Vancouver skyline, 2015

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has more high-rise buildings per capita than most North American metropolitan centres with populations exceeding 1,000,000. Vancouver's population density is the 4th-highest in North America and the city has more residential high-rises per capita than any other city on the continent.^[1]

There are roughly 650 high-rise buildings that equal or exceed 35 m (115 ft),^[2] and roughly 50 buildings that equal or exceed 100 metres (328 ft). Vancouver has 27 protected view corridors which limit the construction of tall buildings which interfere with the line of sight to the North Shore Mountains, the downtown skyline, and the waters of English Bay and the Strait of Georgia.^[3] Almost all of Vancouver's buildings that exceed 100 metres in height are located within Downtown Vancouver.^[4]

The tallest building in Vancouver is the 62-storey, 201 m (659 ft) Living Shangri-La;^[5] the building represents the city's efforts to add visual interest into Vancouver's skyline.^[6] The recently completed Paradox Hotel Vancouver, also known as Vancouver's Turn, is now the city's second tallest building, at 188 metres (616 ft).^[7] The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, completed in 2012 at 157 m (515 ft) and 48 stories, is currently the third-tallest in the city.^[8] One Wall Centre, at 150 m (492 ft) tall, with 48 storeys, is currently the city's fourth tallest building.^[9] One Wall Centre has the distinction of being the first building in the world to use a tuned liquid column damper to control wind vibrations.^[9]

Vancouver's history of skyscrapers began with the Dominion Building (1909), the Sun Tower (1911) (originally named the World Tower, then the News-Advertiser Tower, after the newspaper it was home to in each case), the Vancouver Block (1912), the second Hotel Vancouver (1916) and the Marine Building (1929). The third Hotel Vancouver was completed in 1939 at 111 m (364 ft) tall, and was the first building in the city to have stood taller than 100 m (328 ft).^[10]

Building construction remained slow in the city until the late 1960s, other than the completion of the new BC Electric headquarters (soon renamed BC Hydro headquarters, and today the Electra condominiums). From 1968 to 1981, Vancouver witnessed a major expansion of skyscraper and high-rise construction. Many of the city's office towers were completed during this period, such as the Harbour Centre, Bentall Centre, Royal Centre, Granville Square and Pacific Centre office tower/mall complexes.^[11][12] A ten-year lull in building construction came after the expansion, though Vancouver experienced a larger second building expansion beginning in 1991 and continuing into the present.^[1]

In the last two decades Vancouver's pioneering urbanism, with its density and innovative developments, has been emulated by major cities throughout the world. As part of the city's push for liveable high-density areas (called Vancouverism by planning theorists),^[13] many mixed-use and residential buildings were built, such as Concord Pacific Place, the largest master-planned residential complex in North America.^[14] One Wall Centre and Living Shangri-La were the city's first buildings to break the 150 m (492 ft) and 200 m (656 ft) marks, respectively.^[5][9]

While highrise development outside of the downtown core had been nearly nonexistent due to zoning restrictions and view cones, recent transit oriented developments like Marine Gateway and the upcoming Oakridge Park are centered around Canada line stations of the Skytrain, Metro Vancouver's light metro system, in order to increase residential density and reduce car reliance. They will have the tallest building heights outside of Downtown Vancouver.

Tallest buildings

This list ranks buildings in Vancouver that stand at least 100 m (328 ft) tall, based on CTBUH height measurement standards. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings.

