Living in view: Adding density to Kitsilano’s invisible spaces

Lee Patola + Jessica Udal

Despite Vancouver’s image as a destination for active, outdoor lifestyle, opportunities for recreation are largely found outside of the city itself, with public space within Vancouver fragmented and relegated to the city’s outer edges. Kitsilano is the ultimate symbol of Vancouver’s accessible nature narrative - it is home to Kitsilano Beach and the birthplace of the active lifestyle brand Lululemon - yet like much of the city it struggles with low density, social isolation and unaffordability, leaving it lacking the abundance of life and vibrancy that it seeks in the peripheral mountains and ocean. This project begins with the question: Can Vancouver’s housing and community deficits be solved by turning its outward focus back in? This project proposes the injection of life into the underutilized and invisible spaces of Kitsilano in order to promote interaction within the community and introduce beautiful living spaces for residents - human and otherwise. By filling the alleyways and newly envisioned seawall of Kitsilano Point Grey with diverse habitats and sensorial experiences, this project proposes a new Vancouver where the city itself is the beautiful, healthy and vibrant living space of the residents it supports.