" appearance that would blend in with a blue sky. After the design was approved, a minor amendment was requested to change it to a significantly darker glass. This was approved by a low level staff member in the planning department who apparently did not realize the significance of this change. When the glass started to be put on the building the city planners noted that this did not meet design that was reviewed by the public and the city planning department. After many accusations back and forth as to the significance of this change and whether it required public review, the City agreed to compromise and allowed the lower glazing that was already installed to be the dark glazing, but required that the glazing on the upper levels be the light glazing that was originally proposed.
The end result is the two toned structure that many consider would have been more architecturally stimulating if the single dark glazing had been allowed. Rumour has it that hotel owner Peter Wall threatened to call off the construction if the city forced him to replace all of the dark-paned glass, so a settlement was reached where only the remaining portion of the building (1/3 of its height) was faced with the typical "Yaletown green" lighter-coloured glass now common in the city's newer areas. The attempt to maintain the dark blue appearance did not end there; the windows in the upper third were installed with dark blue blinds facing outwards. If all blinds were to be drawn at once, the building would achieve the intended dark blue appearance.
In 2010 the strata council for the owners of the residential portion of the One Wall building passed approval for a major project to replace all of the windows for all residential units. A fogging effect is putting the long-term safety of these windows into question. The cost for replacement is estimated at $6.5 million.
The Sheraton Wall Centre required a 75 feet (23 m) deep excavation
— the deepest excavation prior to Living Shangri-La for a building in the city.
According to the June 2004 edition of Elevator World, Richmond Elevator Maintenance Ltd. won a contract for the lowest bid to supply the building's elevators, one of the local elevator firm's first examples of
traction elevators. Despite the One Wall Centre being the first traction elevator project by the company, most problems ran into during construction were mitigated. The installation features 10 elevators, 8 of which are high speed geared machines. The hotel is served by four 1,400 kg (3,000 lb) traction elevators at 244 m per minute (800 feet/min),
with a group of 3 for public usage and a single private VIP access
elevator. There are also two hotel service elevators with 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) capacity each at 213 m per minute (700 feet/min). The apartments are served by 2 elevators, each with a capacity of 1,600 kg (3,500 lbs) at 305 m per minute (1,000 feet/min). There are also 2 roped hydraulic elevators: the 1,400 kg (3,000 lbs) to serve the parking garage, and the 2,300 kg (5,000 lbs) to serve the banquet floors. There are 6 escalators installed by Fujitec.
One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Wall Centre - North Tower, is currently the second-tallest completed building in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
. The skyscraper is located at a high point on the downtown peninsula of Vancouver and its address is 1088 Burrard Street
.
One Wall Centre was designed by Perkins+Will Canada. It was completed in 2001 and won the Emporis Skyscraper Award
for the Best New Skyscraper the same year.
Resort floors; which are operated independent of Sheraton. The remaining 17 floors are residential condominium
s. The One Wall Centre tower part of the Wall Centre complex owned by Wall Financial Corporation and was largely the vision of Peter Wall.
swaying during high winds, One Wall has a tuned water damping
system at the top level of the building which consists of two specially designed 50000 gallon water tanks. These tanks are designed so that the harmonic frequency
of the sloshing of the water in the tanks counteracts the harmonic frequency of the swaying of the building.
The tower exterior has a two-tone appearance. The glass on the lower levels is a dark glass, while the glass on the upper levels is light coloured glass. To satisfy the City of Vancouver Planning Department, who were concerned that the tower would dominate the downtown skyline
, it was agreed that it would have a very "light" appearance that would blend in with a blue sky. After the design was approved, a minor amendment was requested to change it to a significantly darker glass. This was approved by a low level staff member in the planning department who apparently did not realize the significance of this change. When the glass started to be put on the building the city planners noted that this did not meet design that was reviewed by the public and the city planning department. After many accusations back and forth as to the significance of this change and whether it required public review, the City agreed to compromise and allowed the lower glazing that was already installed to be the dark glazing, but required that the glazing on the upper levels be the light glazing that was originally proposed.
The end result is the two toned structure that many consider would have been more architecturally stimulating if the single dark glazing had been allowed. Rumour has it that hotel owner Peter Wall threatened to call off the construction if the city forced him to replace all of the dark-paned glass, so a settlement was reached where only the remaining portion of the building (1/3 of its height) was faced with the typical "Yaletown green" lighter-coloured glass now common in the city's newer areas. The attempt to maintain the dark blue appearance did not end there; the windows in the upper third were installed with dark blue blinds facing outwards. If all blinds were to be drawn at once, the building would achieve the intended dark blue appearance.