Rank	Name	Image	Height	Floors	Year	Notes	Ref
1	Living Shangri-La		200.9 m (659 ft)	57	2009	This is the 34th tallest building in Canada. It is also the tallest building in the city of Vancouver and in British Columbia.	[15]
2	Paradox Hotel Vancouver		187.8 m (616 ft)	60	2016	Tied with Altus in Burnaby for the second tallest building in British Columbia.	[16]
3	One Burrard Place		167.6 m (550 ft)	54	2021		[17][18]
4	The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia		158.5 m (520 ft)	48	2012		[19]
5	Vancouver House		150.3 m (493 ft)	49	2019	Features a top-heavy design that is unique in Vancouver.	[20]
6	One Wall Centre		149.8 m (491 ft)	47	2001	This building is also known as the Sheraton Wall Centre.	[21]
7	Shaw Tower		149.0 m (488.8 ft)	41	2004		[22][23]
8	Harbour Centre		147.0 m (482.3 ft)	40	1977	This is the tallest office building in the city.	[11][24]
9	MNP Tower		143.1 m (469 ft)9	36	2015	Seeking Platinum LEED certification, will be Gold LEED at least.	[25]
10	The Melville		141.4 m (464 ft)	43	2007	This building is the tallest all-residential tower in Vancouver. The building also has the tallest rooftop pool in the city.	[26][27]
11	Royal Centre		141.0 m (462.6 ft)	37	1973	This building is also known as the RBC Tower or Royal Bank Tower.	[12][28]
12	Bentall 5		140.1 m (460 ft)	34	2007		[29][30]
13	Park Place		140.0 m (459.3 ft)	35	1984	This building is the largest office building in British Columbia with a floor area of 64,856 square metres (698,104 sq ft).	[31]
14	Fairmont Pacific Rim		139.6 m (458 ft)	44	2010		[32][33]
15	Granville Square		138.4 m (454 ft)	30	1973	Also known as 200 Granville Square. The roof of the building features Vancouver Harbour Control Tower, the highest air traffic control tower in the world.	[34][35]
16=	Four Bentall Centre		138.0 m (452.8 ft)	35	1981		[36][37]
16=	Scotia Tower		138.0 m (452.8 ft)	34	1977		[38][39]
18	Telus Garden		135.6 m (445 ft)	54	2014	LEED Platinum for Office Building and LEED Gold certification for Residential Tower as part of the new downtown Telus headquarters project.	[40]
19	TD Tower		127.1 m (417 ft)	30	1972	This building is also known as the Toronto Dominion Tower.	[41][42]
20=	Capitol Residences		126.2 m (414 ft)	43	2011		[43]
20=	Patina		126.2 m (414 ft)	42	2011		[44][45]
22	The Charleson		125.0 m (410.1 ft)	42	2018		[46]
23	The Mark		123.4 m (405 ft)	41	2013		[47]
24	Woodward's 43		122.3 m (401 ft)	41	2010	This building is also known as W43 or the W Building.	[48]
25=	1300 Richards Street		121.9 m (400 ft)	43	2017		[49]
25=	Three Bentall Centre		121.9 m (400 ft)	32	1974	This building is also known as the Bank of Montreal Tower.	[50][51]
27	Jameson House		118.6 m (389 ft)	38	2011		[52][53]
28	The Ritz		118.3 m (388 ft)	37	2008		[54][55]
29	West One		117.0 m (383.9 ft)	38	2002	This building is also known as Beach Crescent - West One.	[56]
30	Cathedral Place		116.4 m (382 ft)	23	1991		[57]
31=	Marriott Pinnacle Hotel		114.3 m (375 ft)	35	2000		[58]
31=	The Exchange		114.3 m (375 ft)	31	2017		[59]
33	West Pender Place 1		112.8 m (370 ft)	36	2011		[60]
34	Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel - West Tower		110.9 m (364 ft)	35	1994		[61]
35	Hotel Vancouver		110.6 m (363 ft)	17	1939		[62]
36	Venus		109.4 m (359 ft)	34	2000		[63]
37	Hyatt Regency Vancouver		108.8 m (357 ft)	35	1973	This building is also known as the Hyatt Regency Hotel.	[64]
38	Residences on Georgia (West)		108 m (354 ft)	36	1998		[65]
39	Marine Gateway North		107 m (351 ft)	30	2015	The only Vancouver skyscraper exceeding 100 metres in height that is located outside of Downtown Vancouver.	[66]
40=	The Pinnacle		106.1 m (348 ft)	36	1996		[67][68]
40=	Callisto		106.1 m (348 ft)	35	2004		[69]
40=	Dolce		106.1 m (348 ft)	31	2010		[70]
43=	Landmark 33		106 m (348 ft)	35	1998	This building is also known as Marina Pointe - Landmark 33.	[71]
43=	Residences on Georgia (East)		106 m (348 ft)	36	1998		[72]
45	Two Harbour Green		105.1 m (345 ft)	31	2008		[73]
46=	Board of Trade Building		104.2 m (342 ft)	27	1968		[74]
46=	Oceanic Plaza		104.2 m (342 ft)	26	1977		[75]
48	Arthur Erickson Place		103.6 m (340 ft)	27	1968	Originally known as the MacMillan Bloedel Building.	[76]
49	Quay West Tower I		103 m (338 ft)	35	2002	This building is also known as Marina Crescent - Quay West I.	[77][78]
50	Elan		102.7 m (337 ft)	34	2008		[79]
51	FortisBC Centre		101.2 m (332 ft)	24	1992	Located at 1111 West Georgia Street, it was formerly known as the Terasen Centre and was previously the site of the Rayonier Building (originally known as the Alaska White Pine Building), ca. 1954 to 1990.	[80]
52=	Paris Place		100.5 m (330 ft)	33	1995		[81]
52=	HSBC Building		100.5 m (330 ft)	23	1987		[82]
54	Canaccord Tower		100.3 m (329 ft)	24	1981	This building is also known as Canaccord Place.	[83]
55	Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites		100.2 m (329 ft)	32	1969		[84]
56=	Carmana Plaza		100 m (330 ft)	34	1999		[85]
56=	Guinness Tower		100 m (330 ft)	25	1969		[86]

