May 2019 Issue #29 May 2019 Issue #29 | Page 173

Vancouver is undergoing the largest archi- tectural renaissance in its history “Cookie Cutter Condos” and “Vertical Sprawl” have become ubiquitous terms in describing contemporary architecture in Vancouver over the last two decades. Since the 1990s, Vancouver has been experiencing a seemingly never-end- ing boom in condo tower construction. The False Creek skyline has become the flagship of this simultaneously impressive yet banal transformation. While the majority of these towers are clean and non-offensive, they are also often uninspired. Large swaths of downtown Vancouver have become a sterile table top of light blue and sea-foam green glass. Surprisingly, this wasn’t always the case for Vancouver. In fact, for such a young urban area, Vancouver has a surprisingly daring history of architectural ambition. 173 VANCOUVER