Coastal Church

A rare example of the American Colonial Revival style designed in 1918 during the First World War, Coastal Church (formerly called the First Church of Christ, Scientist) was declared a heritage building in downtown Vancouver in 2003. With frontages along the city’s main ceremonial thoroughfare on West Georgia and Alberni streets, it was an important architectural statement but in need of seismic renovations to ensure safety.

Tall arched windows, rich brick and stone detailing, and a large light-filled interior sanctuary with an organ define the two-storey building with basement.  In the late 1950s, a pair of flanking two-storey wings were added to the Georgia Street facade, filling in the recesses that flanked the original entry.

When it came time for the seismic upgrades, heritage preservation requirements meant there could be no visible physical intervention at the interior of the building. To meet this challenge, Fast + Epp seismically upgraded the load-bearing brick building in its weak direction by incorporating elegantly curved Cor-10 steel buttresses (triangular in cross section at the east side of the building) in a dedicated easement zone.