by Guy Babineau

"You can't fight City Hall," goes the old adage. Yet the Waterfall Building, an innovative urban live/ work development in Vancouver, British Columbia, is proof that you can fight City Hall — and win. In this case, the city wins too. Zoning laws that were relaxed to permit the unconventional design will pave the way for similar projects in the future.

This fine example of new urbanism that challenges conventional ideas about condominium living was designed by the world-renowned Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson in collaboration with Nick Milkovich Architects. Completed in the fall of 2001, it graces a busy thoroughfare in a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood adjacent to the downtown core.

Nearby is popular Granville Island, reclaimed industrial land beneath one of the city's main bridges which in the late 1970s and early 80s was transformed into a bustling community of shops, theaters, restaurants, bars, and hotels.

Directly north across a slender inlet rises a shocking slam of city center skyscrapers lorded over by Canada's spectacular Coast Mountains, which are responsible for strict building codes that enforce view corridors and height restrictions.   >>>

Vancouver, British Columbia's new Waterfall Building by Arthur Erickson with Nick Milkovich Architects. Photo: Nick Milkovich Architects An art gallery graces the central courtyard. Photo: Nick Milkovich Architects   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.