engineering

Woodward's 43

Woodward's 43 is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Woodward's 43 rather than just read about it. In short: Woodward's 43, also known as W43 or the W Building, is a 122.3 m (401 ft) tall mixed-use skyscraper located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Description The building was strongly influenced by New York's landmark Flatiron Building (Daniel Burnham, 1902), especially in the building's roof cornice.

Key takeaways

Woodward's 43 belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Woodward's 43 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Woodward's 43 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Woodward's 43, also known as W43 or the W Building, is a 122.3 m (401 ft) tall mixed-use skyscraper located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Description The building was strongly influenced by New York's landmark Flatiron Building (Daniel Burnham, 1902), especially in the building's roof cornice. The building's design is inspired by its historical context, specifically the neighbouring Dominion Building. The exterior steel skeleton of the screens evokes the steel construction method used in Vancouver in the early 20th century. The roof of the building features an outdoor patio with a small pool and an outdoor garden.

History Since the bankruptcy of Woodward's in 1993, the original Woodward's Building remained vacant except for a housing occupation in 2002 that initiated the redevelopment process. In 2003, the City of Vancouver, led by City Council member Jim Green, purchased the original Woodward's Building from the province for $5 million and began a public consultation process, asking the community what they wanted from the redevelopment. After a two-stage competition between three developers in September 2004, the city selected Westbank Projects/Peterson Investment Group to develop the project with the architecture firm of Henriquez Partners led by Gregory Henriquez and structural engineers Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers. The 400 million dollars, nearly one million square foot project, includes 536 market housing units, 125 singles non-market housing units to be operated by PHS Community Services, 75 family non-market housing units to be handled by Affordable Housing Society, Nesters Market, London Drugs, TD Canada Trust, the National Film Board of Canada and civic offices, a daycare, public atrium and plaza, and a new 130,000 square foot addition to Simon Fraser University 's downtown campus, the SFU School for Contemporary Arts. The redevelopment was seen by many as a key to revitalizing the Downtown Eastside. However, the demolition of the structure in 2006 and redevelopment of the site has been met with much local resistance from the neighbourhood's existing residents. Woodward's redevelopment is complete, with many residents and businesses in the buildings. The market housing units constructed in the building feature both modern-look finishes and vintage analog thermostats. The oldest part of the complex (built 1903–1908) was restored and serves as a non-profit office and community space (31,500 sqft), with tenants including W2 Community Media Arts. The development permit for construction was issued on January 26, 2007, and while substantial completion was scheduled for June 2010, delays pushed that completion date back to September 2010. The "W" neon sign, which topped the building on the Eiffel Tower replica, was removed before the demolition and was replicated and re-installed on January 9, 2010, now boasting energy-saving LED lights. The original W is now displayed in the open area next to The Charles Bar at the new Woodward's Building. In 2008 the Vancouver artist Stan Douglas completed a 30' by 50' image on glass depicting the Gastown Riots of 1971. Together with a basketball hoop, the oversized photograph has become the central focus within the atrium of the new Woodward's Redevelopment. The redevelopment of the Woodward's site had the side-effect of displacing some of Vancouver's sex worker population; however, prostitutes remain in the Downtown Eastside area.

See also List of tallest buildings in Vancouver

References

External links Woodwards in Architectural Record – Article by Linda Baker YouTube – The implosion of the Woodward's Building.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Woodward's 43

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Woodward's 43 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Woodward's 43 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Woodward's 43 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Woodward's 43

In research: Woodward's 43 appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Woodward's 43 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Woodward's 43 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures completed in 2010, Buildings and structures in Vancouver, Public housing in Canada, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Woodward's 43 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Woodward's 43 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Woodward's 43 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Woodward's 43 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Woodward's 43 in simple terms?

Woodward's 43, also known as W43 or the W Building, is a 122.3 m (401 ft) tall mixed-use skyscraper located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Description The building was strongly influenced by New York's landmark Flatiron Building (Daniel Burnham, 1902), especially i…

Why does Woodward's 43 matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Woodward's 43?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Woodward's 43.