Westbank defined Building Artistry. Artistry is our medium for inspiring. To create this artistry we have always gone back to our proven method, searching out collaborators who share our passion. With this building, we’re introducing a new artist into our world: Azuma Makoto, an incredible artist from Tokyo who represents everything we value: beauty, inspiring design, meticulous attention to detail, nature and creativity.

The design for this building came from a desire to create an atmosphere equal to the city of Vancouver. Deeply connected to the natural world, surrounded by temperate coastal rainforest, northern mountains and the Pacific ocean; it is a cultural and ecological crossroads, a rare instance of place where urbanity and nature coexist. I wanted to create a particular feeling – of being immersed in and surrounded by nature – as if yo were always in a garden even if you are actually inside of a building. Taking inspiration from traditional Japanese gardenscape “Karesansui” I imagined a three-dimensional space, a garden which extends outwards in undulating ripples.

— Azuma Makoto