Mass Timber projects featured on ArchDaily
We're excited to see that two of our MEC projects have been featured in this great new article on biophilia and workplace design on ArchDaily. The article points to the positive effects of wood in built environments, including the sensory experience of users and its timeless aesthetic value as a natural material. The article points out that several new studies, including one from the University of British
Working with a local Performing Arts School
For many years Proscenium has worked with local arts groups, big and small, to realize their vision for performing spaces. We are excited to share that we are designing a new home for Vancouver Performing Stars, a dance and theatre performance school for children and youth. The project includes a black box theatre with approximately 90 seats, 2 secondary studios, offices, front of house including
Four projects are finalists for the Georgie Awards
We are excited to share that four projects we recently completed for Chard Development are named as finalists in the 2022 Georgie Awards, hosted by Canadian Home Builders' Association of BC. The Georgie Awards celebrate excellence in home building and renovation in the residential construction industry. Projects are submitted by member companies for consideration by a panel of industry professionals from across Canada and the
PAI Insight: Incorporating Theatres into New Developments
Designing and renovating theatres has been a focus of Proscenium since 1996 when our firm started. In recent years, we have been approached by multiple clients who want to design theatres that are incorporated into new developments. Often this results in having a theatre on ground level (at grade) with a residential or mixed-use building attached. When handled correctly we think this is a great
Designing Ballet BC’s New Home
We are excited to be working with Ballet BC with the design of their future home on Granville Island! Our team is currently working with the dance company to renovate the space at 1286 Cartwright St, formerly occupied by Arts Umbrella. The project includes new administration and dance rehearsal spaces. Over the holidays the company announced the news: Following more than a decade at Scotiabank
Happy Holidays from PAI!
Wishing you a restful and joyful holiday season, from all of us here at Proscenium. Our office will be closed from noon on December 24th to Tuesday, January 4th. See you in the New Year!
Supporting Carnegie Community Centre & The Gathering Place
Over the years, Proscenium has held donation drives to support two exceptional organizations we have worked on in the past, Carnegie Community Centre and The Gathering Place in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. This year, we are excited to be collecting physical items from our staff to bundle together and drop off to benefit their programs! A little bit of history: CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE Carnegie Centre is
PAI Highlight: 1235 Marine Drive
We are pleased to be moving forward in the design phase with our project at 1235 Marine Drive in North Vancouver! This Mixed-Use project on the vibrant Marine Drive corridor consists of one floor of Commercial Retail and three stories of market residential condos ranging from one to two bedrooms. Some great design features include: A widened pedestrian sidewalk and added seating to encourage
Photographing our New Office
We decided to wait until most of the team was back in office before taking some pictures to show off the space! Thanks to Kori for his photography skills and the Interiors team for their help. Our office is located on the third floor of the MEC Vancouver building (have you heard about its new award?). A bonus of designing this building was envisioning a new
QET and BMO Theatre featured in Construct Connect
We're excited to see two of our favourite theatre projects featured in September's edition of Construct Connect. The issue's main feature is an article on Acoustics called "Perfecting the Sound Experience in Theatres", written by Payam Ashtiani. It's certainly an interesting time for the performing arts community as audiences re-enter theatres following the pandemic. Many organizations are looking for safe ways to accommodate higher numbers
MEC Vancouver wins CaGBC Award for New Construction
We are so pleased to receive the 2021 Canadian Green Building Award for New Construction for MEC Vancouver! Thank you to Canada Green Building Council for recognizing the project. Hugh Cochlin will be giving a presentation on the building's many green features along with Roland Charneux next week, September 28th at 9am PST. CaGBC Awards Lunch ‘n’ Learn: New Construction Tuesday, September 28th; 9-10 am
Lawn Bowling with PAI Staff
For the first time ever, it rained so much we almost didn't get to play! Our staff's annual August lawn bowling tournament at Dunbar Lawn Bowling was a bit colder than usual this year -- but great fun once we got moving! Laughing, heckling and lawn bowling jargon were heard all over the green and PAI staff persisted through the weather with good attitudes and
PAI Insight: Evolving Space Needs for Industrial/Office Buildings
Our projects like The Yukon (2021) and 750 SW Marine Drive (ongoing) have highlighted some recent changes in space needs of our clients. We'd like to share some insights on the mixed-use building typology of industrial/office buildings and how we're navigating those changes. MEC Head Office (2014) Covid-19 Impacts on Workplace Design The increasing capabilities of remote work and employee's desire for flexible
MEC Vancouver wins the BC Wood Design Award 2020
On July 14th, WoodWORKS! BC announced MEC Vancouver is the winner of the BC Wood Design Awards (2020) for Commercial buildings! We are so glad to receive this award and thank you to our great project team for all their hard work on this inspiring, sustainable project. IN THE NEWS: Canadian Architect Journal of Commerce The building has also been spotlighted a Case Study publication
Meet Ee Jay, our new Junior Architectural Graduate
A warm welcome to Ee Jay, who joined our firm last month as a Junior Architectural Graduate. Where were you born? Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. It is a city of an estimated 600,000 people, and a 20-minutes drive to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. How did you get into architecture? When I was a kid, I liked to make handicrafts and drawings. Initially, I thought of
Skewed off the Grid: Elenore on Fifth
The design of Elenore on Fifth, a distinct mixed-use commercial and residential building completed in 2020, was driven by the site's unique parameters and the identity of the vibrant lower Main Street neighbourhood. STEPPING DOWN THE HILL Located on 5th and Main, the site is about halfway down the hill between Broadway and 2nd Avenue. The area has a history of small, light industrial uses
PAI Feature: Cook Street Plaza
Cook Street Plaza is a comprehensive mixed-use development in the City of Victoria, currently under construction. The vision for the project was to supply a range of market and below-market housing options and locally supportive commercial space for a walkable, thriving urban area with excellent access to transportation options. The scale of the site allows a holistic approach to the public realm; landscaped mews forming
Meet Carolyn, our new Junior Graduate Technologist
We're excited to welcome Carolyn Ruttan to the team at PAI. Where were you born? Duncan, on Vancouver Island. How did you get into architectural technology/drafting? I've always been interested in buildings and how spaces work. I considered interior design, but I found a great program to become a technologist -- I definitely have a passion for both. What class in school has proven to
MEC’s newest Head Office
New flooring is being laid at MEC's new head office, the third our firm will have completed for the company (1999, 2014 and 2021). Following a transfer of ownership, MEC gave up its former head office in 2020 and engaged Proscenium to do a basic tenant improvement for a new space on Great Northern Way. The new, smaller footprint office is a clean shell and
NEWS: PAI named Associate Architect for new mass-timber office
Proscenium is excited to announce our involvement in T3 Mount Pleasant, a new mass-timber office building in Vancouver. Standing for "timber, transit and technology," T3 Mount Pleasant will be a 10-storey, 196,000 sq ft office building geared towards tech and creative industry tenants. PAI will be acting as Associate Architect to DLR Group in this project developed by the Houston-based Hines and local developer PC Urban.
