Focal on 3rd

Contextual cues shape the dynamic massing of a new hybrid industrial building, representing a new typology of urban, mixed-use development. 

Focal on 3rd, a slim 8-storey, 30,000 square-foot building in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, exemplifies the next iteration of urban industrial buildings. The program retains light industrial space at grade and provides offices with a focus on digital entertainment and information technology uses above.

Due to its corner location and adjacent public open space across the lane, the project is highly visible from three sides and figures prominently in the urban landscape. While many of the surrounding concrete block warehouses built in the 1950s and 60s are likely to be redeveloped in the future, a 1912 redbrick heritage building across the street, formerly the Quigley Knitting Mills, stands as an enduring connection to the site’s historical context.

On the south facade, setbacks at the 3rd and 5th floors are angled to create a dynamic directional shift at the intersection. On all three exposed facades, the terracotta panels’ pattern and orientation emphasize the building’s verticality and obscure the regimented stepped form prescribed by zoning. The material and colour selection of the cladding pay homage to the historic brick materiality of the neighbourhood. Extended window fins create depth and texture, casting ever-changing shadows that vary throughout the day and seasons.

The narrow site did not allow for a conventional parking layout. A car elevator accessing the three levels of below-grade parking allows the site to be built to its maximum density, providing the required number of car and bicycle stalls.

Intensive green roof terraces at level 5 and on the rooftop aid in rainwater capture and provide outdoor social spaces for the building occupants. The project achieves significant energy savings and follows the City of Vancouver’s Zero Emission Building Plan (ZEBP). The building is connected to the Neighborhood Energy Utility (NEU) and, as a result, does not rely on fossil fuels.

LOOP Design Awards 2023 – Architectural Category Winner for both High Rise Buildings + Industrial Buildings

Architecture MasterPrize 2023 – Honourable Mention for both Commercial + Mixed Use Architecture