In 2010 the strata council for the owners of the residential portion of the One Wall building passed approval for a major project to replace all of the windows for all residential units. A fogging effect is putting the long-term safety of these windows into question. The cost for replacement is estimated at $6.5 million.
The Sheraton Wall Centre required a 75 feet (23 m) deep excavation
— the deepest excavation prior to Living Shangri-La for a building in the city.
According to the June 2004 edition of Elevator World, Richmond Elevator Maintenance Ltd. won a contract for the lowest bid to supply the building's elevators, one of the local elevator firm's first examples of
traction elevators. Despite the One Wall Centre being the first traction elevator project by the company, most problems ran into during construction were mitigated. The installation features 10 elevators, 8 of which are high speed geared machines. The hotel is served by four 1,400 kg (3,000 lb) traction elevators at 244 m per minute (800 feet/min),
with a group of 3 for public usage and a single private VIP access
elevator. There are also two hotel service elevators with 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) capacity each at 213 m per minute (700 feet/min). The apartments are served by 2 elevators, each with a capacity of 1,600 kg (3,500 lbs) at 305 m per minute (1,000 feet/min). There are also 2 roped hydraulic elevators: the 1,400 kg (3,000 lbs) to serve the parking garage, and the 2,300 kg (5,000 lbs) to serve the banquet floors. There are 6 escalators installed by Fujitec.
One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Wall Centre - North Tower, is currently the second-tallest completed building in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
. The skyscraper is located at a high point on the downtown peninsula of Vancouver and its address is 1088 Burrard Street
.
One Wall Centre was designed by Perkins+Will Canada. It was completed in 2001 and won the Emporis Skyscraper Award
for the Best New Skyscraper the same year.
Resort floors; which are operated independent of Sheraton. The remaining 17 floors are residential condominium
s. The One Wall Centre tower part of the Wall Centre complex owned by Wall Financial Corporation and was largely the vision of Peter Wall.
swaying during high winds, One Wall has a tuned water damping
system at the top level of the building which consists of two specially designed 50000 gallon water tanks. These tanks are designed so that the harmonic frequency
of the sloshing of the water in the tanks counteracts the harmonic frequency of the swaying of the building.
The tower exterior has a two-tone appearance. The glass on the lower levels is a dark glass, while the glass on the upper levels is light coloured glass. To satisfy the City of Vancouver Planning Department, who were concerned that the tower would dominate the downtown skyline
, it was agreed that it would have a very "light" appearance that would blend in with a blue sky. After the design was approved, a minor amendment was requested to change it to a significantly darker glass. This was approved by a low level staff member in the planning department who apparently did not realize the significance of this change. When the glass started to be put on the building the city planners noted that this did not meet design that was reviewed by the public and the city planning department. After many accusations back and forth as to the significance of this change and whether it required public review, the City agreed to compromise and allowed the lower glazing that was already installed to be the dark glazing, but required that the glazing on the upper levels be the light glazing that was originally proposed.
The end result is the two toned structure that many consider would have been more architecturally stimulating if the single dark glazing had been allowed. Rumour has it that hotel owner Peter Wall threatened to call off the construction if the city forced him to replace all of the dark-paned glass, so a settlement was reached where only the remaining portion of the building (1/3 of its height) was faced with the typical "Yaletown green" lighter-coloured glass now common in the city's newer areas. The attempt to maintain the dark blue appearance did not end there; the windows in the upper third were installed with dark blue blinds facing outwards. If all blinds were to be drawn at once, the building would achieve the intended dark blue appearance.
In 2010 the strata council for the owners of the residential portion of the One Wall building passed approval for a major project to replace all of the windows for all residential units. A fogging effect is putting the long-term safety of these windows into question. The cost for replacement is estimated at $6.5 million.
The Sheraton Wall Centre required a 75 feet (23 m) deep excavation
— the deepest excavation prior to Living Shangri-La for a building in the city.