Supporting WISH Drop-In Centre
Thank you to everyone who donated items to PAI's drive this Spring for WISH! We are so glad to hand over the much-needed clothing and other items for a great cause. Alex and Pam proudly display the donations! Proscenium has been involved in supporting the WISH Drop-in Centre Society for many years. We love this organization that supports women on the Downtown Eastside
Affordable Housing at Vivid at the Yates
We're proud to be involved in this affordable housing project by BC Housing and Chard Development at 845 Johnson St, Vivid at the Yates. BC Housing posted a News article this week announcing that all 135 condominium units have been sold to middle-income families in Victoria, and the new owners are moving in this month. Proscenium provided full interior design services for the building. ABOUT
750 SW Marine Drive approved by Urban Design Panel
Another milestone moment for our project at 750 Southwest Marine Drive, which has full support from the Design Panel held last week. THE PROJECT The proposed building for Chard Development is an eight-storey, mixed-use building between Oak St. and Cambie St. in Vancouver’s South Marpole district. It is located on the southeast corner of Marine and Aisne Street, walking distance from the Marine Drive Skytrain
Langara Bioinformatics Lab is complete!
We're excited to have completed the Bioinformatics Lab at Langara College. This brand new molecular lab has a built-in tissue culture lab and some other great features. The main lab has all the essentials for an academic science lab geared towards teaching upper-level biology. Proscenium paired a clean contemporary design with the necessary specialized building services such as access to water, compressed air, fume hoods,
CCC Bell Tower on the Daily Hive
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/christ-church-cathedral-vancouver-november-2016
MEC Stores-Edmonton
We are very excited about the completion of the newest MEC store in Edmonton! The MEC South Edmonton Common store received final occupancy on Thursday and it's looking great. Meanwhile, the store in the Brewery District (relocation of the downtown store), is moving along quickly and is starting to really take shape.
Bell Tower Lighting
It’s getting darker and darker earlier and earlier. That meant we didn’t have to be up too late on a school night for PAI to be on-site for the focusing and commissioning of the Christ Church Cathedral bell tower lighting. Silver linings.
Bells will be ringing…
Christ Church Cathedral – bell ringing test Monday August 22, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B97luRQcy-M
Christ Church Cathedral Bell-Spire
A crowning feature of the current project is the addition of the highly anticipated bell-spire at the north-east corner of the Cathedral, set atop the existing elevator core. This open glass and steel structure housing four electronically controlled and custom cast bronze bells will be one of the last Architectural additions to this project. This weekend was an exciting milestone, as the bells were lifted
Christ Church Cathedral Bell Tower
On Friday July 8th, 2016, crews lifted into place the two halves of the new Christ Church Cathedral Bell Tower. The tower was constructed and painted offsite to take advantage of the precision assembly and coating possible in a controlled shop environment. It was constructed in two halves because the transmission of gravity loads generated by lifting the entire tower would have blown in the
We loved this article on The 21 Types of Architects by Jan Doroteo
http://www.archdaily.com/790611/these-are-the-21-architects-you-will-meet-in-the-office
MEC Head Office Featured in a Japanese Magazine
The MEC Head Office was featured in the Japanese Wood Building Magazine. It looks at our high use of wood throughout the building.
Langara’s Science and Technology Building’s Steel Structure
The Langara Science and Technology continues to make good progress. Below you can find some of the work that has been done on the steel structure. Photos by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural
Private Residence House Progress
Our project for a private residence here in Vancouver is coming along. The front of the house has been finished in stucco and composite panels. There will be a cedar screen in front of the Master Bedroom window that will be able to slip open for more daylight or be closed for more privacy. The Living room window will have a translucent film applied to
UBC Pool/Gym Renovation
Proscenium recently completed a renovation of one of the pools up at UBC and converted it into a new gym space.
Langara’s Science and Technology building progression
The new Science and Technology building continues to progress towards its June 2016 opening. This week, the temporary shores have been removed and the cantilever is now realized.
New Langara Science building taking shape
The new Science and Technology building at Langara College is progressing quickly. The steel structure is in the process of being erected and the cantilever support structure will be removed in a couple of weeks. The building is targeting to open its doors to students in June 2016.
