Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Revitalizing a historically significant area, Henriquez Partners Architects and HAPA Collaborative create a transformative residential project, the Blood Alley Mixed-Use Development situated in Vancouver’s Gastown district, a neighborhood known for its rich cultural heritage and historic architecture.
Vancouver is a growing and diverse city with significant housing challenges.
Providing a range of housing options – such as purpose built rental – is critical to the city’s social and economic well-being.
The Blood Alley project in Gastown adds 142 housing units, including 80 affordable housing and 62 market rental units.
The previous Stanley and New Fountain Hotels are important historic resources in the Gastown Historic District.
For its unique architectural elements, the project has recently been awarded a 2024 Future House Award by Global Design News and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
Gastown is recognized as Vancouver’s birthplace, and the neighbourhood played a pivotal role in the city’s history and development.
The streets, alleys and buildings of this historic area illustrate Vancouver’s evolution – its relationship with the port and success as a commercial centre.
One of these important alleys is Trounce Alley in Blood Alley Square.
Blood Alley conserves the hotel façades, while rehabilitating the overall site by building a new street wall and mid-rise tower behind the historical façades.
The scale and proportion of the streetscape façades have been sensitively scaled to contribute to the conservation of Gastown’s heritage character and fabric.
This building height variation reflects Gastown’s characteristic sawtooth block profile, which distinguishes the area’s built form.
Public art is an integral component of the project and includes a mural by Douglas Coupland on the east façade, and the “Ghost Lobby” by Henriquez.
The “Ghost Lobby” is a fossilized reconstruction of the former Stanely Hotel lobby from 1906.
Painted entirely white, the lobby is a minimalist interpretation of the original bar that brings history to life, and provides a contemplative experience for visitors.
Designed as if it has been left untouched since the turn of the 20th century, the vision was brought to life by meticulous research and a team of highly-skilled local craftspeople.
Project: Blood Alley Mixed Use Development
Architects: Henriquez Partners Architects
Design Team: Gregory Henriquez, Shawn Lapointe, Rui Nunes, Payam Ashjae, and Jaime Dejo
Landscape Architects: HAPA Collaborative
Contractor: Kanin Construction Management Inc.
Client: Westbank Corp and British Columbia Housing Management Commission (BC Housing)
Photographers: Ema Peter Photography and Graham Handford
