Scot Hein's Thoughts on Broadway and Birch and planning directions in Vancouver

Scot Hein is the former campus urban designer and professor in the Master of Urban Design Program at UBC. He was previously the senior urban designer with the City of Vancouver, where his work focused on the downtown core on such initiatives as Woodward's, Southeast False Creek/Olympic Village, a New Housing Plan for Chinatown, the revitalization of Gastown/Victory Square/Hastings Corridor, and related public realm opportunities such as the Carrall Street Greenway/Pigeon Park, Downtown Historic Trail, CPR ROW and the Silk Road.

He was previously registered architect in BC and is a currently registered architect in the state of Washington. He holds degrees in environmental design and architecture and a minor in economics studies from the University of Kansas.

Here are some of his thoughts on Broadway and Birch and other new developments in Vancouver. 

 Just a quick note to offer commentary re: the Birch Street/Denny's tower height, and the Pine and West 8th mass timber tower project.

Our entire discretionary regulatory framework (zoning and re-zonings) have historically rewarded density for best urban design practices as the primary driver of value creation.  It is an elegant, and legally defensible, system if properly managed.  It is underpinned by the simple idea that all sites have potential to stretch their carrying capacity, but, all sites also have limits given their urban design (contextual) role towards a visually cogent and legible city. For example, tower sites in the downtown must contribute to a "domical" overall skyline image. And sites outside of the downtown also have rules which are different than those for the downtown. So please consider that we actually have three cities as per the image above.

1)  The Downtown's Loop City (fill your boots with towers in the proper locations)
2)  Broadway's Line City (as a unique cross-town corridor with its own form and character "signature")
3)  And the balance as Grid City underpinned by the former streetcar grid as a more ambient contextual idea in support of our neighbourhoods.

All three are distinguished with each as a unique idea/morphology deserving of its own approach to density and form.

We all, and certainly previous councils, have gotten into trouble mixing these three ideas by "grafting" Loop City form onto Line or Grid city sites for the laudable purposes of generating economic value towards affordable housing.  I'm spiritually on the same page that seeks market value for important amenities, however, it is important to know when you are overreaching.  Both proposals, in my opinion are overreaching.

I would suggest that Rize's Independent Tower in Mt. Pleasant be viewed as maximum precedent height, at approximately 20 storeys, for future station site locations west to Burrard.  The quality of urban fabric and land use changes west of Burrard.  In order to achieve visual emphasis to mark the station locations between Main and Burrard, towers could be considered at each location at approximately 20 storeys which would also introduce a visual rhythm to the image of Broadway.  Everything in between should therefore defer in form and scale to these TOD intersections.  The Denny's site in this future context, at 16 storeys, is defensible.  

With all due respect to the architects who I greatly admire, a 34 story tower off and north of Broadway (in an ambient low-midrise context with quite modest residential towers) is not defensible, even if as the tallest mass timber proposal (for awhile at least) in the world.  The 8th and Pine tower would have been rejected at the enquiry stage in previous years as an urban design non-starter while also keeping elected officials out of harms way.  No reason to justify such height with a questionable public benefit, especially off Broadway.  Perhaps staff could help the proponents find a more appropriate site.  We did this all the time in past years.  

Hope this gives you a framework for thinking about tower form in the Broadway corridor.  Not so affordable rental continues to be a dubious public benefit when there are other typological built form choices that generate even more affordable rental, without expansive/expensive parkades, and also invigorate/strengthen neighbourhoods.  Kudos for piloting Missing Middle ideas.

I wanted to offer the above as most hard fought urban design experience, and more artful engagement that thoughtfully generates market value, has left the building.  

My very best, s

btw – Here is a technical term - “Pig in Space” which describes a singular tower out of context.