The Keary

This mixed-use building is conceived as an architecture that both belongs to its place and elevates it. It draws from the existing community, using a material palette and color strategy that complements and amplifies the identity of the village. From every elevation, the tower reads as a clear and legible figure, its expression sculpted to be both recognizable and refined.

The design pays homage to the “Sappers,” who first surveyed and laid out British Columbia’s capital in New Westminster. Their rational, ordered grid becomes a conceptual springboard: a structure of clarity, precision, and rhythm. This urban DNA is reinterpreted into a podium that establishes a strong streetwall presence. Through layered detailing, the podium distinguishes itself from its neighbors, an architecture at once of its time and in dialogue with its context. Vertical fins punctuate the facades, establishing a cadence that feels timeless and contemporary at the same time.

Above, the tower rises with the simple, strong forms of northwest modernism. Its clean sculpting and elemental clarity recall a tradition of design that is pragmatic, yet elevated into something civic and iconic.