Living Shangri-La

Infobox Skyscraper|building_name=Living Shangri-La


use=Mixed-use
antenna_spire =
location = 1120 West Georgia Street
Vancouver
status = Under construction
antenna_spire= Convert|201|m|ft|0|abbr=oncite web|title=Living Shangri-La|url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=livingshangrila-vancouver-canada|publisher=Emporis.com|accessdate=2007-11-16]
floor_count = 62
roof = Convert|197|m|ft|0|abbr=on
groundbreaking = 2005
est_completion = 2008
opening =
floor_area =convert|64692|m2|sqft|0Cite web|title=Living Shangri-La|url=http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=9790|accessdate=2007-11-16|publisher=SkyscraperPage.com]
developer = Westbank Projects Corp.
architect= James K.M. Cheng Architects Inc.
contractor =
cost=CDN$ 350 million

Infobox hotel
hotel_name = Shangri-la Hotel, Vancouver
opening_date = September, 2008
developer = Peterson Investment Group & Westbank Projects Corp.
operator = Shangri-la Hotels & Resorts
number_of_rooms = 119
floors = 15
website = [http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/vancouver/shangrila Official Site]
footnotes = Currently under construction. North America's first Shangri-la property

Living Shangri-la is a mixed-use building in downtown Vancouver and is the tallest building in Metro Vancouver, although it will not be finished until late 2008. The new 62-storey "Shangri-La" tower will contain a 5-star hotel and its offices on the first 15-floors, with condominiums occupying the rest of the building. The building will also include a spa, specialty grocery store, a Vancouver Art Gallery public display, and a curated public sculpture garden. The high-rise will stand Convert|201|m|ft|abbr=on|0 tall and a private roof garden will be constructed on floor 61. As part of the development deal, the Coastal Church, built in 1919 and located at the west end of the site, is undergoing a $4.4 million restoration. When completed in 2008 it will be the 9th tallest building in Canada.

Hotel

The Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver is to be a new full-service hotel that will be part of the building. It will be member of the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts chain, and will be Shangri-La's first North American property. The hotel will occupy floors Ground to 15, and 127 rooms (including a Presidential Suite on the 15th floor) from the ground to the 15th floor. There is no 13th floor. The hotel is expected to include services such as restaurants, shops, and Shangri-la's Chi Spa.

Construction

The project will provide 3.1 million man-hours of employment, 15,000 truckloads of earth excavated, 51,000 cubic metres of concrete, and 7,000 tons of reinforcing steel. During the height of construction activity 1,000 workers will be on site constructing 1 floor per week. The Shangri-La set Vancouver's record for the deepest excavation of Unit m|26|0, defeating the past record of Unit m|23|0 set by the One Wall Centre and also it has officially become the tallest building in Vancouver since October 2, 2007. The total cost of this building when completed will be near CDN$350 million dollars. The tower crane on top of the building was fitted with Christmas lights on November 13 and thus was the tallest crane illuminated in the city of Vancouver in 2007.

A windstorm on January 15, 2008 caused loose construction materials to blow off the building and into the streets below. Parked vehicles were damaged by falling plywood, but there were no injuries. The neighbouring Terasen Gas building also sustained damage in the storm. Police closed off West Georgia Street for over twelve hours. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Vancouver wants answers on windstorm damage
work =
publisher = CBC News
date = 2008-01-16
url = http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/01/16/bc-livingshangrilainvestigation.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-07-29]

References

ee also

*List of tallest buildings in Vancouver

External links

* [http://www.livingshangri-la.com/index.html Official Living Shangri-La Website]
* [http://www.shangri-la.com/vancouver Official Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver Website]
* [http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=708 Skyscrapernews.com article on the Living Shangri-La Tower]
* [http://www.lestwarog.com/shangrila/index.html Condominium Information for the Living Shangri-La on Les Twarog]