The Modernist/Gothic exterior that has been retained, can also be seen in the barrel vault lobby, featuring heraldry and other symbols of medieval England.
The building opened during a golden age for Vancouver in the roaring twenties, just months before the Wall Street stock-market crash in October 1929. The Vancouver Stock Exchange operated out of the Howe Street address until 1947, but the connection lingered over the decades, despite its short-lived occupancy.
The Pinstripe Principle defines the newly designed portion of The Exchange. The pinstripes themselves are aluminum louvres – beginning at the ground level of the new building and stretching skywards above the original Edwardian building – creating a seamless integration of the two structures. The building is Vancouver’s first LEED Platinum heritage conversion, which was a collaboration between Iredale Group Architecture and Harry Gugger Studio.