West First Theatre Centre Takes Shape
The West First Theatre Centre is taking shape with construction moving forward at an impressive pace. The walls around the studio theatre space are being built, giving us the first hints at what the newest performance venue in Vancouver will feel like. Framing is being installed for the balcony which will overlook the triple height lobby, while the rehearsal and office spaces are well under
Artist Selected for Christ Church Bell Spire
Proscenium has been working with Christ Church Cathedral on restoring their heritage cathedral over the last decade. The current phase of work sees the restoration of the roof along with the construction of a 1oo foot tall bell spire clad in stained glass. The bell spire is one step closer to reality with the selection of Canadian artist, Sarah Hall and her stained glass design,
Patagonia’s Vancouver Flagship Coming Soon
Proscenium is hard at work with Patagonia on their new Vancouver store, the first in city and only the second in Canada. The West 4th flagship location in Kitsilano is targeted to open at the end of November just in time for the Christmas shopping season. This adaptive re-use project retains much of the existing building, salvaging as much material as possible for the new store.
MEC North Vancouver wins Canadian Green Building Award!
Proscenium is pleased to announce that the MEC North Vancouver store has won a Canadian Green Building Award! The project is featured in this summer's edition of SAB Magazine. MEC's innovative retail space at 212 Brooksbank Ave. in North Vancouver raises the bar for sustainable building practices for retail stores. The store is is targeting LEED® gold designation focusing on energy efficiency, water consumption, materials, landscaping
Video Tour – Private Residence, Vancouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83lAWu_-gyw Take a video tour of the interior renovation of this Shaughnessy home. Proscenium created an open-concept design suitable for casual living and entertainment while maximizing storage space.
Guest Blogger: Jeff Bohnen, MEC
We are so excited to have Jeff Bohnen, Office Services Manager at MEC back as a guest blogger. Please read on for some insight into the process of bringing the new MEC head office to life. After years of continued expansion, MEC has simply outgrown our existing Head Office space. Creative solutions to increase our capacity – increasing density by removing separation panels to create open,
Office Field Trip
It was a rainy Friday when the office trekked out to see our latest completed project; 17,000 square feet of office space for Austeville Properties in Vancouver. As the Final touches were being completed we had the opportunity to tour the space, appreciate the workmanship and a job well done.
MEC Reaching New Heights
The MEC Head Office is taking shape on Great Northern Way! The 4th floor structure is almost complete on the south wing of the building and the roof structure will be complete by mid-November. Ventana Construction is busy getting the tarps up before the November rains set in, making the building look like a huge sailing-ship that has come in off of False Creek. I
MEC Head Office Under Construction
Having worked with MEC on the design for the new head office since 2010 it is exciting for all of us to see it start to take shape. We are now into month 5 of construction and to quote Greg Piccini, the MEC Head Office is “rising like a lotus flower from the swamp.”
MEC North Vancouver Store Receives Award
In March of the MEC North Vancouver store received a North Vancouver Urban Design Award. The key criteria under consideration for the award included the project’s response to its context at several scales: immediate, regional and global. At the local scale it was concerned with the work’s contribution and sensitivity to its immediate surroundings and the public realm. Regionally, the focus was on MEC North
Staff Ski Day 2022
For our winter staff day out this year, one half of the team opted for a romp through the snowy woods of Cypress Mountain while the other half took a meander through Vancouver Art Gallery! We were lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day to enjoy the afternoon away from phones and emails. Staff Ski Day came a little late for actual skiing this year,
An ASHRAE Technology Award for the MEC Vancouver Store
We are thrilled to share the news that mechanical/electrical lead on MEC Vancouver, Pageau Morel, has received second-place for MEC Vancouver at the 2022 ASHRAE Technology Awards. During the winter conference of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Pageau Morel received a second-place Technology Award in the New Commercial Buildings category for the Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) store project in Vancouver.
Mass Timber projects featured on ArchDaily
We're excited to see that two of our MEC projects have been featured in this great new article on biophilia and workplace design on ArchDaily. The article points to the positive effects of wood in built environments, including the sensory experience of users and its timeless aesthetic value as a natural material. The article points out that several new studies, including one from the University of British
Working with a local Performing Arts School
For many years Proscenium has worked with local arts groups, big and small, to realize their vision for performing spaces. We are excited to share that we are designing a new home for Vancouver Performing Stars, a dance and theatre performance school for children and youth. The project includes a black box theatre with approximately 90 seats, 2 secondary studios, offices, front of house including
Four projects are finalists for the Georgie Awards
We are excited to share that four projects we recently completed for Chard Development are named as finalists in the 2022 Georgie Awards, hosted by Canadian Home Builders' Association of BC. The Georgie Awards celebrate excellence in home building and renovation in the residential construction industry. Projects are submitted by member companies for consideration by a panel of industry professionals from across Canada and the
PAI Insight: Incorporating Theatres into New Developments
Designing and renovating theatres has been a focus of Proscenium since 1996 when our firm started. In recent years, we have been approached by multiple clients who want to design theatres that are incorporated into new developments. Often this results in having a theatre on ground level (at grade) with a residential or mixed-use building attached. When handled correctly we think this is a great
Designing Ballet BC’s New Home
We are excited to be working with Ballet BC with the design of their future home on Granville Island! Our team is currently working with the dance company to renovate the space at 1286 Cartwright St, formerly occupied by Arts Umbrella. The project includes new administration and dance rehearsal spaces. Over the holidays the company announced the news: Following more than a decade at Scotiabank
Happy Holidays from PAI!
Wishing you a restful and joyful holiday season, from all of us here at Proscenium. Our office will be closed from noon on December 24th to Tuesday, January 4th. See you in the New Year!
