On the imdb website, Fellini's 1960 film La Dolce Vita is summarised by one reviewer as 'a chronicle of a decadent society where there [are] no more values except alcohol and sex, and no solutions but suicide'.
Let's hope that the sweet life in the Dolce and Vita buildings doesn't become quite so depraved.
Capitalising on their proximity to the Orpheum Theatre, these two towers have been packaged together and dubbed Symphony Place.
The first to market is called the Vita, which will rise to 28 storeys (270 feet), and occupy the corner of Smithe and Seymour streets. The second tower, located across the lane on the corner of Smithe and Richards, will be slightly taller at 31 storeys (300 feet).
A total of 146 new condos will be built by the time the project is completed in 2008.
The good news is, we're trading a couple of ugly parking lots behind the Orpheum for two new condo buildings. Furthermore, the public parking lots aren't going away - they've been maintained within the new buildings, which will connect the two lots via 4 bridges above the lane.
On the Orpheum side of the development, Symphony Place will also add a public art piece called 'Cadenza' - a 120 foot wall of decorative glass that is designed to catch the light of street traffic. The developers are also aiming to make Smithe Street more pedestrian-friendly, by incorporating street-level restaurants and cafes in the buildings.
For some reason though, the local media keeps parroting the project's marketing, which claims that the buildings will become an 'architectural landmark'. Never mind comparisons to the Grace, Jameson House, or 1133 West Georgia - we're still trying to figure out how these buildings stand out from most other Vancouver condo towers.
For a copy of the Development Permit Staff Committee Report, click here (link to pdf).
