ARCHITECTURAL FOCUS to the church’ s Deagan chimes have been carefully preserved and restored.
Pinder Hall, which had been subdivided into two floors during a previous renovation, was restored to its original double-height volume, revealing historic timber columns, beams, and trusses while creating renewed opportunities for performances, weddings, community gatherings, and cultural programming. Throughout the church, upgrades were carefully integrated to respect heritage character while supporting contemporary use.
plots, outdoor kitchens, and landscaped play areas designed to encourage neighbourliness and everyday interaction. More than 25 per cent of the homes contain two or more bedrooms, supporting families, seniors, and a range of household types.
At the centre of the project is an expanded First Baptist Church campus that continues a long tradition of community outreach while providing new space for counselling, childcare, recreation, meals, shelter, and neighbourhood programs. As Revery principal Venelin Kokalov describes it, the project is“ a community building, different incomes, different people, different programs living together.”
At first glance, The Butterfly appears to have little in common with the century-old church integrated into its base. Beneath its elegant silhouette lies a subtle homage to First Baptist: the largest cutouts of the tower’ s distinctive chamfered base, mirror the scale of the existing bell tower in height, creating a dialogue of transformation between past and present as well as a physical connection with the light filled galleria that joins the two. This relationship between old and new reflects the project’ s broader ambition to preserve history while accommodating the evolving needs of the city.
History and renewal
Completed in 1911, First Baptist Church is one of Vancouver’ s oldest churches and a municipally designated heritage landmark. The project preserves and expands this historic campus, ensuring its continued role as a centre for worship, outreach, culture, and community life.
The conservation program included extensive seismic upgrading, foundation work, restoration of heritage windows and masonry, accessibility improvements, modernization of building systems, and rehabilitation of significant interior spaces including the Heritage Listed Sanctuary and Pinder Hall. Historic elements ranging from original timber structure and millwork
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