Supporting Carnegie Community Centre & The Gathering Place
Over the years, Proscenium has held donation drives to support two exceptional organizations we have worked on in the past, Carnegie Community Centre and The Gathering Place in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. This year, we are excited to be collecting physical items from our staff to bundle together and drop off to benefit their programs! A little bit of history: CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE Carnegie Centre is
PAI Highlight: 1235 Marine Drive
We are pleased to be moving forward in the design phase with our project at 1235 Marine Drive in North Vancouver! This Mixed-Use project on the vibrant Marine Drive corridor consists of one floor of Commercial Retail and three stories of market residential condos ranging from one to two bedrooms. Some great design features include: A widened pedestrian sidewalk and added seating to encourage
Photographing our New Office
We decided to wait until most of the team was back in office before taking some pictures to show off the space! Thanks to Kori for his photography skills and the Interiors team for their help. Our office is located on the third floor of the MEC Vancouver building (have you heard about its new award?). A bonus of designing this building was envisioning a new
QET and BMO Theatre featured in Construct Connect
We're excited to see two of our favourite theatre projects featured in September's edition of Construct Connect. The issue's main feature is an article on Acoustics called "Perfecting the Sound Experience in Theatres", written by Payam Ashtiani. It's certainly an interesting time for the performing arts community as audiences re-enter theatres following the pandemic. Many organizations are looking for safe ways to accommodate higher numbers
MEC Vancouver wins CaGBC Award for New Construction
We are so pleased to receive the 2021 Canadian Green Building Award for New Construction for MEC Vancouver! Thank you to Canada Green Building Council for recognizing the project. Hugh Cochlin will be giving a presentation on the building's many green features along with Roland Charneux next week, September 28th at 9am PST. CaGBC Awards Lunch ‘n’ Learn: New Construction Tuesday, September 28th; 9-10 am
Lawn Bowling with PAI Staff
For the first time ever, it rained so much we almost didn't get to play! Our staff's annual August lawn bowling tournament at Dunbar Lawn Bowling was a bit colder than usual this year -- but great fun once we got moving! Laughing, heckling and lawn bowling jargon were heard all over the green and PAI staff persisted through the weather with good attitudes and
PAI Insight: Evolving Space Needs for Industrial/Office Buildings
Our projects like The Yukon (2021) and 750 SW Marine Drive (ongoing) have highlighted some recent changes in space needs of our clients. We'd like to share some insights on the mixed-use building typology of industrial/office buildings and how we're navigating those changes. MEC Head Office (2014) Covid-19 Impacts on Workplace Design The increasing capabilities of remote work and employee's desire for flexible
MEC Vancouver wins the BC Wood Design Award 2020
On July 14th, WoodWORKS! BC announced MEC Vancouver is the winner of the BC Wood Design Awards (2020) for Commercial buildings! We are so glad to receive this award and thank you to our great project team for all their hard work on this inspiring, sustainable project. IN THE NEWS: Canadian Architect Journal of Commerce The building has also been spotlighted a Case Study publication
Meet Ee Jay, our new Junior Architectural Graduate
A warm welcome to Ee Jay, who joined our firm last month as a Junior Architectural Graduate. Where were you born? Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. It is a city of an estimated 600,000 people, and a 20-minutes drive to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. How did you get into architecture? When I was a kid, I liked to make handicrafts and drawings. Initially, I thought of
Skewed off the Grid: Elenore on Fifth
The design of Elenore on Fifth, a distinct mixed-use commercial and residential building completed in 2020, was driven by the site's unique parameters and the identity of the vibrant lower Main Street neighbourhood. STEPPING DOWN THE HILL Located on 5th and Main, the site is about halfway down the hill between Broadway and 2nd Avenue. The area has a history of small, light industrial uses
PAI Feature: Cook Street Plaza
Cook Street Plaza is a comprehensive mixed-use development in the City of Victoria, currently under construction. The vision for the project was to supply a range of market and below-market housing options and locally supportive commercial space for a walkable, thriving urban area with excellent access to transportation options. The scale of the site allows a holistic approach to the public realm; landscaped mews forming
Meet Carolyn, our new Junior Graduate Technologist
We're excited to welcome Carolyn Ruttan to the team at PAI. Where were you born? Duncan, on Vancouver Island. How did you get into architectural technology/drafting? I've always been interested in buildings and how spaces work. I considered interior design, but I found a great program to become a technologist -- I definitely have a passion for both. What class in school has proven to
MEC’s newest Head Office
New flooring is being laid at MEC's new head office, the third our firm will have completed for the company (1999, 2014 and 2021). Following a transfer of ownership, MEC gave up its former head office in 2020 and engaged Proscenium to do a basic tenant improvement for a new space on Great Northern Way. The new, smaller footprint office is a clean shell and
NEWS: PAI named Associate Architect for new mass-timber office
Proscenium is excited to announce our involvement in T3 Mount Pleasant, a new mass-timber office building in Vancouver. Standing for "timber, transit and technology," T3 Mount Pleasant will be a 10-storey, 196,000 sq ft office building geared towards tech and creative industry tenants. PAI will be acting as Associate Architect to DLR Group in this project developed by the Houston-based Hines and local developer PC Urban.
