Kengo Kuma unveils plans for curved apartment tower in Vancouver

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has revealed plans for his first tall building in North America – a residential tower in Vancouver with a curved silhouette (+ slideshow).
Called Alberni by Kuma, the 43-storey apartment building will located in Vancouver's West End neighborhood. It will sit near the entrance to the 404-hectare Stanley Park, one of the largest city parks in the US and Canada.

"I have always wanted to have a project in Canada because of its closeness to nature," said Kuma, 61, who founded his eponymous Tokyo-based practice in 1990.
"Typologically, this is a large-scale project in North America, a dream for any foreign architect. We have done towers, but not to this scale and level of detail.

The distinctive tower features two concave sides, resulting in a curved form.
The design aims to convey a sense of connectivity and transparency through its materiality. The tower will be clad in anodised aluminium and glass, allowing it to reflect the sky and neighbouring buildings.
Renderings and models show a lattice-like wooden screen covering the concave portions of the tower.