It's been a busy week for Westbank. The company's 52-storey mixed-use tower at the north end of the Granville bridge has been approved by city council. (The council understands good timing; we suggest getting them involved in all your surprise parties.) The building--to be designed by world-renowned Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group--will be the fifth-tallest in the city and is a condo tower at Beach and Howe. It has a 10-storey podium with retail and residential, plus there will be two six-storey triangular-shaped buildings for offices and retail across the street (at Granville and Pacific).

In total, it will bring 80k SF of new retail to the area. The retail component will include a grocery store, liquor store, and drugstore. Strictly from a design perspective, the project is looked upon as a game-changer for the downtown core, far away from the cookie-cutter condo towers that dot the area. Westbank project manager Rhiannon Mabberly tells us the project is "next-generation architecture about place-making, creating a lasting, comprehensive development that will define a neighbourhood, and serve as a gateway to a vibrant downtown core." (And based on the look, confuse a few bees as to whether it's their home.)