Supporting WISH Drop-In Centre
Thank you to everyone who donated items to PAI's drive this Spring for WISH! We are so glad to hand over the much-needed clothing and other items for a great cause. Alex and Pam proudly display the donations! Proscenium has been involved in supporting the WISH Drop-in Centre Society for many years. We love this organization that supports women on the Downtown Eastside
Affordable Housing at Vivid at the Yates
We're proud to be involved in this affordable housing project by BC Housing and Chard Development at 845 Johnson St, Vivid at the Yates. BC Housing posted a News article this week announcing that all 135 condominium units have been sold to middle-income families in Victoria, and the new owners are moving in this month. Proscenium provided full interior design services for the building. ABOUT
Mass Timber projects featured on ArchDaily
We're excited to see that two of our MEC projects have been featured in this great new article on biophilia and workplace design on ArchDaily. The article points to the positive effects of wood in built environments, including the sensory experience of users and its timeless aesthetic value as a natural material. The article points out that several new studies, including one from the University of British
Working with a local Performing Arts School
For many years Proscenium has worked with local arts groups, big and small, to realize their vision for performing spaces. We are excited to share that we are designing a new home for Vancouver Performing Stars, a dance and theatre performance school for children and youth. The project includes a black box theatre with approximately 90 seats, 2 secondary studios, offices, front of house including
Four projects are finalists for the Georgie Awards
We are excited to share that four projects we recently completed for Chard Development are named as finalists in the 2022 Georgie Awards, hosted by Canadian Home Builders' Association of BC. The Georgie Awards celebrate excellence in home building and renovation in the residential construction industry. Projects are submitted by member companies for consideration by a panel of industry professionals from across Canada and the
PAI Insight: Incorporating Theatres into New Developments
Designing and renovating theatres has been a focus of Proscenium since 1996 when our firm started. In recent years, we have been approached by multiple clients who want to design theatres that are incorporated into new developments. Often this results in having a theatre on ground level (at grade) with a residential or mixed-use building attached. When handled correctly we think this is a great
Designing Ballet BC’s New Home
We are excited to be working with Ballet BC with the design of their future home on Granville Island! Our team is currently working with the dance company to renovate the space at 1286 Cartwright St, formerly occupied by Arts Umbrella. The project includes new administration and dance rehearsal spaces. Over the holidays the company announced the news: Following more than a decade at Scotiabank
Happy Holidays from PAI!
Wishing you a restful and joyful holiday season, from all of us here at Proscenium. Our office will be closed from noon on December 24th to Tuesday, January 4th. See you in the New Year!
Supporting Carnegie Community Centre & The Gathering Place
Over the years, Proscenium has held donation drives to support two exceptional organizations we have worked on in the past, Carnegie Community Centre and The Gathering Place in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. This year, we are excited to be collecting physical items from our staff to bundle together and drop off to benefit their programs! A little bit of history: CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE Carnegie Centre is
PAI Highlight: 1235 Marine Drive
We are pleased to be moving forward in the design phase with our project at 1235 Marine Drive in North Vancouver! This Mixed-Use project on the vibrant Marine Drive corridor consists of one floor of Commercial Retail and three stories of market residential condos ranging from one to two bedrooms. Some great design features include: A widened pedestrian sidewalk and added seating to encourage
Photographing our New Office
We decided to wait until most of the team was back in office before taking some pictures to show off the space! Thanks to Kori for his photography skills and the Interiors team for their help. Our office is located on the third floor of the MEC Vancouver building (have you heard about its new award?). A bonus of designing this building was envisioning a new
QET and BMO Theatre featured in Construct Connect
We're excited to see two of our favourite theatre projects featured in September's edition of Construct Connect. The issue's main feature is an article on Acoustics called "Perfecting the Sound Experience in Theatres", written by Payam Ashtiani. It's certainly an interesting time for the performing arts community as audiences re-enter theatres following the pandemic. Many organizations are looking for safe ways to accommodate higher numbers
MEC Vancouver wins CaGBC Award for New Construction
We are so pleased to receive the 2021 Canadian Green Building Award for New Construction for MEC Vancouver! Thank you to Canada Green Building Council for recognizing the project. Hugh Cochlin will be giving a presentation on the building's many green features along with Roland Charneux next week, September 28th at 9am PST. CaGBC Awards Lunch ‘n’ Learn: New Construction Tuesday, September 28th; 9-10 am
Lawn Bowling with PAI Staff
For the first time ever, it rained so much we almost didn't get to play! Our staff's annual August lawn bowling tournament at Dunbar Lawn Bowling was a bit colder than usual this year -- but great fun once we got moving! Laughing, heckling and lawn bowling jargon were heard all over the green and PAI staff persisted through the weather with good attitudes and
PAI Insight: Evolving Space Needs for Industrial/Office Buildings
Our projects like The Yukon (2021) and 750 SW Marine Drive (ongoing) have highlighted some recent changes in space needs of our clients. We'd like to share some insights on the mixed-use building typology of industrial/office buildings and how we're navigating those changes. MEC Head Office (2014) Covid-19 Impacts on Workplace Design The increasing capabilities of remote work and employee's desire for flexible
MEC Vancouver wins the BC Wood Design Award 2020
On July 14th, WoodWORKS! BC announced MEC Vancouver is the winner of the BC Wood Design Awards (2020) for Commercial buildings! We are so glad to receive this award and thank you to our great project team for all their hard work on this inspiring, sustainable project. IN THE NEWS: Canadian Architect Journal of Commerce The building has also been spotlighted a Case Study publication
Meet Ee Jay, our new Junior Architectural Graduate
A warm welcome to Ee Jay, who joined our firm last month as a Junior Architectural Graduate. Where were you born? Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. It is a city of an estimated 600,000 people, and a 20-minutes drive to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. How did you get into architecture? When I was a kid, I liked to make handicrafts and drawings. Initially, I thought of
Skewed off the Grid: Elenore on Fifth
The design of Elenore on Fifth, a distinct mixed-use commercial and residential building completed in 2020, was driven by the site's unique parameters and the identity of the vibrant lower Main Street neighbourhood. STEPPING DOWN THE HILL Located on 5th and Main, the site is about halfway down the hill between Broadway and 2nd Avenue. The area has a history of small, light industrial uses
PAI Feature: Cook Street Plaza
Cook Street Plaza is a comprehensive mixed-use development in the City of Victoria, currently under construction. The vision for the project was to supply a range of market and below-market housing options and locally supportive commercial space for a walkable, thriving urban area with excellent access to transportation options. The scale of the site allows a holistic approach to the public realm; landscaped mews forming
Meet Carolyn, our new Junior Graduate Technologist
We're excited to welcome Carolyn Ruttan to the team at PAI. Where were you born? Duncan, on Vancouver Island. How did you get into architectural technology/drafting? I've always been interested in buildings and how spaces work. I considered interior design, but I found a great program to become a technologist -- I definitely have a passion for both. What class in school has proven to
MEC’s newest Head Office
New flooring is being laid at MEC's new head office, the third our firm will have completed for the company (1999, 2014 and 2021). Following a transfer of ownership, MEC gave up its former head office in 2020 and engaged Proscenium to do a basic tenant improvement for a new space on Great Northern Way. The new, smaller footprint office is a clean shell and
NEWS: PAI named Associate Architect for new mass-timber office
Proscenium is excited to announce our involvement in T3 Mount Pleasant, a new mass-timber office building in Vancouver. Standing for "timber, transit and technology," T3 Mount Pleasant will be a 10-storey, 196,000 sq ft office building geared towards tech and creative industry tenants. PAI will be acting as Associate Architect to DLR Group in this project developed by the Houston-based Hines and local developer PC Urban.