According to the June 2004 edition of Elevator World, Richmond Elevator Maintenance Ltd. won a contract for the lowest bid to supply the building's elevators, one of the local elevator firm's first examples of
traction elevators. Despite the One Wall Centre being the first traction elevator project by the company, most problems ran into during construction were mitigated. The installation features 10 elevators, 8 of which are high speed geared machines. The hotel is served by four 1,400 kg (3,000 lb) traction elevators at 244 m per minute (800 feet/min),
with a group of 3 for public usage and a single private VIP access
elevator. There are also two hotel service elevators with 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) capacity each at 213 m per minute (700 feet/min). The apartments are served by 2 elevators, each with a capacity of 1,600 kg (3,500 lbs) at 305 m per minute (1,000 feet/min). There are also 2 roped hydraulic elevators: the 1,400 kg (3,000 lbs) to serve the parking garage, and the 2,300 kg (5,000 lbs) to serve the banquet floors. There are 6 escalators installed by Fujitec.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The skyscraper is located at a high point on the downtown peninsula of Vancouver and its address is 1088 Burrard Street
Burrard Street
Burrard Street is a major thoroughfare in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the central street of Downtown Vancouver and the Financial District. The street is named for Burrard Inlet, located at its northern terminus, which in turn is named for Sir Harry Burrard-Neale.The street starts at...
.
One Wall Centre was designed by Perkins+Will Canada. It was completed in 2001 and won the Emporis Skyscraper Award
Emporis Skyscraper Award
The Emporis Skyscraper Award is an award for architectural excellence regarding the design of buildings and their functionality.The award is presented annually by Emporis to the building representing the "Best new skyscraper for design and functionality". To qualify, nominated buildings must have...
for the Best New Skyscraper the same year.
Background
One Wall Centre is 48 storeys tall with a total height of 491 feet (150 m). The first 27 floors of the building are the 4 Diamond Sheraton Hotel. Floors 28, 29, and 30 are the Club IntrawestIntrawest
Intrawest ULC is a developer and operator of destination resorts and a luxury adventure travel company. The company was founded in 1976 as a privately funded real estate development company...
Resort floors; which are operated independent of Sheraton. The remaining 17 floors are residential condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s. The One Wall Centre tower part of the Wall Centre complex owned by Wall Financial Corporation and was largely the vision of Peter Wall.
Construction
To counteract possible harmonicHarmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
swaying during high winds, One Wall has a tuned water damping
Tuned mass damper
A tuned mass damper, also known as an active mass damper or harmonic absorber, is a device mounted in structures to reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibrations. Their application can prevent discomfort, damage, or outright structural failure...
system at the top level of the building which consists of two specially designed 50000 gallon water tanks. These tanks are designed so that the harmonic frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of the sloshing of the water in the tanks counteracts the harmonic frequency of the swaying of the building.
The tower exterior has a two-tone appearance. The glass on the lower levels is a dark glass, while the glass on the upper levels is light coloured glass. To satisfy the City of Vancouver Planning Department, who were concerned that the tower would dominate the downtown skyline
Skyline
A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...
, it was agreed that it would have a very "light" appearance that would blend in with a blue sky. After the design was approved, a minor amendment was requested to change it to a significantly darker glass. This was approved by a low level staff member in the planning department who apparently did not realize the significance of this change. When the glass started to be put on the building the city planners noted that this did not meet design that was reviewed by the public and the city planning department. After many accusations back and forth as to the significance of this change and whether it required public review, the City agreed to compromise and allowed the lower glazing that was already installed to be the dark glazing, but required that the glazing on the upper levels be the light glazing that was originally proposed.
The end result is the two toned structure that many consider would have been more architecturally stimulating if the single dark glazing had been allowed. Rumour has it that hotel owner Peter Wall threatened to call off the construction if the city forced him to replace all of the dark-paned glass, so a settlement was reached where only the remaining portion of the building (1/3 of its height) was faced with the typical "Yaletown green" lighter-coloured glass now common in the city's newer areas. The attempt to maintain the dark blue appearance did not end there; the windows in the upper third were installed with dark blue blinds facing outwards. If all blinds were to be drawn at once, the building would achieve the intended dark blue appearance.
In 2010 the strata council for the owners of the residential portion of the One Wall building passed approval for a major project to replace all of the windows for all residential units. A fogging effect is putting the long-term safety of these windows into question. The cost for replacement is estimated at $6.5 million.
The Sheraton Wall Centre required a 75 feet (23 m) deep excavation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
— the deepest excavation prior to Living Shangri-La for a building in the city.
