• Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver, British Columbia

    Credit: Tom Fox

    Marinaside Crescent • Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • Developer: Concord Pacific Development Corp. • Architect: James K.M. Cheng, Architects • Built: 1999–2000 • Size: Eight buildings ranging from 12 to 33 stories • Notable: This mixed-use waterfront project includes condo buildings with shops, restaurants, and storefronts at the street level as well as a waterfront promenade, marina, parks, and courtyards. Pedestrian-oriented pathways link the site to surrounding streets and an adjacent creek.

Marinaside Crescent is a downtown waterfront mixed-use ­development that utilized one of the larger pieces of land from the 1986 Vancouver World Exposition site to create a signature waterfront community, which is today one of the city’s most sought-after addresses. Designed by noted ­high-rise architect James K.M. Cheng, it consists of eight condominium ­towers over retail and parking. It commands incredible views for the ­residents, but was also carefully designed to preserve existing view corridors by relating to the city’s grid. City officials continue to show the property to planners and architects as a model of one of its most successful projects. The crescent shape of the community that envelopes the marina, waterfront amenities, and pedestrian promenade is echoed in the buildings, and this crescent design maximizes views from throughout the towers.

  • John Wong, managing principal, SWA Group, Sausalito, Calif.

    Credit: William Tatham

    John Wong, managing principal, SWA Group, Sausalito, Calif.
—John Wong, managing principal, SWA Group, Sausalito, Calif.