Supporting WISH Drop-In Centre
Thank you to everyone who donated items to PAI's drive this Spring for WISH! We are so glad to hand over the much-needed clothing and other items for a great cause. Alex and Pam proudly display the donations! Proscenium has been involved in supporting the WISH Drop-in Centre Society for many years. We love this organization that supports women on the Downtown Eastside
Affordable Housing at Vivid at the Yates
We're proud to be involved in this affordable housing project by BC Housing and Chard Development at 845 Johnson St, Vivid at the Yates. BC Housing posted a News article this week announcing that all 135 condominium units have been sold to middle-income families in Victoria, and the new owners are moving in this month. Proscenium provided full interior design services for the building. ABOUT
750 SW Marine Drive approved by Urban Design Panel
Another milestone moment for our project at 750 Southwest Marine Drive, which has full support from the Design Panel held last week. THE PROJECT The proposed building for Chard Development is an eight-storey, mixed-use building between Oak St. and Cambie St. in Vancouver’s South Marpole district. It is located on the southeast corner of Marine and Aisne Street, walking distance from the Marine Drive Skytrain
Langara Bioinformatics Lab is complete!
We're excited to have completed the Bioinformatics Lab at Langara College. This brand new molecular lab has a built-in tissue culture lab and some other great features. The main lab has all the essentials for an academic science lab geared towards teaching upper-level biology. Proscenium paired a clean contemporary design with the necessary specialized building services such as access to water, compressed air, fume hoods,
CCC Bell Tower on the Daily Hive
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/christ-church-cathedral-vancouver-november-2016
MEC Stores-Edmonton
We are very excited about the completion of the newest MEC store in Edmonton! The MEC South Edmonton Common store received final occupancy on Thursday and it's looking great. Meanwhile, the store in the Brewery District (relocation of the downtown store), is moving along quickly and is starting to really take shape.
Bell Tower Lighting
It’s getting darker and darker earlier and earlier. That meant we didn’t have to be up too late on a school night for PAI to be on-site for the focusing and commissioning of the Christ Church Cathedral bell tower lighting. Silver linings.
Bells will be ringing…
Christ Church Cathedral – bell ringing test Monday August 22, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B97luRQcy-M
Christ Church Cathedral Bell-Spire
A crowning feature of the current project is the addition of the highly anticipated bell-spire at the north-east corner of the Cathedral, set atop the existing elevator core. This open glass and steel structure housing four electronically controlled and custom cast bronze bells will be one of the last Architectural additions to this project. This weekend was an exciting milestone, as the bells were lifted
Christ Church Cathedral Bell Tower
On Friday July 8th, 2016, crews lifted into place the two halves of the new Christ Church Cathedral Bell Tower. The tower was constructed and painted offsite to take advantage of the precision assembly and coating possible in a controlled shop environment. It was constructed in two halves because the transmission of gravity loads generated by lifting the entire tower would have blown in the
We loved this article on The 21 Types of Architects by Jan Doroteo
http://www.archdaily.com/790611/these-are-the-21-architects-you-will-meet-in-the-office
MEC Head Office Featured in a Japanese Magazine
The MEC Head Office was featured in the Japanese Wood Building Magazine. It looks at our high use of wood throughout the building.
Langara’s Science and Technology Building’s Steel Structure
The Langara Science and Technology continues to make good progress. Below you can find some of the work that has been done on the steel structure. Photos by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural Photography Photo by Latreille Architectural
Private Residence House Progress
Our project for a private residence here in Vancouver is coming along. The front of the house has been finished in stucco and composite panels. There will be a cedar screen in front of the Master Bedroom window that will be able to slip open for more daylight or be closed for more privacy. The Living room window will have a translucent film applied to
UBC Pool/Gym Renovation
Proscenium recently completed a renovation of one of the pools up at UBC and converted it into a new gym space.
Langara’s Science and Technology building progression
The new Science and Technology building continues to progress towards its June 2016 opening. This week, the temporary shores have been removed and the cantilever is now realized.
New Langara Science building taking shape
The new Science and Technology building at Langara College is progressing quickly. The steel structure is in the process of being erected and the cantilever support structure will be removed in a couple of weeks. The building is targeting to open its doors to students in June 2016.