According to the June 2004 edition of Elevator World, Richmond Elevator Maintenance Ltd. won a contract for the lowest bid to supply the building's elevators, one of the local elevator firm's first examples of
traction elevators. Despite the One Wall Centre being the first traction elevator project by the company, most problems ran into during construction were mitigated. The installation features 10 elevators, 8 of which are high speed geared machines. The hotel is served by four 1,400 kg (3,000 lb) traction elevators at 244 m per minute (800 feet/min),
with a group of 3 for public usage and a single private VIP access
elevator. There are also two hotel service elevators with 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) capacity each at 213 m per minute (700 feet/min). The apartments are served by 2 elevators, each with a capacity of 1,600 kg (3,500 lbs) at 305 m per minute (1,000 feet/min). There are also 2 roped hydraulic elevators: the 1,400 kg (3,000 lbs) to serve the parking garage, and the 2,300 kg (5,000 lbs) to serve the banquet floors. There are 6 escalators installed by Fujitec.
Cultural references
- This building was featured in the movie X-Men: The Last StandX-Men: The Last StandX-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
as one of the buildings they used to give the cure to the mutants. - The opening sequence of The CoreThe CoreThe Core is a 2003 American disaster film loosely based on the novel Core by Paul Preuss. It concerns a team that has to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to restart the rotation of Earth's core...
, where a man collapses at a business meeting and the camera pans out to the street to show a number of simultaneous accidents, was filmed here. - The plaza directly in front of this building was used in exterior shots for the 1996 Fox TV Series Profit (TV series)Profit (TV series)Profit is an American television series that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1996. The series was created by David Greenwalt and John McNamara, and starred Adrian Pasdar as the titular character, Jim Profit. In February 2008, episodes began airing on Chiller in the USA...
to represent the immediate area outside the corporate offices of fictional Gracen & Gracen Inc (G&G). While the One Wall Centre building did not exist in 1996 when the series was filmed, the two towers immediately adjacent to this building were featured prominently in the series as the corporate headquarters for G&G. - The courtyard of the Wall Centre appears in Caprica's season 1 episode, Retribution.
External links
- One Wall Centre project page at the Glotman•Simpson Group
- One Wall Centre on Emporis
- Emporis 2001 Award
One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Wall Centre - North Tower, is currently the second-tallest completed building in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The skyscraper is located at a high point on the downtown peninsula of Vancouver and its address is 1088 Burrard Street
Burrard Street
Burrard Street is a major thoroughfare in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the central street of Downtown Vancouver and the Financial District. The street is named for Burrard Inlet, located at its northern terminus, which in turn is named for Sir Harry Burrard-Neale.The street starts at...
.
One Wall Centre was designed by Perkins+Will Canada. It was completed in 2001 and won the Emporis Skyscraper Award
Emporis Skyscraper Award
The Emporis Skyscraper Award is an award for architectural excellence regarding the design of buildings and their functionality.The award is presented annually by Emporis to the building representing the "Best new skyscraper for design and functionality". To qualify, nominated buildings must have...
for the Best New Skyscraper the same year.
Background
One Wall Centre is 48 storeys tall with a total height of 491 feet (150 m). The first 27 floors of the building are the 4 Diamond Sheraton Hotel. Floors 28, 29, and 30 are the Club IntrawestIntrawest
Intrawest ULC is a developer and operator of destination resorts and a luxury adventure travel company. The company was founded in 1976 as a privately funded real estate development company...
Resort floors; which are operated independent of Sheraton. The remaining 17 floors are residential condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s. The One Wall Centre tower part of the Wall Centre complex owned by Wall Financial Corporation and was largely the vision of Peter Wall.
Construction
To counteract possible harmonicHarmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
swaying during high winds, One Wall has a tuned water damping
Tuned mass damper
A tuned mass damper, also known as an active mass damper or harmonic absorber, is a device mounted in structures to reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibrations. Their application can prevent discomfort, damage, or outright structural failure...
system at the top level of the building which consists of two specially designed 50000 gallon water tanks. These tanks are designed so that the harmonic frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of the sloshing of the water in the tanks counteracts the harmonic frequency of the swaying of the building.
The tower exterior has a two-tone appearance. The glass on the lower levels is a dark glass, while the glass on the upper levels is light coloured glass. To satisfy the City of Vancouver Planning Department, who were concerned that the tower would dominate the downtown skyline
Skyline
A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...
, it was agreed that it would have a very "light" appearance that would blend in with a blue sky. After the design was approved, a minor amendment was requested to change it to a significantly darker glass. This was approved by a low level staff member in the planning department who apparently did not realize the significance of this change. When the glass started to be put on the building the city planners noted that this did not meet design that was reviewed by the public and the city planning department. After many accusations back and forth as to the significance of this change and whether it required public review, the City agreed to compromise and allowed the lower glazing that was already installed to be the dark glazing, but required that the glazing on the upper levels be the light glazing that was originally proposed.
