Langley’s Gateway Node is where traffic along the Trans-Canada Highway greets the city. The NorthPoint 2 development, standing alongside the First West Credit Union headquarters, gives travelers their first glimpse of Langley’s identity, celebrating their arrival into the city. As the lead on the project consulting team, our goal was to connect the ground-level retail of NorthPoint 2 with the ground-level retail of the First West Credit Union project, creating a seamless pedestrian walkway and public gathering space.

Lined with trees to buffer the walkway from the high-speed traffic that surrounds the site, the promenade transitions from busy 200th street, to active retail, to a quieter rural setting. Inspiration for the tall, asymmetrical office and retail building came from both the First West Credit Union building design and Golden Ears Mountain. The shining pillar transitions down toward a larger, graphite-colored retail façade, then into the warm plains of the concrete and trees of the walkway. These echoes of Langley’s landscape contribute to its rich heritage as a city and create a unique and new sense of place within it.