West First Theatre Centre Takes Shape
The West First Theatre Centre is taking shape with construction moving forward at an impressive pace. The walls around the studio theatre space are being built, giving us the first hints at what the newest performance venue in Vancouver will feel like. Framing is being installed for the balcony which will overlook the triple height lobby, while the rehearsal and office spaces are well under
Artist Selected for Christ Church Bell Spire
Proscenium has been working with Christ Church Cathedral on restoring their heritage cathedral over the last decade. The current phase of work sees the restoration of the roof along with the construction of a 1oo foot tall bell spire clad in stained glass. The bell spire is one step closer to reality with the selection of Canadian artist, Sarah Hall and her stained glass design,
Patagonia’s Vancouver Flagship Coming Soon
Proscenium is hard at work with Patagonia on their new Vancouver store, the first in city and only the second in Canada. The West 4th flagship location in Kitsilano is targeted to open at the end of November just in time for the Christmas shopping season. This adaptive re-use project retains much of the existing building, salvaging as much material as possible for the new store.
MEC North Vancouver wins Canadian Green Building Award!
Proscenium is pleased to announce that the MEC North Vancouver store has won a Canadian Green Building Award! The project is featured in this summer's edition of SAB Magazine. MEC's innovative retail space at 212 Brooksbank Ave. in North Vancouver raises the bar for sustainable building practices for retail stores. The store is is targeting LEED® gold designation focusing on energy efficiency, water consumption, materials, landscaping
Video Tour – Private Residence, Vancouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83lAWu_-gyw Take a video tour of the interior renovation of this Shaughnessy home. Proscenium created an open-concept design suitable for casual living and entertainment while maximizing storage space.
Guest Blogger: Jeff Bohnen, MEC
We are so excited to have Jeff Bohnen, Office Services Manager at MEC back as a guest blogger. Please read on for some insight into the process of bringing the new MEC head office to life. After years of continued expansion, MEC has simply outgrown our existing Head Office space. Creative solutions to increase our capacity – increasing density by removing separation panels to create open,
Office Field Trip
It was a rainy Friday when the office trekked out to see our latest completed project; 17,000 square feet of office space for Austeville Properties in Vancouver. As the Final touches were being completed we had the opportunity to tour the space, appreciate the workmanship and a job well done.
MEC Reaching New Heights
The MEC Head Office is taking shape on Great Northern Way! The 4th floor structure is almost complete on the south wing of the building and the roof structure will be complete by mid-November. Ventana Construction is busy getting the tarps up before the November rains set in, making the building look like a huge sailing-ship that has come in off of False Creek. I
MEC Head Office Under Construction
Having worked with MEC on the design for the new head office since 2010 it is exciting for all of us to see it start to take shape. We are now into month 5 of construction and to quote Greg Piccini, the MEC Head Office is “rising like a lotus flower from the swamp.”
MEC North Vancouver Store Receives Award
In March of the MEC North Vancouver store received a North Vancouver Urban Design Award. The key criteria under consideration for the award included the project’s response to its context at several scales: immediate, regional and global. At the local scale it was concerned with the work’s contribution and sensitivity to its immediate surroundings and the public realm. Regionally, the focus was on MEC North
Staff Ski Day 2022
For our winter staff day out this year, one half of the team opted for a romp through the snowy woods of Cypress Mountain while the other half took a meander through Vancouver Art Gallery! We were lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day to enjoy the afternoon away from phones and emails. Staff Ski Day came a little late for actual skiing this year,
An ASHRAE Technology Award for the MEC Vancouver Store
We are thrilled to share the news that mechanical/electrical lead on MEC Vancouver, Pageau Morel, has received second-place for MEC Vancouver at the 2022 ASHRAE Technology Awards. During the winter conference of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Pageau Morel received a second-place Technology Award in the New Commercial Buildings category for the Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) store project in Vancouver.
Mass Timber projects featured on ArchDaily
We're excited to see that two of our MEC projects have been featured in this great new article on biophilia and workplace design on ArchDaily. The article points to the positive effects of wood in built environments, including the sensory experience of users and its timeless aesthetic value as a natural material. The article points out that several new studies, including one from the University of British
Working with a local Performing Arts School
For many years Proscenium has worked with local arts groups, big and small, to realize their vision for performing spaces. We are excited to share that we are designing a new home for Vancouver Performing Stars, a dance and theatre performance school for children and youth. The project includes a black box theatre with approximately 90 seats, 2 secondary studios, offices, front of house including
Four projects are finalists for the Georgie Awards
We are excited to share that four projects we recently completed for Chard Development are named as finalists in the 2022 Georgie Awards, hosted by Canadian Home Builders' Association of BC. The Georgie Awards celebrate excellence in home building and renovation in the residential construction industry. Projects are submitted by member companies for consideration by a panel of industry professionals from across Canada and the
PAI Insight: Incorporating Theatres into New Developments
Designing and renovating theatres has been a focus of Proscenium since 1996 when our firm started. In recent years, we have been approached by multiple clients who want to design theatres that are incorporated into new developments. Often this results in having a theatre on ground level (at grade) with a residential or mixed-use building attached. When handled correctly we think this is a great
Designing Ballet BC’s New Home
We are excited to be working with Ballet BC with the design of their future home on Granville Island! Our team is currently working with the dance company to renovate the space at 1286 Cartwright St, formerly occupied by Arts Umbrella. The project includes new administration and dance rehearsal spaces. Over the holidays the company announced the news: Following more than a decade at Scotiabank
Happy Holidays from PAI!
Wishing you a restful and joyful holiday season, from all of us here at Proscenium. Our office will be closed from noon on December 24th to Tuesday, January 4th. See you in the New Year!