The end result is the two toned structure that many consider would have been more architecturally stimulating if the single dark glazing had been allowed. Rumour has it that hotel owner Peter Wall threatened to call off the construction if the city forced him to replace all of the dark-paned glass, so a settlement was reached where only the remaining portion of the building (1/3 of its height) was faced with the typical "Yaletown green" lighter-coloured glass now common in the city's newer areas. The attempt to maintain the dark blue appearance did not end there; the windows in the upper third were installed with dark blue blinds facing outwards. If all blinds were to be drawn at once, the building would achieve the intended dark blue appearance.
In 2010 the strata council for the owners of the residential portion of the One Wall building passed approval for a major project to replace all of the windows for all residential units. A fogging effect is putting the long-term safety of these windows into question. The cost for replacement is estimated at $6.5 million.
The Sheraton Wall Centre required a 75 feet (23 m) deep excavation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
— the deepest excavation prior to Living Shangri-La for a building in the city.
According to the June 2004 edition of Elevator World, Richmond Elevator Maintenance Ltd. won a contract for the lowest bid to supply the building's elevators, one of the local elevator firm's first examples of
traction elevators. Despite the One Wall Centre being the first traction elevator project by the company, most problems ran into during construction were mitigated. The installation features 10 elevators, 8 of which are high speed geared machines. The hotel is served by four 1,400 kg (3,000 lb) traction elevators at 244 m per minute (800 feet/min),
with a group of 3 for public usage and a single private VIP access
elevator. There are also two hotel service elevators with 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) capacity each at 213 m per minute (700 feet/min). The apartments are served by 2 elevators, each with a capacity of 1,600 kg (3,500 lbs) at 305 m per minute (1,000 feet/min). There are also 2 roped hydraulic elevators: the 1,400 kg (3,000 lbs) to serve the parking garage, and the 2,300 kg (5,000 lbs) to serve the banquet floors. There are 6 escalators installed by Fujitec.
Cultural references
- This building was featured in the movie X-Men: The Last StandX-Men: The Last StandX-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
as one of the buildings they used to give the cure to the mutants. - The opening sequence of The CoreThe CoreThe Core is a 2003 American disaster film loosely based on the novel Core by Paul Preuss. It concerns a team that has to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to restart the rotation of Earth's core...
, where a man collapses at a business meeting and the camera pans out to the street to show a number of simultaneous accidents, was filmed here. - The plaza directly in front of this building was used in exterior shots for the 1996 Fox TV Series Profit (TV series)Profit (TV series)Profit is an American television series that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1996. The series was created by David Greenwalt and John McNamara, and starred Adrian Pasdar as the titular character, Jim Profit. In February 2008, episodes began airing on Chiller in the USA...
to represent the immediate area outside the corporate offices of fictional Gracen & Gracen Inc (G&G). While the One Wall Centre building did not exist in 1996 when the series was filmed, the two towers immediately adjacent to this building were featured prominently in the series as the corporate headquarters for G&G. - The courtyard of the Wall Centre appears in Caprica's season 1 episode, Retribution.
External links
- One Wall Centre project page at the Glotman•Simpson Group
- One Wall Centre on Emporis
- Emporis 2001 Award
One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Wall Centre - North Tower, is currently the second-tallest completed building in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The skyscraper is located at a high point on the downtown peninsula of Vancouver and its address is 1088 Burrard Street
Burrard Street
Burrard Street is a major thoroughfare in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the central street of Downtown Vancouver and the Financial District. The street is named for Burrard Inlet, located at its northern terminus, which in turn is named for Sir Harry Burrard-Neale.The street starts at...
.
One Wall Centre was designed by Perkins+Will Canada. It was completed in 2001 and won the Emporis Skyscraper Award
Emporis Skyscraper Award
The Emporis Skyscraper Award is an award for architectural excellence regarding the design of buildings and their functionality.The award is presented annually by Emporis to the building representing the "Best new skyscraper for design and functionality". To qualify, nominated buildings must have...
for the Best New Skyscraper the same year.
Background
One Wall Centre is 48 storeys tall with a total height of 491 feet (150 m). The first 27 floors of the building are the 4 Diamond Sheraton Hotel. Floors 28, 29, and 30 are the Club IntrawestIntrawest
Intrawest ULC is a developer and operator of destination resorts and a luxury adventure travel company. The company was founded in 1976 as a privately funded real estate development company...
Resort floors; which are operated independent of Sheraton. The remaining 17 floors are residential condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s. The One Wall Centre tower part of the Wall Centre complex owned by Wall Financial Corporation and was largely the vision of Peter Wall.
