Apex is a landmark 32-storey high-rise residential project completed as a final phase of the mixed-use ‘Seylynn Village’ development. It provides 274 units of market housing with a significant percentage of family units. Located in the newly emerging Lynn Creek Town Centre in the District of North Vancouver, this project builds upon the success and character of the earlier Seylynn developments with a fine-grained, pedestrian-friendly urban design and contemporary architectural response. Inspiration is drawn from the unique West Coast natural setting of water, mountains and forest.
The Apex tower is prominently located at the corner of Mountain Highway and Fern St. Glassy, double-height residential lobby at the base of the tower creates a welcoming presence, taking advantage of the corner exposure. The tower floorplate is rotated 30 degrees in plan to create a strong thin profile when viewed from the south along Mountain Highway. The podium massing is sculpted to respond to current and future context. A highly articulated double-height commercial base defines the Mountain Highway frontage with 4 storeys of residential flats above opening to views of Seylynn Park with large linear balconies.
A 6-storey residential wing with stacked townhouses is situated to the east of the tower fronting Fern St, in anticipation of a similar scale development to take shape in the future across the street. Individual entries and terraces characterize the lower units while the upper level units enjoy access to expansive balconies and roof terraces. A series of smaller scale 3-storey family-oriented townhouses is situated along the quieter Seylynn Crescent. Extensive use of warm taupe brick and medium grey metal accent at the podium recalls the earth-tones of the river rock in the nearby Lynn Creek, while the balcony frit is derived from a pixelated image of the forest tree foliage.
The Apex tower form is characterized by two contrasting façade expressions with radiused north-west façade punctuated by strong verticals as opposed to the orthogonal south-east facade defined by the horizontal eyebrows. One of the unique features of the project are the 2-storey 3-bedroom ‘Jewel’ units situated on levels 24-25. These ‘houses in the sky’ offer over-height living rooms and bedroom separation on the second level, while opening up to the sweeping water and mountain views.
The top of the tower has been sculpted to create a unique expression on the emerging skyline and to act as a distant landmark for the neighbourhood. The metal panel clad ‘ribbon’ terminates at this level as a cantilevered feature element framing a translucent glass canopy above the penthouse terraces. The tower’s visually lighter and cooler material palette recalls the snowy mountain tops in the metal panel coloration, punctuated by ice-blue accents. Inspired by its natural surroundings and seamlessly integrated into the neighbourhood context, Apex creates a new standard of living for the North Shore.