Supporting Carnegie Community Centre & The Gathering Place
Over the years, Proscenium has held donation drives to support two exceptional organizations we have worked on in the past, Carnegie Community Centre and The Gathering Place in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. This year, we are excited to be collecting physical items from our staff to bundle together and drop off to benefit their programs! A little bit of history: CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE Carnegie Centre is
PAI Highlight: 1235 Marine Drive
We are pleased to be moving forward in the design phase with our project at 1235 Marine Drive in North Vancouver! This Mixed-Use project on the vibrant Marine Drive corridor consists of one floor of Commercial Retail and three stories of market residential condos ranging from one to two bedrooms. Some great design features include: A widened pedestrian sidewalk and added seating to encourage
Photographing our New Office
We decided to wait until most of the team was back in office before taking some pictures to show off the space! Thanks to Kori for his photography skills and the Interiors team for their help. Our office is located on the third floor of the MEC Vancouver building (have you heard about its new award?). A bonus of designing this building was envisioning a new
QET and BMO Theatre featured in Construct Connect
We're excited to see two of our favourite theatre projects featured in September's edition of Construct Connect. The issue's main feature is an article on Acoustics called "Perfecting the Sound Experience in Theatres", written by Payam Ashtiani. It's certainly an interesting time for the performing arts community as audiences re-enter theatres following the pandemic. Many organizations are looking for safe ways to accommodate higher numbers
MEC Vancouver wins CaGBC Award for New Construction
We are so pleased to receive the 2021 Canadian Green Building Award for New Construction for MEC Vancouver! Thank you to Canada Green Building Council for recognizing the project. Hugh Cochlin will be giving a presentation on the building's many green features along with Roland Charneux next week, September 28th at 9am PST. CaGBC Awards Lunch ‘n’ Learn: New Construction Tuesday, September 28th; 9-10 am
Lawn Bowling with PAI Staff
For the first time ever, it rained so much we almost didn't get to play! Our staff's annual August lawn bowling tournament at Dunbar Lawn Bowling was a bit colder than usual this year -- but great fun once we got moving! Laughing, heckling and lawn bowling jargon were heard all over the green and PAI staff persisted through the weather with good attitudes and
PAI Insight: Evolving Space Needs for Industrial/Office Buildings
Our projects like The Yukon (2021) and 750 SW Marine Drive (ongoing) have highlighted some recent changes in space needs of our clients. We'd like to share some insights on the mixed-use building typology of industrial/office buildings and how we're navigating those changes. MEC Head Office (2014) Covid-19 Impacts on Workplace Design The increasing capabilities of remote work and employee's desire for flexible
MEC Vancouver wins the BC Wood Design Award 2020
On July 14th, WoodWORKS! BC announced MEC Vancouver is the winner of the BC Wood Design Awards (2020) for Commercial buildings! We are so glad to receive this award and thank you to our great project team for all their hard work on this inspiring, sustainable project. IN THE NEWS: Canadian Architect Journal of Commerce The building has also been spotlighted a Case Study publication
Meet Ee Jay, our new Junior Architectural Graduate
A warm welcome to Ee Jay, who joined our firm last month as a Junior Architectural Graduate. Where were you born? Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. It is a city of an estimated 600,000 people, and a 20-minutes drive to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. How did you get into architecture? When I was a kid, I liked to make handicrafts and drawings. Initially, I thought of
Skewed off the Grid: Elenore on Fifth
The design of Elenore on Fifth, a distinct mixed-use commercial and residential building completed in 2020, was driven by the site's unique parameters and the identity of the vibrant lower Main Street neighbourhood. STEPPING DOWN THE HILL Located on 5th and Main, the site is about halfway down the hill between Broadway and 2nd Avenue. The area has a history of small, light industrial uses
PAI Feature: Cook Street Plaza
Cook Street Plaza is a comprehensive mixed-use development in the City of Victoria, currently under construction. The vision for the project was to supply a range of market and below-market housing options and locally supportive commercial space for a walkable, thriving urban area with excellent access to transportation options. The scale of the site allows a holistic approach to the public realm; landscaped mews forming
Meet Carolyn, our new Junior Graduate Technologist
We're excited to welcome Carolyn Ruttan to the team at PAI. Where were you born? Duncan, on Vancouver Island. How did you get into architectural technology/drafting? I've always been interested in buildings and how spaces work. I considered interior design, but I found a great program to become a technologist -- I definitely have a passion for both. What class in school has proven to
MEC’s newest Head Office
New flooring is being laid at MEC's new head office, the third our firm will have completed for the company (1999, 2014 and 2021). Following a transfer of ownership, MEC gave up its former head office in 2020 and engaged Proscenium to do a basic tenant improvement for a new space on Great Northern Way. The new, smaller footprint office is a clean shell and
NEWS: PAI named Associate Architect for new mass-timber office
Proscenium is excited to announce our involvement in T3 Mount Pleasant, a new mass-timber office building in Vancouver. Standing for "timber, transit and technology," T3 Mount Pleasant will be a 10-storey, 196,000 sq ft office building geared towards tech and creative industry tenants. PAI will be acting as Associate Architect to DLR Group in this project developed by the Houston-based Hines and local developer PC Urban.
Supporting WISH Drop-In Centre
Thank you to everyone who donated items to PAI's drive this Spring for WISH! We are so glad to hand over the much-needed clothing and other items for a great cause. Alex and Pam proudly display the donations! Proscenium has been involved in supporting the WISH Drop-in Centre Society for many years. We love this organization that supports women on the Downtown Eastside
Affordable Housing at Vivid at the Yates
We're proud to be involved in this affordable housing project by BC Housing and Chard Development at 845 Johnson St, Vivid at the Yates. BC Housing posted a News article this week announcing that all 135 condominium units have been sold to middle-income families in Victoria, and the new owners are moving in this month. Proscenium provided full interior design services for the building. ABOUT