Construction
To counteract possible harmonicHarmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
swaying during high winds, One Wall has a tuned water damping
Tuned mass damper
A tuned mass damper, also known as an active mass damper or harmonic absorber, is a device mounted in structures to reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibrations. Their application can prevent discomfort, damage, or outright structural failure...
system at the top level of the building which consists of two specially designed 50000 gallon water tanks. These tanks are designed so that the harmonic frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of the sloshing of the water in the tanks counteracts the harmonic frequency of the swaying of the building.
The tower exterior has a two-tone appearance. The glass on the lower levels is a dark glass, while the glass on the upper levels is light coloured glass. To satisfy the City of Vancouver Planning Department, who were concerned that the tower would dominate the downtown skyline
Skyline
A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...
, it was agreed that it would have a very "light" appearance that would blend in with a blue sky. After the design was approved, a minor amendment was requested to change it to a significantly darker glass. This was approved by a low level staff member in the planning department who apparently did not realize the significance of this change. When the glass started to be put on the building the city planners noted that this did not meet design that was reviewed by the public and the city planning department. After many accusations back and forth as to the significance of this change and whether it required public review, the City agreed to compromise and allowed the lower glazing that was already installed to be the dark glazing, but required that the glazing on the upper levels be the light glazing that was originally proposed.
The end result is the two toned structure that many consider would have been more architecturally stimulating if the single dark glazing had been allowed. Rumour has it that hotel owner Peter Wall threatened to call off the construction if the city forced him to replace all of the dark-paned glass, so a settlement was reached where only the remaining portion of the building (1/3 of its height) was faced with the typical "Yaletown green" lighter-coloured glass now common in the city's newer areas. The attempt to maintain the dark blue appearance did not end there; the windows in the upper third were installed with dark blue blinds facing outwards. If all blinds were to be drawn at once, the building would achieve the intended dark blue appearance.
In 2010 the strata council for the owners of the residential portion of the One Wall building passed approval for a major project to replace all of the windows for all residential units. A fogging effect is putting the long-term safety of these windows into question. The cost for replacement is estimated at $6.5 million.
The Sheraton Wall Centre required a 75 feet (23 m) deep excavation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
— the deepest excavation prior to Living Shangri-La for a building in the city.
According to the June 2004 edition of Elevator World, Richmond Elevator Maintenance Ltd. won a contract for the lowest bid to supply the building's elevators, one of the local elevator firm's first examples of
traction elevators. Despite the One Wall Centre being the first traction elevator project by the company, most problems ran into during construction were mitigated. The installation features 10 elevators, 8 of which are high speed geared machines. The hotel is served by four 1,400 kg (3,000 lb) traction elevators at 244 m per minute (800 feet/min),
with a group of 3 for public usage and a single private VIP access
elevator. There are also two hotel service elevators with 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) capacity each at 213 m per minute (700 feet/min). The apartments are served by 2 elevators, each with a capacity of 1,600 kg (3,500 lbs) at 305 m per minute (1,000 feet/min). There are also 2 roped hydraulic elevators: the 1,400 kg (3,000 lbs) to serve the parking garage, and the 2,300 kg (5,000 lbs) to serve the banquet floors. There are 6 escalators installed by Fujitec.
Cultural references
- This building was featured in the movie X-Men: The Last StandX-Men: The Last StandX-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
as one of the buildings they used to give the cure to the mutants. - The opening sequence of The CoreThe CoreThe Core is a 2003 American disaster film loosely based on the novel Core by Paul Preuss. It concerns a team that has to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to restart the rotation of Earth's core...
, where a man collapses at a business meeting and the camera pans out to the street to show a number of simultaneous accidents, was filmed here. - The plaza directly in front of this building was used in exterior shots for the 1996 Fox TV Series Profit (TV series)Profit (TV series)Profit is an American television series that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1996. The series was created by David Greenwalt and John McNamara, and starred Adrian Pasdar as the titular character, Jim Profit. In February 2008, episodes began airing on Chiller in the USA...
to represent the immediate area outside the corporate offices of fictional Gracen & Gracen Inc (G&G). While the One Wall Centre building did not exist in 1996 when the series was filmed, the two towers immediately adjacent to this building were featured prominently in the series as the corporate headquarters for G&G. - The courtyard of the Wall Centre appears in Caprica's season 1 episode, Retribution.
External links
- One Wall Centre project page at the Glotman•Simpson Group
- One Wall Centre on Emporis
- Emporis 2001 Award