* Indicates buildings that are still under construction but have been topped out.
= Indicates buildings that have the same rank because they have the same height.

A high resolution panorama of Vancouver with the mountains behind, looking roughly north from the vicinity of Broadway and Oak Street. The bridge on the left of the image is the Granville Street Bridge.

Tallest proposed and under construction

Tallest demolished

This table lists buildings in Vancouver that were demolished or destroyed and at one time stood at least 100 metres (328 ft) in height.

Name	Image	Height m (ft)	Floors	Completed in	Demolished in	Notes	Ref
Empire Landmark Hotel		120.1 m (394 ft)	42	1973	2018–2019	This building was the tallest free standing hotel in the city. This building was often referred to by its original name, the Sheraton Landmark. The hotel and its restaurant closed on September 30, 2017, and the building was demolished, floor by floor between March 2018 and May 2019.	[96][97]

Timeline of tallest buildings

This is a list of buildings that in the past held the title of tallest building in Vancouver.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height m (ft)	Floors	Ref
Dominion Building		207 W. Hastings St.	1910–1912	53.3 m (175 ft)	14	[98]
Sun Tower		100 W. Pender St.	1912–1914	84.1 m (276 ft)	17	[99]
Marine Building		355 Burrard St.	1930–1939	97.8 m (321 ft)	21	[100]
Hotel Vancouver		900 W. Georgia St.	1939–1972	111.0 m (364.2 ft)	17	[101]
TD Tower		700 W. Georgia St.	1972–1973	127.1 m (417 ft)	30	[42]
Royal Centre		1055 W. Georgia St.	1973–1977	141.4 m (464 ft)	37	[28]
Harbour Centre		555 W. Hastings St.	1977–2001	146.6 m (481 ft)	28	[24]
One Wall Centre		1000 Burrard St.	2001–2008	149.7 m (491 ft)	48	[21]
Living Shangri-La		1120 W. Georgia St.	2008–present	200.9 m (659 ft)	62	[15]

See also

• Architecture of Vancouver
• List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
• List of tallest buildings in Canada
• List of tallest buildings in British Columbia
• List of tallest buildings in Burnaby

References

General

• "SkyscraperCenter Vancouver". CTBUH. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
• "High-rise Buildings of Vancouver". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
• "Vancouver". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2008-07-25.

Specific

External links

• Diagram of Vancouver skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage