International Hotel & Tower

Iconic Twisted Hyperbolic Paraboloid Design

Location

Vancouver, BC

Sector

Residential

Architect

Arthur Erickson

Developer

Holborn Group and TA Global


The 63-storey International Hotel & Tower is the second-tallest building in the Vancouver, and one of the most iconic.

Located in the financial district of downtown Vancouver, the 63-storey International Hotel & Tower is the second-tallest building in the city and one of the most iconic. The twisted hyperbolic paraboloid design by architect Arthur Erickson and built by developer Holborn Group and TA Global presented unique structural engineering challenges. Extensive and iterative planning and design was required in order to successfully achieve the various aspects of this distinctive tower.

Notable KOR Structural Solutions

  • The tower integrates the desired mix for market residential as well as the hotel units
  • The market residential units from levels 26 to 63 consist of three different floor configurations that conform with the structural scheme and form the tower dictated
  • The design of a mechanical floor at level 25 allowed for structural load offsets and transfers enabling a majority of the tower structure to be contiguous
  • The twisting slender form of the tower necessitated the design of a supplementary mass damper, consisting of two water-filled slosh tanks on the roof, to help mitigate building accelerations that might occur during very strong windstorms
  • The curved glazed roof and atrium structure is supported by large steel tree columns and the glass façade system was integrated with the structural support system to become a seamless part of the glazing
  • A nine-level underground parking structure required excavation depths of 100 ft. from Georgia street level to the base of the core foundations
  • Hotel service spaces and loading dock facilities were integrated into the parking levels, maintaining tower structure integrity without the need for transfer structures
  • The building maintenance requirements and strict tower height limitations required the design of a specialized roof track building maintenance unit that would not project above the top of tower parapet elevations
  • A custom steel track support system was designed that also provides support for solar cell tubes that form part of the exterior façade at the top of the tower

International Hotel & Tower

Parkside at Waterfront

The Grande San Diego

564 Beatty Street