Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia, Canada, has more high-rise buildings per capita than most North American metropolitan centres with populations exceeding 1,000,000. Vancouver's population density is the 4th-highest in North America and the city has more residential high-rises per capita than any other city on the continent.
There are roughly 650 high-rise buildings that equal or exceed ,
and roughly 50 buildings that equal or exceed 100 metres (328 ft). Vancouver has 27 protected view corridors which limit the construction of tall buildings which interfere with the line of sight to the
North Shore Mountains
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city.
The steep southern slopes of the No ...
, the downtown skyline, and the waters of
English Bay and the
Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...
. Almost all of Vancouver's buildings that exceed 100 metres in height are located within
Downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...
.
The tallest building in Vancouver is the 62-
storey
A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US).
T ...
,
Living Shangri-La
Living Shangri-La is a mixed-use skyscraper in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is the tallest building in the city and province. The 62-storey Shangri-La tower contains a 5-star hotel and its offices on the first 15 floors, with ...
;
the building represents the city's efforts to add visual interest into Vancouver's
skyline
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skylines ...
. The recently completed
Paradox Hotel Vancouver
The Paradox Hotel Vancouver, formerly known as the Trump International Hotel and Tower Vancouver, is a residential skyscraper and hotel in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 60-storey, tower in which the hotel is located is at ...
, also known as
Vancouver's Turn
The Paradox Hotel Vancouver, formerly known as the Trump International Hotel and Tower Vancouver, is a residential skyscraper and hotel in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 60-storey, tower in which the hotel is located is at ...
, is now the city's second tallest building, at 188 metres (616 ft). The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, completed in 2012 at and 48 stories, is currently the third-tallest in the city.
One Wall Centre
One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre North Tower, is a 48-storey, skyscraper hotel with residential condominiums in the Wall Centre (Vancouver), Wall Centre development at 1088 Burrard Street in Downtown Vancouver, B ...
, at tall, with 48 storeys, is currently the city's fourth tallest building.
One Wall Centre has the distinction of being the first building in the world to use a
tuned liquid column damper to control wind vibrations.
Vancouver's history of skyscrapers began with the
Dominion Building
The Dominion Building (originally Dominion Trust Building) is a commercial building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located on the edge of Gastown (207 West Hastings St), it was Vancouver's first steel-framed high-rise. At 53 m (175 ...
(1909), the
Sun Tower
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
(1911) (originally named the World Tower, then the News-Advertiser Tower, after the newspaper it was home to in each case), the
Vancouver Block (1912), the second
Hotel Vancouver (1916) and the
Marine Building
The Marine Building is a skyscraper located at 355 Burrard Street in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada near the Financial District. Completed in 1930, at the time of its opening it was the city's tallest skyscraper and it is one of ...
(1929). The third
Hotel Vancouver
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, formerly and still informally called the Hotel Vancouver, is a historic hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. Located along West Georgia Street the hotel is situated within the city's Financial District, in Downtown ...
was completed in 1939 at tall, and was the first building in the city to have stood taller than 100 m (328 ft).
Building construction remained slow in the city until the late 1960s, other than the completion of the new
BC Electric
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the excep ...
headquarters (soon renamed
BC Hydro
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the excep ...
headquarters, and today the
Electra condominiums). From 1968 to 1981, Vancouver witnessed a major expansion of skyscraper and high-rise construction. Many of the city's office towers were completed during this period, such as the
Harbour Centre
__NOTOC__
Harbour Centre is a skyscraper in the central business district of Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada which opened in 1977. The "Lookout" tower atop the office building makes it one of the tallest structures in Vancouver an ...
,
Bentall Centre,
Royal Centre,
Granville Square
Granville Square is a prominent tower located at 200 Granville Street in the Financial District within the city's downtown core of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Completed in 1973, the building stands at 138.4 metres (454 feet) tall. The to ...
and
Pacific Centre
Pacific Centre (officially CF Pacific Centre since 2015) is a shopping mall located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is owned by Cadillac Fairview, the Ontario Pension Board, and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and is manage ...
office tower/mall complexes.
A ten-year lull in building construction came after the expansion, though Vancouver experienced a larger second building expansion beginning in 1991 and continuing into the present.
In the last two decades Vancouver's pioneering urbanism, with its density and innovative developments, has been emulated by major cities throughout the world. As part of the city's push for liveable high-density areas (called
Vancouverism
Vancouverism is an urban planning and architectural phenomenon in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is characterized by a large residential population living in the city centre with mixed-use developments, typically with a medium-height, c ...
by planning theorists), many mixed-use and residential buildings were built, such as Concord Pacific Place, the largest master-planned residential complex in North America.
One Wall Centre and Living Shangri-La were the city's first buildings to break the and marks, respectively.
__TOC__
While highrise development outside of the downtown core had been nearly nonexistent due to zoning restrictions and view cones, recent transit oriented developments like Marine Gateway and the upcoming Oakridge Park are centered around Canada line stations of the
Skytrain, Metro Vancouver's
light metro
A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS’s trains are usually 1-4 cars, or 1 ligh ...
system, in order to increase residential density and reduce car reliance. They will have the tallest building heights outside of
Downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...
.
Tallest buildings
This list ranks buildings in Vancouver that stand at least 100 m (328 ft) tall, based on
CTBUH
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States ...
height measurement standards. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings.
* Indicates buildings that are still under construction but have been topped out.
= Indicates buildings that have the same rank because they have the same height.
Tallest proposed and under construction
Under construction
This table lists skyscrapers that are under construction in Vancouver that will rise over tall.
Approved and Proposed
This table lists approved and proposed skyscrapers in Vancouver that are planned to rise over tall.
Tallest demolished
This table lists buildings in Vancouver that were demolished or destroyed and at one time stood at least in height.
Timeline of tallest buildings
This is a list of buildings that in the past held the title of tallest building in Vancouver.
See also
*
Architecture of Vancouver
The architecture of Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver area holds a combination of modern architectural styles, ranging from the 20th century Edwardian style to the 21st century modernist style and beyond. Initially, the city's architects embrac ...
*
List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
The following is a list of buildings and structures classified as Schedule "A" and Schedule "B" heritage buildings by the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. These are ''designated'' heritage buildings, and as such are legally protected ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Canada
This is a list of the tallest buildings in Canada. As of December 2017 there are a total of 133 completed and under construction buildings in Canada with an official height of or more. Greater Toronto has 86 (Toronto 83 (including the eight tal ...
*
List of tallest buildings in British Columbia
This is a list of the tallest buildings in British Columbia that ranks skyscrapers and high-rise buildings in the province of British Columbia, Canada, by height. Buildings in six cities are included in this list; Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, N ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Burnaby
This list of tallest buildings in Burnaby refers to the tallest buildings in the City of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia located in Metro Vancouver. With an estimated population of 2 ...
References
;General
*
*
*
;Specific
External links
Diagram of Vancouver skyscraperson SkyscraperPage
{{Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
Tallest buildings
Tallest buildings in Vancouver